Constraining regional glacier reconstructions using past ice thickness of deglaciating areas – a case study in the European Alps

A new method to reconstruct glacier ice thickness distribution in the European Alps, particularly in the Swiss and Austrian Alps, has been developed. This approach overcomes the limitations of traditional retreat-based observations by incorporating an empirical relationship between ice viscosity at observed locations and DEM-differencing data from glacier margins. The study reveals that relying solely on thickness observations from previously glacierized areas would underestimate average ice thickness by approximately 40%. By applying a topography-based viscosity scaling, the researchers accurately modeled glacier volumes for two timesteps (1970 & 2003). This method significantly improves regional glacier volume estimates, with a derived volume of 125.4±24.7 km³ for the 1970s, while acknowledging larger uncertainties at a local scale.

Sommer, C., Fürst, J. J., Huss, M., & Braun, M. H. (2023). Constraining regional glacier reconstructions using past ice thickness of deglaciating areas – a case study in the European Alps. The Cryosphere, 17(6), 2285–2303. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2285-2023