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Soil Erosion in the Alps

Experience gained from case studies (2006–2013)

Land for all

Fewer and fewer areas remain untouched by building development. Vorarlberg has therefore seen the establishment of the "Bodenfreiheit" (ground clearance) association, which is now successfully buying up land for public use.

Upgrading the high mountains

Austria's highest suspension bridge, including the "Steps into the Void", is intended to lure tourists to the Dachstein Glacier in a similar way to the recently opened "Du Gouter" luxury hut for walkers on Mont Blanc. The ways in which the Alpine mountain world courts visitors.

Oh...!

… The Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) is this year celebrating its 150th anniversary and has got Mother Nature to build it a table of snow and ice at an altitude of 2,700 metres.

New publication: Mountain Biodiversity and Climate Change

On the basis of papers presented at the International Mountain Biodiversity Conference held in Kathmandu/NP in November 2008, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has published a brochure on biodiversity in mountain landscapes and climate change.

Mountain hike for climate protection

On 15 August 2009, some seventy hikers went up to the Goldbergkees glacier on the Hoher Sonnblick in Salzburg/A to draw attention to the impacts of global climate change.

Melting glaciers on your local mountain - what now?

On 24th and 25th September 2009 cc.alps is organising an international conference on the impact of melting glaciers on communities in collaboration with CIPRA Switzerland and the Swiss Foundation for Landscape Preservation in Crans Montana/CH.

International Competition for Mountain Photography and Film

Photographs and films on the subject of Mountain, Landscape and Nature, from the mountains of Lombardy to the world's highest peaks may now be submitted as entries for the "Orobie Film Festival" International Film and Photography Competition.

Alpine glaciers melting the fastest

Data from the World Glacier Monitoring Service for 2007 once again underscores what everyone has feared: the world's glaciers are continuing to melt at an alarming rate.

Even high-elevation Himalayan glaciers are melting

Glacier studies by an international team led by Natalie Kehrwald of Ohio State University show that even high-elevation glaciers are suffering from the effect of climate change.

New hypothesis on deep erosion in high mountain regions

Researchers in the south-east of the Tibetan plateau have found that the moraine dams created during glacier fluctuations have over the millennia helped to slow down the erosion effect of large rivers known as downcutting.

Rhône Glacier to melt away by 2100

Scientists at the Écoles Polytechniques Fédérales de Lausanne/CH and Zurich/CH have used complex computer simulations to predict that the Rhône Glacier in the Canton of Valais/CH will have disappeared by 2100.

Water resources under threat in the Himalayas

Climate change is threatening the water reserves of East Asia. An estimated 50 percent of the water from the Himalayas comes from glaciers, permafrost zones and the snowmelt.

First special edition of the Geo.Alp magazine

The first special edition of the Geo.Alp magazine is dedicated to the papers contributed to the 8th International Symposium on the Cultural Heritage in the Mining and Geo-Sciences, which was held in Schwaz in northern Tyrol/A in 2005.

Dust cover speeds up snowmelt

A new study reveals that dust blown hundreds of kilometres by the wind from erosion zones or dry regions is capable of speeding up the snowmelt in the mountains of Colorado/USA by around one month. Researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder were surprised not by the fact that the dust-covered snow cover was found to melt more quickly but by the extent to which this occurred in measurements and simulations.

Rainfall can trigger earthquakes

A new study shows causal links between rainfall and earth tremors.

Glacier data from outer space

With the aid of new satellites glaciologists in Zurich are now able to study the world's ice regions with greater precision than before. The results of the data surveys are not encouraging: the Alps' glaciers are melting at a much faster rate than previously thought. Major changes have been noted in an increasing number of glaciers. The Zurich glaciologists are definite in their diagnosis: there is now no stopping the shrinkage of alpine glaciers.

Insufficient snowfall a cause of recessive glaciers

Lower winter precipitation has been one of the causes, along with global warming, behind melting glaciers over the past 150 years. These are the main findings of a study by researchers at the Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de Grenoble/F and the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich/CH, published in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Fewer glaciers, more earthquakes?

According to the results of research carried out by the Universities of Münster/D and Berne/CH, the advance and retreat of glaciers and lakes can trigger earthquakes.

Mount Everest put forward for UNESCO World Heritage in Danger List

The Mount Everest region is at risk from global warming and should therefore be included on the UNESCO's World Heritage in Danger List. Mountaineers and representatives of the environmental group Friends of the Earth submitted a petition to the UNESCO Committee at the end of November.

Mountains in the Mediterranean Region Project presented at the IUCN Congress

Italy's Environment Minister presented the Mountains in the Mediterranean Region Project at the IUCN Congress held in Bangkok from 17 to 25 November.

Glaciers melting faster than anticipated

A new study by Zurich University using satellite images to analyse the surface area of 930 glaciers has shown that Switzerland's glaciers lost around 18% of their surface area between 1985 and 2000.

International conference on erosion and related problems

The European Land and Soil Alliance (ELSA e.V.) is holding its 3rd Annual International Conference under the motto "Erosion and Soil Protection - The Challenge of Soil Erosion for Local Authorities". The Conference is being held in Bolzano/I on 23 - 24 September, with simultaneous interpreting available in German, English and Italian.

Still little research into permafrost

During a six-year experimental series Reynold Delaloye, geographer at Fribourg University/CH, has found that permafrost reacts less sensitively to warming than was previously assumed, with no change noted in soil temperature at greater depths. He attributes his findings to a cooling ventilation mechanism that sets in in winter.

The European Alps and the Southern Alps of New Zealand

Soil and Water Cycles

Forest humus in Trentino (Italy)

Soil protection means flood prevention

Central Eastern Europe - Soil Degradation, Soil Protection & Spatial Planning

Land Use Management in City Regions