Kaunertal - Austria

Basic Information
Site Name
Kaunertal
Short name
Kesselwandferner
Country
Austria
Web Address
Insitute for Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Parent Site Name
Rofental - Austria
Subsite Name(s)
Kaunertal: Kesselwandferner/Gepatschferner glacier and the proglacial area - Austria
Site Manager
Andrea Fischer
Site Description
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.
Last modified
2022-03-01 08:03:36

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
1952
Observed properties
Photos
Weißseeferner with Weißseespitze and Kesselwandferner

Weißseeferner with Weißseespitze and Kesselwandferner

Geographic
View in site map
Size
19847.00ha
Elevation (average)
3208.00msl
Elevation (min)
2495.00msl
Elevation (max)
3502.00msl
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
ILTER✔This site is a verified "ILTER" member.
LTER Europe✔This site is a verified "LTER Europe" member.
World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS)✖The affiliation of this site with "World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS)" is not verified by the network on DEIMS-SDR.
LTER Austria✔ (LTER_EU_AT_016)This site is a verified "LTER Austria" member.
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Site information [.json]

Centroid coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]
Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]
Biome
Alpine
Ecosystem Type
Alpine
Biogeographical Region
Alpine Bio-geographical Region
EUNIS habitat
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H)
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Snow or ice-dominated habitats (H4)
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Snow or ice-dominated habitats (H4) » Ice caps and true glaciers (H4.2)
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Snow or ice-dominated habitats (H4) » Rock glaciers and unvegetated ice-dominated moraines (H4.3)
Air Temperature: Average Annual
-2.22°C
Precipitation Annual
1457.90mm
Protection Level (IUCN category)
Category IV – Habitat/Species Management Area
Category V – Protected Landscape/Seascape/Area
Site Type
Stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
no experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
catchment scale
Design of Observation
only observation
Scale of Observation
plot within catchment
Permanent Power Supply
No
Equipment
Supporting infrastructure » Lodging at site » > 10 beds
Equipment notes
access by foot or helicopter
Accessible All Year
No
All parts of Site Accessible
No
Permanent Operation
No
Site Visit Interval
360
Maintenance Interval
360
General Data Policy
Co-authorship on publications resulting from use of the dataset
LTER Site Classification
Emerging
There is EURO-CORDEX climate scenario data available for this site:
Projected Near Surface Specific Humidity ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Precipitation ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Sea Level Pressure ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Surface Downwelling Shortwave RadiationRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Wind SpeedRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Maximum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Minimum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85

You can also download the entire climate scenario dataset for this site from the EUDAT B2SHARE data store.