ESSDEarth System Science DataESSDEarth Syst. Sci. Data1866-3516Copernicus PublicationsGöttingen, Germany10.5194/essd-10-151-2018The Rofental: a high Alpine research basin (1890–3770 m a.s.l.) in the
Ötztal Alps (Austria) with over 150 years of hydrometeorological and
glaciological observationsStrasserUlrichulrich.strasser@uibk.ac.atMarkeThomasBraunLudwigEscher-VetterHeidiJuenIrmgardKuhnMichaelhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1823-5452MaussionFabienhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3211-506XMayerChristophNicholsonLindseyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0430-7950NiedertscheiderKlausSailerRudolfStötterJohannWeberMarkusKaserGeorgDepartment of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020,
AustriaDepartment of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of
Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, AustriaGeodesy and Glaciology, Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities,
Munich, 80539, GermanyHydrographic Service of Tyrol, Innsbruck, 6020, AustriaPhotogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Technical University of Munich,
Munich, 80333, GermanyUlrich Strasser (ulrich.strasser@uibk.ac.at)24January20181011511713August201721August201726November201718December2017This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article is available from https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/10/151/2018/essd-10-151-2018.htmlThe full text article is available as a PDF file from https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/10/151/2018/essd-10-151-2018.pdf
A comprehensive hydrometeorological and glaciological data set is presented,
originating from a multitude of glaciological, meteorological, hydrological
and laser scanning recordings at research sites in the Rofental
(1891–3772 m a.s.l., Ötztal Alps, Austria). The data sets span a
period of 150 years and hence represent a unique time series of rich
high-altitude
mountain observations. Their collection was originally initiated to support
scientific investigation of the glaciers Hintereisferner, Kesselwandferner and
Vernagtferner. Annual mass balance, glacier front variation, flow velocities
and photographic records of the status of these glaciers were recorded.
Later, additional measurements of meteorological and hydrological variables
were undertaken, and over time a number of autonomous weather stations
and runoff gauges were brought into operation; the available data now
comprise records of temperature, relative humidity, short- and longwave
radiation, wind speed and direction, air pressure, precipitation, and river
water levels. Since 2001, a series of distributed (airborne and terrestrial)
laser scans is available, along with associated digital surface models. In
2016 a permanent terrestrial laser scanner was installed on “Im hintern
Eis” (3244 m a.s.l.) to continuously observe almost the entire area of
Hintereisferner. The data and research undertaken at the sites of
investigation in the Rofental area enable combined research of cryospheric,
atmospheric and hydrological processes in complex terrain, and support the
development of several state-of-the-art glacier mass balance and
hydroclimatological models. The institutions taking part in the Rofental
research framework promote their site in several international research
initiatives. In INARCH (International Network for Alpine Research Catchment
Hydrology, http://words.usask.ca/inarch), all original research data
sets are now provided to the scientific community according to the Creative
Commons Attribution License by means of the PANGAEA repository
(10.1594/PANGAEA.876120).
The “Rofentaler Eissee” in 1601, the first known image of a
glacier worldwide. Painted in water colors by Abraham Jäger. The original
is in the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck. From
Nicolussi (1990).
Introduction
Glaciers in the Rofental, Ötztal Alps, have been under observation since
the early 17th century; in particular the Vernagtferner (VF) was known for
its dangerous surge-type advances (Richter, 1892) with flow velocities up to
11.5 m day-1 (Nicolussi, 2013). In 1599, the tongue of VF reached the
valley floor of the Rofental, blocking the valley and forming an ice-dammed
lake which burst, causing a catastrophic lake outburst flood (GLOF) on
20 July in 1600. The painting of VF with its lake that was formed again in
summer 1601 is the oldest known image of a glacier worldwide (Fig. 1). The
lake was ∼ 1700 m in length, and the lake level was at
∼ 2260 m a.s.l. (Nicolussi, 1990). Further advances of VF are
documented for the periods around 1680, 1770 (the maximum extent of VF in the
little ice age, LIA), 1820 and 1848. Prior to the 19th century, each advance
of VF formed the ice dam and lake in the Rofental, and the outflow of this
lake was observed due to its dangerous nature (Nicolussi, 2013). The glacier
changes were monitored with irregular glacier-front variation recordings.
