Supplementary material to "Glacier-permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps"

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Gärtner-Roer ◽  
Nina Brunner ◽  
Reynald Delaloye ◽  
Wilfried Haeberli ◽  
Andreas Kääb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Swiss Alps ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Mountain Environment ◽  
Supplementary Material

scholarly journals Evidence of elevation-dependent warming from the Chinese Tian Shan

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 5765-5783
Author(s):  
Lu Gao ◽  
Haijun Deng ◽  
Xiangyong Lei ◽  
Jianhui Wei ◽  
Yaning Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Minimum Temperature ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Regional Warming ◽  
Mean Temperature ◽  
Warming Rate ◽  
Tian Shan

Abstract. The phenomenon in which the warming rate of air temperature is amplified with elevation is termed elevation-dependent warming (EDW). It has been clarified that EDW can accelerate the retreat of glaciers and melting of snow, which can have significant impacts on the regional ecological environment. Owing to the lack of high-density ground observations in high mountains, there is widespread controversy regarding the existence of EDW. Current evidence is mainly derived from typical high-mountain regions such as the Swiss Alps, the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the tropical Andes and the Tibetan Plateau–Himalayas. Rare evidence in other mountain ranges has been reported, especially in arid regions. In this study, EDW features (regional warming amplification and altitude warming amplification) in the Chinese Tian Shan (CTM) were detected using a unique high-resolution (1 km, 6-hourly) air temperature dataset (CTMD) from 1979 to 2016. The results showed that there were significant EDW signals at different altitudes on different timescales. The CTM showed significant regional warming amplification in spring, especially in March, and the warming trends were greater than those of continental China with respect to three temperatures (minimum temperature, mean temperature and maximum temperature). The significance values of EDW above different altitude thresholds are distinct for three temperatures in 12 months. The warming rate of the minimum temperature in winter showed a significant elevation dependence (p<0.01), especially above 3000 m. The greatest altitudinal gradient in the warming rate of the maximum temperature was found above 4000 m in April. For the mean temperature, the warming rates in June and August showed prominent altitude warming amplification but with different significance above 4500 m. Within the CTM, the Tolm Mountains, the eastern part of the Borokoonu Mountains, the Bogda Mountains and the Balikun Mountains are representative regions that showed significant altitude warming amplification on different timescales. This new evidence could partly explain the accelerated melting of snow in the CTM, although the mechanisms remain to be explored.

The Mesolithic site Ullafelsen in the Fotsch Valley (Tyrol, Austria) – a biomarker perspective

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Zech ◽  
Marcel Lerch ◽  
Marcel Bliedtner ◽  
Clemens Geitner ◽  
Dieter Schäfer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Analytical Data ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Peat Bogs ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Alpine Regions ◽  
Bavarian Alps ◽  
History Of

