# Volume of selected glaciers of the measurement network

A map of a former edition of the Atlas of Switzerland, the national atlas published by ETH Zurich. It opens only in the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS, not in the web atlas; see the links below.

- Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/volume-of-selected-glaciers-of-the-measurement-network/
- Short title: Glacier volume
- Map id: 294
- Categories: Nature and Environment › Ice and Snow › Glaciers
- Keywords: Environmental monitoring, Glacier, Ice age
- Published: 2010-11-26
- Last revised: 2022-06-27
- Content language: English
- Other languages: [Deutsch](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/de/thema/volumen-ausgewaehlter-messnetzgletscher.md), [Français](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/fr/theme/volume-de-glaciers-choisis-du-reseau-de-mesure.md), [Italiano](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/it/tema/volume-dei-ghiacciai-scelti-della-rete-di-misurazione.md)

## Description

The glacial landscapes of Switzerland, with their seemingly endless firn and ice masses, form a natural environment of unmatched beauty, radiance and idyllic symbolic power. In the hydrological cycle, glaciers, as a frozen form of water storage, represent a seasonally utilizable «spare capital». In addition to their importance for mountaineering and ski tourism, the lucrative role of glacial meltwater in summer for water resources management (reservoirs, hydro-power plants) is of particular note. Glaciers as a fascinating subject of research have held a prominent place for 200 years at the centre of scientific interest. As a sensitive indicator of climate and as a modelling parameter for future climate scenarios, glaciers have a key role to play in furthering the understanding of climatic change, especially in the current debate on the greenhouse effect.

The at times spectacular motion behaviour of glaciers is causally related to the climate system and its fluctuations. Since the middle of the 19th century, all of the world's mountain glaciers – including those in Switzerland – have been experiencing a distinctive retreat phase. The recession of alpine glaciers parallels, at its root cause, the air temperature rise of about 1 °C that has been observable over approximately 160 years. This climatic change led to a rise in the equilibrium line of glaciers, and thus to long-term negative mass balances (unfavourable relation between accumulation and ablation areas). The consequences of this «recession» in the mass balance of glaciers are visibly recognizable in the overall glacial landscape. The debris-rich embankment moraines from the «Little Ice Age» (maximum extent 1850) and the sparsely vegetated pro-glacial areas which have recently appeared at the front on the glacier tongues are the silent yet obvious witnesses to a radical transformation in the climate and the landscape. According to the experts, the current evolution in the climatic structure does not have its sole origin in natural phenomena, but has been superimposed and influenced by the artificial, that is, «anthropogenically» intensified greenhouse effect.

With its approximately 940 km² of glacier cover (corresponding to 2.3% of the federal territory), Switzerland has by far the greatest ice-covered area of all the alpine countries. According to the Swiss Glacier Inventory, there are currently (reference year 2010) about 1420 glaciers, whose total surface area has decreased since 1850 from 1800 km² (this corresponded to 4.4% of the federal territory at the time) to 1300 km² in 1973 and to 940 km² in 2010. Thus, the portion of surface recession since 1850 comprises circa 48% of the original glaciated surface.

## Sources

- Universität Freiburg (2014): [Gletscherschwund: Eisfläche nur noch so gross wie der Kanton Schwyz](http://www.unifr.ch/news/de/13448/). Freiburg: Universität Freiburg

## Data sources

- Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau, Hydrologie und Glaziologie: [Schweizer Gletschermessnetz GLAMOS](http://glaciology.ethz.ch/messnetz). ETH Zürich

## Data owners

- [Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology, ETH Zurich (VAW)](http://www.vaw.ethz.ch/)

## Authors

- [Department of Geography, University of Zurich (GIUZ)](https://www.geo.uzh.ch/de.html)

## Citation

The terms of use ask to name the Atlas of Switzerland and the data owners, and to keep the source references in exports, screenshots and embeds. Cite the map as:

> Atlas of Switzerland (2022): Volume of selected glaciers of the measurement network. ETH Zürich. Map data © VAW. https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/volume-of-selected-glaciers-of-the-measurement-network/

## Links

- Map page, with the description and sources and a button that opens the map in the desktop atlas: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/volume-of-selected-glaciers-of-the-measurement-network/
- Open the map in the desktop atlas (version 4), where it is installed: adsglobe://map/294
- Download of the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/ads4-download/

For the use and citation of maps and data, see the [terms of use](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/terms-of-use/).