A milestone in glacier cartography was the map “Der Vernagtferner im Jahre
1889 1 : 10 000”, constructed by means of terrestrial photogrammetry
(Finsterwalder, 1897). This map showed, for the first time, an entire glacier
in large scale with unprecedented details, including the area that became
ice-free since the last glacier advance period (Fig. 2a). The first map of
Hochjochferner (HJF) (1883) by Blümcke and Hess (1895) and
Hintereisferner (HEF) (1894) by Blümcke and Hess (1899) followed shortly
afterwards (Fig. 2b). After that, geodetic glacier maps were generated
frequently for HEF, KWF and VF (Brunner, 2013; Charalampidis, 2018)
. These maps were
accompanied by frequent terrestrial photographs of VF between 1897 and 1928,
documenting, for example, the last surge of the glacier (1897–1903). From
these photographs Weber (2013) and Lindmayer (2015) reconstructed the extent
and dynamics of VF for the respective periods. The monitoring of the geometry
of the glaciers in the Rofental was accompanied by ice drilling experiments
to reconstruct the glacier bed and dynamics (Blümcke and Hess, 1899), and
first glacier flow theories were developed (Finsterwalder, 1897; Hess, 1904).
With the foundation of the “International Commission for Snow and Ice”
(ICSI) (as “International Glacier Commission” in Zürich 1894, renamed
in 1948) the observation of glaciers became systemized and internationally
coordinated, and the continuous observations of meteorological and
hydrological variables began: the first totalizing rain gauge in the Rofental
was installed in the village of Vent (1900 m a.s.l.) in 1905, followed by
continuous measurements further up in the valley since 1952. The “Combined
Water, Ice and Heat Balance Project in the Rofental” became an official
initiative of the UNESCO International Hydrological Decade (IHD, 1964–1974)
(Hoinkes et al., 1974). Later, it was continued as part of the UNESCO
International Hydrological Program (IHP)
(http://en.unesco.org/themes/water-security/hydrology). Ablation stakes
and pits for mass balance monitoring have been continuously maintained at HEF
and Kesselwandferner (KWF) (since 1952), at VF (since 1965), and for short
discontinuous periods at HJF. As of 2017, the glacier mass balance time
series of HEF, VF and KWF are among the longest uninterrupted series
worldwide (Fischer et al., 2015;
Mayer et al., 2013a), and several automatic weather stations (AWSs) as well as
runoff gauges at VF and in the village of Vent are in continuous operation.
These are complemented by a network of historical rain gauges (totalizators)
and modern precipitation gauges.
(a) The 1889 map of Vernagtferner showing the entire
glacier in large scale: “Der Vernagtferner im Jahre 1889 1 : 10 000”
(Finsterwalder, 1897). (b) “Der Hintereisferner im Jahre 1894”
(Blümcke and Hess, 1899).
The comprehensive pool of long-term observations available for the Rofental
provides the basis for (i) manifold process studies on energy balance, ice
dynamics, glacier hydrology and hydraulics (e.g., Kuhn et al., 1985a, b;
Kuhn, 1987), (ii) new ground-based and remote sensing monitoring methods
(Escher-Vetter and Siebers, 2013; Juen et al., 2013; Helfricht et al.,
2014a), (iii) model development and application in glaciological and regional
hydrological research (Kaser et al., 2010; Escher-Vetter and Oerter, 2013;
Schöber et al., 2014, 2016; Hanzer et al., 2016; Schmieder et al., 2016,
2018), (iv) the evaluation of potential future glacier evolution and changes
of the hydrological regime in a changing climate (Weber et al., 2009; Marke
et al., 2013; Marzeion and Kaser, 2014; Weber and Prasch, 2015a, b; Hanzer et
al., 2017), (v) attributing observed glacier changes to different drivers
(Painter et al., 2013; Marzeion et al., 2014a, b) and, finally, (vi) as
calibration and validation
site for estimating the contribution of glaciers to global sea level rise
(Marzeion et al., 2012a, b; Marzeion and Levermann, 2014). For VF, a
comprehensive collection of 50 years of significant scientific work of the
Commission of Glaciology of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
has been edited by Braun and Escher-Vetter (2013). Historical elevation and
area changes of HEF, KWF and VF are documented in the Austrian glacier
inventories, available for 1969, 1997 and 2006 (Abermann et al., 2009):
Between 1969 and 1997, the glacier area in the Rofental decreased from 42.9
to 37.7 km2, corresponding to 12 % (Kuhn et al., 2006); recently,
the retreat of the glaciers has accelerated. The key glaciological results
for HEF, KWF and VF are reported annually to the World Glacier Monitoring
Service (WGMS, http://wgms.ch). The state of HEF and KWF in 2014 is
shown in Fig. 3.
