25.06.2020Alpine-wide observation of glacier mass loss from space

Glaciers in the European Alps lost between half and one meter of ice thickness between 2000 and 2014. With this, 17% of the remaining ice volume were lost. Thereby, the large valley glaciers of the Jungfrau-Aletsch region lost about 5 km³ of ice.

These are the latest findings of Alpine-wide glacier observations from space-borne radar measurements as published in Nature Communications by a research team from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg in collaboration with the Department of Geography of the UZH.

Sommer, C., Malz, P., Seehaus, T.C., Lippl, S., Zemp, M., and Braun, M.H. (2020): Rapid glacier retreat and downwasting throughout the European Alps in the early 21st century. Nature Communications

Glacial retreat in the European Alps
Media release by the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, 25 June 2020