The Schneeferner in the Bavarian Alps is Germany's highest and largest glacier.[ Gletscherrekorde at www.planet-wissen.de. Accessed on 23 Dec 2010][ Kaltgestellter Gletscher at www.sueddeutsche.de. Accessed on 23 Dec 2010][ Daten & Fakten von Gletschern at www.gletscher-info.de. Accessed on 23 Dec 2010][ Gletscher at www.bergsteigen.at. Accessed on 23 Dec 2010]
Geography
Schneeferner glacier is located on the
Zugspitzplatt, a plateau south of the country's highest peak, the
Zugspitze, that descends from west to east and forms the head of the Reintal valley. The
from the glacier seep away into the
plateau and surface again in the Reintal, where they feed the River
Partnach. The Schneeferner is one of the northernmost glaciers in the
Alps.
History
In the 19th century, towards the end of the Little Ice Age, a large glacier, the
Plattachferner, covered almost the entire
Zugspitzplatt between the Jubiläumsgrat arête and the
Plattspitzen peaks. It covered an area of about
[ Nördlicher Schneeferner at bayerische-gletscher.de. Accessed on 23 Dec 2010] and left behind large
during its subsequent retreat that are still visible today.
From about 1860 until the 1950s the glacier lost roughly of area each year and by the end of that period had shrunk to about .[ Zum Gletscherverhalten in den Alpen im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert by H. Escher-Vetter (2001), fig. 4, p. 55, German Weather Service (DWD). Accessed on 23 Dec 2010] During its retreat, the glacier split into a northern and a southern section towards the end of the 19th century. Later, the so-called Eastern or Little Schneeferner below the summit of the Zugspitze broke away from the northern section and has since totally disappeared.
Thereafter the glacier's retreat was less drastic and the remaining sections of the Northern Schneeferner tended to just shrink in thickness due to their location in a basin. In the 1960s and 1970s, favourable conditions even led to a growth in the thickness of the glacier.
Since 1980 the glaciers on the Zugspitzplatt have again been on the retreat. In 2006 the two remaining parts of the glacier still covered an area of ; in addition there were a couple of smaller firn fields.
Since 1990, global warming has seen consistently above-average summer temperatures recorded on the Zugspitze.[ Garmisch-Partenkirchen Weather Station / Zugspitze 1900 to 2006, DWD] Summer snowfalls have become increasingly rare, which damages glaciers, because such snowfalls decrease the energy absorbed by glaciers and interrupt melting processes by increasing their albedo. About of ice melted has melted annually, on average. If this rate of melting continues, the glaciers on the Zugspitze will disappear between 2015 and 2030,[ Gletscherschwund und Klimawandel an der Zugspitze und am Vernagtferner by M. Weber (2003), Bavarian Academy of Sciences Commission for Glaciology] although a few small remnants of ice may survive longer.
Northern Schneeferner
With an area of (as at 2006) the Northern Schneeferner (
Nördlicher Schneeferner) alone would be the largest glacier in Germany.
Its ice sheet is an average of about thick and at the deepest point. It lies at an average elevation of above sea level and is therefore higher than the other German glaciers: the Höllentalferner,
Watzmann Glacier and
Blaueis.
It flows from west to east with a gentle gradient, especially in its lower reaches. North of the glacier is the arête running from the
Zugspitze to the
Zugspitzeck; in the west it almost reaches the wide
Schneefernerscharte (Schneeferner wind gap). To the east and south it is open; even the
Schneefernerkopf mountain to the southwest offers very little shade.
The glacier is mainly fed by precipitation falling directly onto its surface; it is also supplied with snow from that sweep down from the rocks of the Zugspitzeck and the Schneefernerkopf. The velocity at which the glacier moves is only about per year in its central section[ Nördlicher Schneeferner at www.umweltgeol-he.de. Accessed on 23 Dec 2010] and there is hardly any movement of glacial mass at lower altitudes. On the steep flanks of the Schneefernerkopf the flow rate can be several metres per year, but here the glacier has all but disappeared in recent years; its remnants are covered by gravel and very little accumulation takes place.
Exploitation of the glacier
Today, the Northern Schneeferner is a
area. Since 1955, five ski lifts have been built on the ice sheet, making it the only German glacier skiing area. At one time summer
skiing was also possible here. In order to better support winter sports, the natural evolution of the glacier has been counteracted by transporting snow from surrounding areas. As a result, since 1990 the ice thickness has occasionally increased.
Since 1993, certain areas of the glacier have been covered with tarpaulins during the summer to protect the winter ice and snow from sunshine and rain. In 2007, covered 2.6% of the glacier[ Information by the Commission for Glaciology on glacial covering in 2007 ] In 2010, an area was covered by the Bavarian Zugspitze Railway Company, primarily to protect the winter sports areas.
Record summer of 2003
On warm days the ice sheet of the Northern Schneeferner reduces by up to . In August 2003 the melting of the glacier produced of water daily, roughly one tenth of the average water consumption of the Munich region.
[ Umwelterklärung 2009 environmental report by Munich Utilities Board, p. 11. (105.7 MCM in 2009 equates to roughly 290,000 m³ per day). Accessed on 23 Dec 2010] Experts describe this melting of ice as
Gletscherrauschen ("glacier rushing"), which produces meltwater streams.
Northern Schneeferner in figures
-
Area: (as at 2006)
[ Nördlicher Schneeferner - Topographie at www.lrz.de. Accessed on 23 Dec 2010]
-
Elevation: , average (as at 2006)
-
Average ice thickness: (as at November 2006)
-
Maximum ice thickness: 52 m (as at November 2006)
-
Volume: (as at November 2006)
-
Maximum length:
-
Average gradient: 14°
Southern Schneeferner
The Southern Schneeferner (
Südlicher Schneeferner) once covered the entire southwestern part of the
Zugspitzplatt. By 2006 only an area of some was left and its ice sheet, with an average thickness of less than , was thin.
[ Südliche Schneeferner - Topographie at www.lrz.de. Accessed on 23 Dec 2010] At the end of the 20th century the glacier had split up into a southeastern part below the
Wetterwandeck and a northwestern area below the
Wetterspitzen, which later divided into the last remaining large sheet of ice and several smaller
firn fields. These remnants can no longer be described as a glacier and they may melt completely within a few years. In the summer of 2022, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences officially revoked the Southern Schneeferner's classification as a glacier, citing the overall loss of coverage, thickness and movement of ice.
[ Gletscherschwund: Der Südliche Schneeferner verliert seinen Status als Gletscher at www.badw.de. Accessed on 26 Sep 2022]
The Southern Schneeferner in figures
-
Area: (as at September 2022)
-
Elevation: , average (as at 2022)
-
Average ice thickness: (as at September 2022)
-
Maximum ice thickness: (as at September 2022)
External links