State of Hintereisferner (HEF), Kesselwandferner (KWF) and Guslarferner (GF) on
28 September 2014. Aerial photo by Christoph Mayer, view to the south.
In addition to monitoring glacier mass balance with glaciological, geodetical
and hydrological methods as well as the long-term recordings of respective
variables, the Rofental has been an open laboratory for the development of
new methodologies. For example, a series of airborne lidar-derived high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) of HEF and its surroundings has been
processed spanning 2001–2011 (Geist and Stötter, 2002; Helfricht et al.,
2014b; Klug et al., 2017). They are subject to ongoing evaluations and method
comparison studies as well as the monitoring and study of periglacial
morphodynamics (Sailer et al., 2012, 2014). Since 2016, a permanent
terrestrial laser scanning station is operating at Im hintern Eis
(3244 m a.s.l.), allowing for high-resolution, on-demand monitoring of
almost the entire surface area of HEF.
All available data for the Rofenal area are placed on a PANGAEA repository
(https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876120).
Recordings of devices which still (as of fall 2017) undergo a test and
development phase will be continuously made available in PANGAEA. These data
will also be documented as continuation of this publication by means of the
ESSD “living data process”. The data collection that is already accessible
comprises (i) image files, e.g., glacier topography maps, photographs or
animations, and diagrams; (ii) raster grids, e.g., spatial data derived from
laser scanning, as tab-delimited text files; (iii) time series of point
observations, e.g., meteorological and hydrological recordings, as well as
calculated results for points or areas such as mass balances, as
tab-delimited text files; and (iv) the glacier inventories in ArcGIS shape
file format. All data are comprised with the period of coverage, and the
exact coordinates of the locations (in latitudes and longitudes). Areas are
defined by latitudes and longitudes of their bounds. The data described in
the present publication have been collected by several institutions
operationally measuring cryospheric, atmospheric and hydrological variables
along with their changes in the framework of their monitoring programs in the
Rofental in the Ötztal Alps, Austria. The institutions involved are the
University of Innsbruck with the Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric
Sciences (formerly Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics,
http://acinn.uibk.ac.at), the Department of Geography
(http://uibk.ac.at/geographie), the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and
Humanities in Munich (geo.badw.de) and the Hydrographic Service of Tyrol in
Innsbruck (http://tirol.gv.at/umwelt/wasser/wasserkreislauf) which is a
section of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and
Water Management (BMLFUW, http://bmlfuw.gv.at).
In this paper, we document the available data from the Rofental area. It is
structured in (i) glaciological data, i.e., recordings of glacier volume and
geometry changes for HEF, KWF, VF and HJF; (ii) meteorological data as
recorded by temporally installed or permanent AWSs; (iii) hydrological data
characterizing the water balance of the respective glaciated (sub)
catchment; and (iv) airborne and terrestrial laser scanning data. The link to
the respective PANGAEA repository parent is 10.1594/PANGAEA.876120.
This parent comprises all DOI links to download the data described.
Nevertheless, the respective direct DOI links are explicitly referred to here
as well.
