Kesselwandferner/Gepatschferner - Austria

The LTER site Kesselwandferner comprises one of the largest connected glacier areas in eastern Alps with the three glaciers Kesselwandferner, Gepatschferner and Weissseeferner plus the area of the community of Kaunertal located downstreams. Gepatschferner glacier has one of the longest time seriesof glacier advances and retreats spanning the Holocene. These data are complemented by the first ice core drilled in the Austrian Eastern Alps. The records of mass balance and ice flow velocities measured at Kesselwandferner are amongst the longest in the world. A new museum opened in 2021 presents ongoing and past research including ecological, hydrological and permafrost studies.