Between 1931 and 2016, Swiss glaciers lost about 50 percent of their size. This can be read in a new study by scientists from Zurich University ETH and the Swiss National Research Institute for Forests, Snow and Landscapes. The study was published in the professional magazine "Kryosphere".
"Significant" ice loss
Experts compared more than 20.000 archival recordings with current measurements. "If we know the surface of a glacier at two different points in time, then we can use that to calculate the difference in size," explains the lead author of the study, Eric Shit Mannerfelt.
"Our comparisons between 1931 and 2016 clearly show that there was significant ice loss during that time," explains his colleague Daniel Farinotti.
Since 2016, ice melting has accelerated further, according to data from Glamos, the glacier measurement network. According to these data, the volume has decreased by an additional 12 percent over the past six years.
Why are glaciers melting?
However, not all glaciers are equally affected.
"The extent to which the glacier will shrink depends mainly on three factors: first of all, on the altitude at which they are located, on how flat is the surface on which the end of a glacier is located, and on the extent to which the glacier is covered by rubble", they claim in ETH In the 20s and 80s of the last century, the mass of some glaciers even increased in part.
"Even if it happened that there was an increase in the mass in shorter periods of time, it is still important to keep an eye on the complete situation," emphasizes Farinotti.
The glaciers in Italy have recently lost a significant part of their surface. The Indren glacier retreated by 40 meters in the last year alone, and by more than 60 meters in the past two, writes the newspaper "La Republika", referring to the statements of the Italian Glaciology Board. Glacier melting of such proportions, it is claimed, has not been recorded in the past 50 years.
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