The selection of data, documented here and available for download from PANGAEA, is only a
portion of all the observations that have been collected. Countless
documents, photographs, tables and analogue measuring tapes await
digitization, and many older digital data still have to be processed and
correctly documented. According to the purpose of the INARCH special issue to
which this paper belongs we have concentrated our efforts on providing (i) a
mostly complete picture of the water balance components of the Rofental –
the mass balances of the observed glaciers being an important highlight of
these – and (ii) the meteorological data to force a typical hydrological
catchment model. Particular attention is paid to the glaciological,
meteorological and hydrological processes in the complex Alpine topography
and their spatiotemporal variations in the valley.
The Rofenache (98.1 km2) and Vernagtbach (11.44 km2)
catchments with permanent meteorological stations and the runoff gauges.
Background satellite image of the top left inset from maps.google.com,
copyrights by Google (2009) and TerraMetrics (2017).
Annual precipitation sums (blue bars) and mean annual temperatures
(orange line) 1935–2016 for the valley station “Vent” (1900 m a.s.l.).
Data from PANGAEA (1935–2011: https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.806582
and 2012–2016: https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876595).
Available data time series for the Rofental in PANGAEA, structured
in glaciological data, meteorological data, hydrological data and laser
scanning data. LIA = little ice age.
The Rofental – site description
The Rofental (98.1 km2, Fig. 4) is a glaciated headwater catchment in
the central eastern Alps, namely in the upper Ötztal Alps (Tyrol,
Austria): as of 2008 approximately one-third of its area is ice-covered
(Müller et al., 2009). The valley floor is a narrow discontinuous
riparian zone typically less than 100 m in width. The Rofental stretches
from 1891 m a.s.l. at the gauge at Vent, the lowest point of the catchment,
to 3772 m a.s.l. at the summit of Wildspitze, the highest summit of Tyrol.
The average slope is 25∘ and the average elevation is
2930 m a.s.l.. The Rofenache is a tributary to the Venter Ache,
Ötztaler Ache and the Inn and as such contributes to the Danube system
(i.e., the Black Sea). The river gauge at Vent (1891 m a.s.l.,
46.85694∘ N, 10.82361∘ E) has been operated continuously
from the Hydrographic Service of Tyrol since 1967. The characteristic water
discharges (m3 s-1, 1971–2013) are NQ = 0.09 (lowest
discharge), MQ = 4.6 (mean discharge) and HQ = 109 (highest
discharge); further characteristic data are published as annual review in the
“Hydrographisches Jahrbuch von Österreich” (e.g., BMLFUW, 2011;
available at: http://bmlfuw.gv.at, data-download at ehyd.gv.at). The
runoff regime of the Rofenache has not been modified by any measures of
hydropower generation and is dominated by the melt of snow and ice during
spring and summer, respectively. The early melt-season onset is typically in
April. The gauge at Vernagtbach (2635 m a.s.l.) has been operationally
maintained by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities since 1973 and
is the highest streamflow recording site in Austria with measurements also
documented at http://ehyd.gv.at (see above) since 2003. The Vernagtbach
catchment stretches from 2635 m a.s.l. at the gauge to 3635 m a.s.l. at
the summit of Hinterer Brochkogel. According to the glacier inventory of 2006
(10.1594/PANGAEA.844985), the ice coverage of the Vernagtbach at that
time was 71 %. The current rapid decrease of the glaciated area in the
Rofental is documented in the WGMS database (http://wgms.ch).
The climate of the Rofental is characterized as an inner Alpine dry type
(Fig. 5). The mean annual temperature at the station in Vent
(1900 m a.s.l., 46.85833∘ N, 10.91250∘ E) is
2.5 ∘C, and total annual precipitation varies between 797 mm in
Vent (1982–2003, Kuhn et al., 2006) and > 1500 mm in the higher
altitudes around 3000 m a.s.l., confirmed by the recordings at the various
totalisators (see Sect. 3.2.3, Table 4). In these higher regions, seasonal
snow cover lasts from October until the end of June. Figure 5 shows
temperatures and precipitation of the station at Vent at 1900 m a.s.l. for
the period 1969–2006.