&lt;p&gt;The archaeology of high mountain regions got high attention since the discovery of the copper age mummy called &quot;&amp;#214;tzi&quot; in the &amp;#214;tztaler Alps in 1991. Results of former archaeological research projects show that mesolithic hunter-gatherers lived in Alpine regions since the beginning of the Holocene, 11,700 years ago (Cornelissen &amp; Reitmaier 2016). Amongst others, the Mesolithic site Ullafelsen (1860 m a.s.l.) and surroundings represent a very important archaeological reference site in the Fotsch Valley (Stubaier Alps, Tyrol) (Sch&amp;#228;fer 2011). Many archaeological artifacts and fire places were found at different places in the Fotschertal, which provides evidence for the presence and the way of living of our ancestor. The &quot;Mesolithic project Ullafelsen&quot; includes different scientific disciplines ranging from high mountain archaeology over geology, geomorphology, soil science, sedimentology, petrography to palaeobotany (Sch&amp;#228;fer 2011). Within an ongoing DFG project we aim at addressing questions related to past vegetation and climate, human history as well as their influence on pedogenesis from a biomarker and stable isotope perspective (cf. Zech et al. 2011). Our results for instance suggest that (i) the dominant recent and past vegetation can be chemotaxonomically differentiated based on leaf wax-derived &lt;em&gt;n&lt;/em&gt;-alkane biomarkers, (ii) there is no evidence for buried Late Glacial topsoils being preserved on the Ullafelsen as argued by Geitner et al. (2014), rather humic-rich subsoils were formed as B&lt;sub&gt;h&lt;/sub&gt;-horizons by podsolisation and (iii) marked vegetations changes likely associated with alpine pasture activities since the Bronce Age are documented in Holocene peat bogs in the Fotsch Valley. Nevertheless, there remain some challenges by joining all analytical data in order to get a consistent overall picture of human-environmental history of this high mountain region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cornelissen &amp; Reitmaier (2016): Filling the gap: Recent Mesolithic discoveries in the central and south-eastern Swiss Alps. In: Quaternary International, 423.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Geitner, C., Sch&amp;#228;fer, D., Bertola, S., Bussemer, S., Heinrich, K. und J. Waroszewski (2014): Landscape archaeological results and discussion of Mesolithic research in the Fotsch valley (Tyrol). In: Kerschner, H., Krainer, K. and C. Sp&amp;#246;tl: From the foreland to the Central Alps &amp;#8211; Field trips to selected sites of Quaternary research in the Tyrolean and Bavarian Alps (DEUQUA EXCURSIONS), Berlin, 106-115.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sch&amp;#228;fer (2011): Das Mesolithikum-Projekt Ullafelsen (Teil 1). Mensch und Umwelt im Holoz&amp;#228;n Tirols (Band 1). 560 p., Innsbruck: Philipp von Zabern.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Zech, M., Zech, R., Buggle, B., Z&amp;#246;ller, L. (2011): Novel methodological approaches in loess research - interrogating biomarkers and compound-specific stable isotopes. In: E&amp;G Quaternary Science Journal, 60.&lt;/p&gt;

The use of Frequency Domain Electro-magnetometry for the characterization of permafrost active layers: case studies in the Swiss Alps

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacopo Boaga ◽  
Marcia Phillips ◽  
Jeannette Noetzli ◽  
Anna haberkorn ◽  
Robert Kenner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Domain ◽  
Active Layer ◽  
Electrical Contact ◽  
Slope Instability ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Active Layer Thickness ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Contactless Method ◽  
Geophysical Surveys

&lt;p&gt;The characterization of the active layer (AL) in mountain permafrost is an important part of monitoring climate change effects in periglagical environments and may help to determine potential slope instability. Permafrost affects 25% of the Northern Hemisphere and 17% of the entire Earth. It has been studied for decades both in the polar regions and &amp;#8211; starting a few decades later &amp;#8211; in high mountain environments. Typical point information from permafrost boreholes can be extended to wider areas by geophysical prospecting and provide information that cannot be detected by thermal observations alone.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;During Summer 2019 we performed several geophysical surveys at permafrost borehole sites in the Swiss Alps. We focused on electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and Frequency Domain Electro-magnetic techniques (FDEM) to compare the methods and test the applicability of FDEM for active layer characterization, i.e., its thickness and lateral continuity. ERT provides an electrical image of the subsoil and can discern active layer thickness, changes in ground ice and geological features of the subsoil. From a logistic point of view a contactless method such as FDEM would be preferable : i) it can provide electrical properties of the subsoil with no need of physical electrical contact with the soil; ii) it can cover a wider area of exploration compared to ERT, iii) it is faster and data collection is simpler than with ERT due to lighter instruments and less preparation time needed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Based on the FDEM surveys at the Swiss permafrost sites we were able to detect the frozen/unfrozen boundary and to achieve results that were in agreement with those obtained from classical ERT and borehole temperature data. The results were promising for future active layer monitoring with the contactless FDEM method.&lt;/p&gt;

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