Die Gletscher haben keine Zeit

Abstract

Glaciers move rather slowly, but hazards like ice avalanches or outbursts of glacier lakes can cause death and devastation in a short time. Glaciers have always been considered as places of eternal snow and ice. The Swiss law only refers to the use of glaciers for civilization: Glaciers are classified as objects which have no owner, as soil unsuitable for cultivation and as public property in common use. Since the discovery of the Alps snow-capped summits and glaciers have been a huge attraction to visitors and alpinists. Global warming now undermines the myth of the eternal ice. In the last million years, ice ages and interglacial periods regularly alternated. In the highly complex climate system change has been characteristic. Glaciers are good natural indicators of climate variations. In the 16th to the 19th century the glacier tongues still came close to meadows and alpine villages. But around the year 1850 a massive glacier retreat began, interrupted only by short periods of stabilisation or advance. Since about 1988 the melting has dramatically accelerated. The exceptional summer heat of the year 2003 led to huge ice losses; glaciers and even high peaks appeared grey and brown. For several years the covering of winter snow has completely melted away on low-lying glaciers. Scientists do not find any other plausible explanation for global warming than the increased greenhouse effect. If the warming trend continues the alpine glaciers will quickly disappear to a great extent. Water shortage, droughts, the rise of sea level, the weakening of the Gulf Stream and climate refugees are examples of possible consequences on a global scale. It seems that there is an urgent need and not much time left to undertake steps in climate protection by drastically reducing our emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.