The geological bedrock in the Rofental area mainly consists of
biotite-plagioclase, biotite and muscovite gneisses, variable mica schists, and gneissic schists of the Austroalpine Ötztal nappe (Kreuss, 2012;
Moser, 2012). Subordinate lithologies are quartzites and graphite schists.
Granitic gneisses, amphibolites and diabase occur as layers ranging from a few meters to a few hundred meters thick within the metasedimentary sequence. Land cover in the
Rofental is dominated by mountain pastures and coniferous forests in the
lower areas, but these only cover little of the area (source: “Land Tirol”,
http://data.tirol.gv.at). Permafrost is likely to occur at north-facing
slopes at higher altitudes (Klug et al., 2016).
Annual mass balances for Hintereisferner (a),
Vernagtferner (b), Kesselwandferner (c) and
Hochjochferner (d) after the glaciological method using stake
readings and snow pit data. From WGMS (http://wgms.ch,
https://doi.org/10.5904/wgms-fog-2017-06).
Infrastructure in the valley is very good for monitoring instrumentation and
fieldwork. A research station at HEF (built in 1966 in 3026 m a.s.l.) and
one at Vernagtbach (built in 1973 in 2637 m a.s.l.) serve as logistic bases
for fieldwork on the two glaciers. Several mountain huts are located in the
Rofental, namely the “Vernagthütte/Würzburger Haus”
(2755 m a.s.l.), the “Hochjoch-Hospiz” (2413 m a.s.l.), the
“Brandenburger Haus” (3277 m a.s.l.) and close by the Austrian–Italian
borderline at the Hochjoch the “Schöne Aussicht” (also known as “Bella
Vista”, 2845 m a.s.l.), within the Schnalstal glacier ski resort
(http://schnalstal.com/en/glacier). The “Rofenhöfe”
(2014 m a.s.l.), the highest permanently settled mountain farm in Austria,
is well situated as base camp in the lower valley floor.
The data
In the following chapter the Rofental data are presented in the chronological
order in which it has been recorded (Fig. 6). First, we describe the long
time series of glaciological data (Sect. 3.1). HEF and KWF are monitored by
the University of Innsbruck (Austria), whereas VF is monitored by the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (Munich, Germany). Next, we
describe the meteorological data, again structured by location, i.e., in the
order HEF and KWF, VF, and then the valley area (Sect. 3.2). Following that,
we describe the hydrological data, firstly in the HEF and KWF catchments,
then the VF catchment, and finally, the Rofental as a whole (Sect. 3.3). In
the last section (Sect. 3.4), the airborne and terrestrial laser scanning
data, which serves glaciological, geomorphological and wider modeling
purposes, is described.
Glaciological data
All glaciers in the Rofental are included in the three Austrian glacier
inventories carried out in 1969, 1998 and 2006
(http://glaziologie.at/gletscherinventar.html) and also in the
inventory of reconstructed glaciers at the time of the LIA (Kuhn et al.,
1999, 2009, 2012; Lambrecht and Kuhn, 2007; Fischer et al., 2015), allowing
detailed studies of the deglaciation in the catchments. The parent directory
on PANGAEA for the Austrian glacier inventory is 10.5194/tc-9-753-2015,
including the LIA maximum (10.1594/PANGAEA.844987), and the years 1969
(10.1594/PANGAEA.844983), 1998 (10.1594/PANGAEA.844984) and 2006
(10.1594/PANGAEA.844985). Annual reports of the variations of HEF (ID
491, since 1952), KWF (ID 507, since 1966), VF (ID 489, since 1965) and HJF
(ID 492, 1991–1995) are provided to the World Glacier Monitoring Service
(WGMS; http://wgms.ch) (Fig. 7).
