Hallstätter Glacier loses half its ice volume in 20 years

The Hallstätter Glacier has lost around half its ice volume in 20 years, ORF reported, as measurements show continued melting and growing instability on the Dachstein.

Since the state of Upper Austria began its monitoring programme in 2006, the glacier has shrunk from about 150 million cubic metres of ice to roughly 76 million cubic metres. Its ice-covered area has also decreased by around one square kilometre, equivalent to almost 150 football pitches.

The Hallstätter and Gosau glaciers are continuing to lose ice, with measurements indicating a reduction of about one metre per year. Researchers are also observing increasingly unstable ice surfaces and more frequent rockfalls.

Growing danger from crevasses

High temperatures have changed conditions on the glaciers. Snow bridges are disappearing more quickly, exposing bare ice and open crevasses. Twelve people have already had to be rescued from crevasses this summer.

Michélle Kraft, a mountaineer from Saarbrücken in Germany, said the changes were clear. She had visited the area for the third time and had previously been there 10 years ago. “There are extremely many crevasses, and the glacier has retreated enormously,” she said. The access route to the via ferrata had also become more difficult.

Research has been carried out on the Dachstein for around 20 years, involving the University of Innsbruck, the state department responsible for climate issues and energy company Energie AG. Deep drilling and surface measurements provide continuing data on the glacier’s condition.

More rockfalls on the glacier

Work on the glacier is becoming increasingly difficult for researchers. Dachstein geologist Klaus Reinruber described this summer as particularly challenging. The glacier tongues have become very thin, while rockfalls have increased.

Reinruber said an incident the previous week had demonstrated the danger. A huge block of rock, weighing several dozen tonnes, had fallen into a crevasse.

Parts of the glacier are now being covered with fleece to protect the remaining ice. The coverings are intended to slow melting in particularly exposed areas.

Why ice remains on the Dachstein

Glacier researcher Andrea Fischer said deep hollows beneath the limestone and the glacier’s former ice thickness of almost 200 metres had allowed larger ice fields to survive despite the mountain’s comparatively low elevation.

“That is why this glacier still exists despite the high melting rates,” Fischer said. The outlook nevertheless remains dramatic. Forecasts indicate that the Dachstein glacier will still exist in 2046, but only in isolated sections.

Upper Austria’s environment councillor Stefan Kaineder of the Greens said urgent action was needed. He called for a move away from carbon dioxide, oil and gas in daily life, as well as further political measures to protect the climate and the natural landscape.

Research on the Dachstein is to continue. The institutions involved plan to keep measuring and documenting changes to the glaciers in the coming years despite the rapid loss of ice.