Places of research: Gepatschferner Glacier

They are a transient beauty: Bavaria has already lost the first of its five glaciers in 2022, and the remaining four will probably also melt in the coming years if temperatures continue to rise. Since 2019, a team of geographers at the KU has been researching the effects of climate change on the Alps. As part of the interdisciplinary project "Sensitivity of High Alpine Geosystems to Climate Change since 1850" (SEHAG), a research group funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) coordinated by the KU is investigating the effects of how climate change in the Alpine region influences glaciers, rivers, the vegetation and geomorphology. Based on their findings, the German and Austrian researchers want to forecast future developments up to the year 2050. Prof. Dr. Florian Haas and his colleague Dr. Manuel Stark regularly survey the area of the Gepatschferner, Austria's second largest glacier. Among other things, the researchers use a laser scanner mounted on a helicopter, a terrestrial laser scanner and a drone for their 3D measurements. This allows the glacier and the surrounding mountain slopes to be recorded accurate to the centimeter and analyzed in terms of their stability and changes in geomorphology.