Hintereisferner and Kesselwandferner
Changes in the areas of HEF and KWF have been documented on the basis of
maps, aerial photos, and more recently satellite and airborne derived digital
elevation models (DEMs) since the early 19th century (Lambrecht and Kuhn,
2007; see also the introduction). The traditional glaciological method of
determining glacier-wide mass balance involves spatial extrapolation of local
measurements of ablation and accumulation to provide values of the climatic
mass balance, encompassing changes at the glacier surface and in the near
subsurface (Cogley et al., 2011). Uncertainties in the methods are discussed
in Zemp et al. (2013). Since 1952, a network of measurement stakes and pits
was continuously maintained at HEF to directly measure the mass balance of
the glacier (Hoinkes, 1970). Summer and winter mass balances have been
measured separately. Interpretation of the surface mass changes of HEF is
supported by the availability of daily images from an automatic camera which
views the upper part of the glacier to below the ELA, providing useful
information on the distribution of snow cover and the pattern of snow melt
over the glacier surface. From 1952–2013 the mass balance of KWF has also
been recorded, but with a much smaller number of observations and the
assumption that the spatial distribution of the mass balance is analogous to
the one of the adjacent HEF. Since summer 2013 a full network of observations
is also undertaken and maintained at KWF. The mass balance values of HEF and
KWF are available at WGMS (ID 491 and 507, since 1952 and 1966; see Fig. 7)
and are also archived in the PANGAEA database (10.1594/PANGAEA.803830,
10.1594/PANGAEA.803829, 10.1594/PANGAEA.818898 and
0.1594/PANGAEA.818757).
Geodetic determinations of glacier mass balance involve determining the
volume change of the whole glacier body, encompassing englacial and basal
volume changes. The volume change must then be converted into a mass change
which is complicated in the case of a rapidly changing glacier whose surface
type can change significantly over the monitoring interval. Apart from the
geodetic mass balances on the basis of the glacier inventories, airborne
laser scanning images are available for HEF since 2001 (see Sect. 3.4). From
these, a time series of geodetic mass balances was derived for 2001–2002 to
2010–2011 (Fig. 8). This method allows for pixel-by-pixel correction of
method-inherent discrepancies in the classical glaciological method (Klug et
al., 2017).
Available geodetic mass balances bgeod±σ
[m w.e.] for Hintereisferner from 2001–2011 and the cumulated balance
2001–2011 (bgeod cumulated) as derived from airborne laser
scanning measurements (Klug et al., 2017; see also Sect. 3.4).
Vernagtferner
Glaciological mass balance measurements for VF have been available since 1965
(Mayer et al., 2013a). Since the beginning, annual and winter balance was
measured separately in order to discriminate ice melt and snow accumulation.
The mass balance values are available at WGMS (ID 489, since 1965; see
Fig. 7) and are also archived in the PANGAEA database
(10.1594/PANGAEA.853832). The measurements are based on stake readings
and snow pits for the annual balance, and snow depth probing and snow pits
for the winter balance. The point data are then interpolated on the
temporally closest map of the glacier. A summary of the mass balance series
for VF is given in Fig. 9. Additional characteristics of the Vernagtferner
mass balance for the period 1964–2014 are available at
10.1594/PANGAEA.854639.
Graphical summary of the seasonal and annual mass balances of
Vernagtferner from 1965 until 2014. The vertical bars represent seasonal
values and the black line annual values.
In 1976, an automatic analogue camera has been installed on
“Schwarzkögele” (3075 m a.s.l., 46.86575∘ N,
10.83245∘ E), capturing one picture of VF and its surrounding per
day during the ablation period. Since 2010, three digital pictures per day
are produced throughout the year (Weber, 2013). A time series of maps is
available for VF since 1889, derived from terrestrial and aerial
photogrammetry, aerial laser scanning and optical line scanner images; these
maps are used to determine area and volume changes of the glacier for longer
periods (Table 1 and Mayer et al., 2013b).
Available maps of Vernagtferner.
