Length Of 82 Out Of 88 Swiss Glaciers Measured 2007-2008 Shrank - 290 Meters In Worst Case

[hatrack]

Eighty-two of 88 glaciers measured in Switzerland between 2007 and 2008 reduced in length, according to scientists at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Although the winter of 2007 was one of the snowiest ever – with many stations reporting record snowfalls – this was cancelled out by a hot summer. The Gorner Glacier alone shrank by 290 metres.

"The measurements confirm once again the ongoing glacial retreat observed over recent years," Andreas Bauder, a glaciologist at the institute, told swissinfo. Bauder, who took part in the study, explained the two types of measurements: length change and mass balance.

"We investigated the latest measurements for mass balance – in which one looks at the difference between the accumulation of snow and the melting of the ice – and it more or less reflects the average value of the past ten years," he said. "Length-change information represents the mid- to long term, although it depends on the glacier's size and other factors."

For example, whereas only two glaciers got longer and most shrank by less than 25 metres, the Gorner Glacier, a valley glacier found on the Monte Rosa massif close to Zermatt in western Switzerland, withered by 290 metres. "The snout was located for a couple of years in a narrow shaded gorge where there wasn't much change," Bauder explained.

EDIT

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/front/Glaciers_continue_to_disappear.html?siteSect=105&sid=10537208&cKey=1238837103000&ty=st

[XemaSab]

1. "Time... is marching on..."

"And time... is STILL marching on..."