Mapping Shrinking Glaciers

The Rhône Glacier inwards the Swiss Alps is the source of the Rhône river. Over the final 120 years the glacier has shrunk past times a really large extent. In recent years, during the summertime months, the glacier has been covered amongst UV-resistant fleecy white blankets. These encompass almost five acres of the shrinking glacier as well as are believed to trim its melting past times upwardly to 70%.

You tin stance how far the Rhône Glacier has melted using the superb maps produced past times the Swiss Federal Office of Topography. The Karten der Schweiz, the official mapping platform of the Swiss Confederation, includes an pick to stance vintage maps made past times the Swiss Federal Office of Topography. You tin fifty-fifty animate through these vintage maps to exhibit how locations convey changed over time.

For example you lot tin animate through all the maps of the Rhône Glacier from 1850 to the introduce day. The resulting animated map is a really effective visualization of the startling extent past times which the Rhône Glacier has shrunk over the final century.



You tin besides purpose Google basis Engine to stance how the glacier has shrunk over recent years every bit seen on satellite imagery. Google basis Engine entirely has satellite imagery going dorsum every bit far every bit 1984. Therefore the extent of the glacier's retreat isn't every bit pronounced every bit tin locomote seen past times viewing the historical Karten der Schweiz. However fifty-fifty since 1984 it is possible to notice that the glacier has visibly shrunk inwards size.

Since 1850 Switzerland's glaciers convey shrunk past times approximately 50%. The World Glacier Monitoring Service tell that this procedure is probable to proceed as well as that eighty to xc percent of glacier H2O ice volume volition locomote lost past times 2100.

In 2017 the Swiss paper Tages Anzeiger visualized the extent of Switzerland's shrinking glaciers over the final 160 years. In So Schmolzen operate past times away Schweizer Gletscher inwards 160 Jahren Weg the paper produced a serial of multiple maps visualizing the alter inwards size of the country's 38 largest glaciers. These maps exhibit the size of the glaciers inwards 1850 compared to the size of the glaciers inwards 2010. Each mini map includes information on the surface expanse lost inwards kilometers as well as every bit a pct of the glacier's size inwards 1850.

Tages Anzeiger reports that the Rhône Glacier has shrunk past times 4.7 km² or almost 23.4% inwards size.