YearTypeArea (km2)Volume change (km3)DOI1889Terrestrial photogrammetry11 54910.1594/PANGAEA.8348731912Terrestrial photogrammetry11 509-2.13710.1594/PANGAEA.8348731938Terrestrial photogrammetry10 410-4.38210.1594/PANGAEA.8348731954–9474-4.543*1969Aerial photogrammetry94660.63410.1594/PANGAEA.8348731979Aerial photogrammetry93971.84010.1594/PANGAEA.7713011990Aerial photogrammetry8982-4.931*1999Aerial photogrammetry8680-7.888*2003Aerial photogrammetry8430-3.355*2006Optical line scanner8173-8.970*2009Optical line scanner7748-8.403*
* Data set will be uploaded to PANGAEA as soon as it is processed,
quality checked and documented.
Meteorological data
Due to its complex topography, the Rofental is characterized by steep
environmental gradients and large spatiotemporal variations of meteorological
conditions. An ongoing effort has been undertaken to supplement data
available from the lower regions with additional AWS installations in the
higher elevations. As of 2017, the Rofental offers a comprehensive pool of
valuable observations and model forcing data for mountain catchment hydrology
research (Fig. 4; see also the introduction in Sect. 1).
For all stations, the height of the sensors above ground is at least 1.5 m;
in winter, the distance between the snow surface and the sensors can become
much smaller, and in extreme snow-rich periods the instruments even can
become completely snow-covered. Such periods can be recognized in the data
by typical recordings of zero wind speed and increasing dampening of the
other meteorological variables.
Hintereisferner and Kesselwandferner
The first meteorological observations at HEF and its surrounding began in 1968 and
are documented in Kuhn et al. (1979). Short term projects, dedicated to
measuring the surface mass balance of snow and ice on the glacier involved
temporary installations of AWSs on the glacier (e.g., Siogas, 1977a; Harding
et al., 1989; Obleitner, 1994). Since 2010, automatic meteorological
measurements have been carried out at station “Hintereisferner”
(3026 m a.s.l., 46.79867∘ N, 10.76042∘ E) (Fig. 10). The
installation as of 2017 is detailed in Table 2.
Since 2014 an AWS has been seasonally operated on the glacier terminus,
providing the meteorological data for surface energy balance assessments of
the ice surface, complemented by surface height change observations with a
sonic ranger.
From summer 2017, the permanent meteorological measurements at
Hintereisferner will be complemented by recordings of the sensors on a
6 m high tower that has been equipped for detailed turbulent flux
measurements (see Sect. 3.2.3). This new station is situated close to the
permanent terrestrial laser scanner on Im hintern Eis (3244 m a.s.l.,
46.79586∘ N, 10.78277∘ E; see Sect. 3.4.2).
For KWF, only the meteorological observations on the glacier from 1958 by
Ambach and Hoinkes (1963) are documented.
The Hintereisferner AWS and research station in June 2013
(3026 m a.s.l., 46.79867∘ N, 10.76042∘ E), view to the
northeast. Photo by Christian Wild.
Weather and snow variables recorded by the sensors installed at the
station Hintereisferner (3026 m a.s.l., 46.79867∘ N,
10.76042∘ E) in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Accuracy according to technical
data sheets of the manufacturers. Original temporal resolution of the data
records is 10 min.
VariableSensorPeriod of operationAccuracyUnitAir temperatureVaisala HMP45ACSince October 2010–present±0.13 ∘C∘CRelative humidityVaisala HMP45ACSince October 2010–present±2 % RH for 0–90 % RH,%±3 % RH for 90–100 % RHWind speed and directionYoung Wind MonitorSince October 2010–present0.5–1 m s-1; ±3∘m s-1 and ∘Shortwave and longwaveKipp & Zonen CNR 4Since October 2010–present±10 % (outgoing)W m-2radiative fluxes< 10 % (incoming)Atmospheric pressureSetra CS 100Since October 2010–present±0.1 hPahPaSoil and snow temperatureBetaTherm 100K6ASince October 2010–present±0.3 ∘C∘CSnow depthCampbell SR50ASince October 2010–present1 cm (or 0.4 % of distance)cm
Data 2010: 10.1594/PANGAEA.809091; 2011:
10.1594/PANGAEA.809094; 2012: 10.1594/PANGAEA.809095.
Vernagtferner
After the start of the glacier monitoring program by the Bavarian Academy of
Sciences and Humanities, meteorological observations were initiated at the
glacier forefield with the installation of a precipitation gauge in 1970.
With the completion of the gauging station “Vernagtbach” (2635 m a.s.l.,
46.85675∘ N, 10.82886∘ E; see Sect. 3.3.2), additional
meteorological parameters have been observed since 1974 at the Vernagtbach
climate station close by (2640 m a.s.l., 46.85663∘ N,
10.82857∘ E) (10.1594/PANGAEA.775113). In 1975 hourly
measurements of air temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, wind speed
and direction were started. The same instruments were installed at the
station “Gletschermitte” (3078 m a.s.l.), situated on a rock outcrop in
the western part of the glacier at 46.86894∘ N,
10.80299∘ E, where hourly meteorological observations were collected
during the summer months from 1968 until 1987 (with a varying beginning and
end from year to year). The observed parameters were air temperature,
relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and precipitation
(10.1594/PANGAEA.832562). Radiation sensors were installed at
Vernagtbach in 1976. However, especially during winter, data gaps frequently
occurred. The situation was considerably improved by installation of a first
digital data logger in 1984. Since then, all-year data records are available
from the Vernagtbach station (Escher-Vetter and Siebers, 2013). The
meteorological observations were revised in 2002 with the installation of a
modern AWS (Fig. 11), and since then all data are automatically transferred
to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities via GSM and a satellite network. In August
2010, the Hydrographic Service of Tyrol extended the installation with a
separate temperature sensor and an unheated Pluvio 2 pluviometer
(2630 m a.s.l., 46.85667∘ N, 10.82861∘ E). Details about
the most recent sensor configurations are given in Table 3.
The Vernagtbach AWS in July 2017 (2640 m a.s.l.,
46.85663∘ N, 10.82857∘ E), view to the southeast. Photo by
Ludwig Braun.
Sensors and sampling intervals of the AWS Vernagtbach
(2640 m a.s.l., 46.85663∘ N, 10.82857∘ E)*.
VariableSensorPeriod of operationIntervalUnitAir temperature (ventilated)Thies PT-100Since 20025 s 10 min-1∘CAir temperature (unventilated)PT-100Since 20025 s 10 min-1∘CRelative humidityThies hair hygrometerSince 200220 s 10 min-1%Wind speedThies cup anemometerSince 20025 s 10 min-1m s-1Wind directionThies wind vaneSince 20025 s 10 min-1∘Shortwave downward radiationKipp & Zonen CM7B unventilatedSince 20025 s 10 min-1W m-2Shortwave upward radiationKipp & Zonen CM7B unventilatedSince 20025 s 10 min-1W m-2Longwave downward radiationSchenk Pyradiometer 8111 unventilatedSince 2002 (summer only)5 s 10 min-1W m-2Longwave upward radiationSchenk Pyradiometer 8111 unventilatedSince 2002 (summer only)5 s 10 min-1W m-2Precipitation sumBelfort weighing gaugeSince 20025 s 10 min-1mmPrecipitation differenceGertsch tipping bucket, unheatedSince 2002Sum in 10 minmmAir pressureDruck RPT 410Since 200220 s 10 min-1hPaSnow depthCampbell SR50Since 2002120 s 10 min-1mm
* Further technical details can be found in Escher-Vetter
and Siebers (2012). The additional temperature and rainfall recordings of the
Hydrographic Service of Tyrol have been separately available since August 2010,
visualized online at
http://apps.tirol.gv.at/hydro/#/Niederschlag/?station=197075; data upon
request.
On “Schwarzkögele” (3075 m a.s.l., 46.86575∘ N,
10.83245∘ E), a summit in the vicinity of VF, an autonomous climate
station has been in operation since 1976 (Braun et al., 2013). Data recorded there
comprise air temperature, relative humidity, global radiation, wind speed
and direction as well as precipitation. After digitization these measurements
will be made available in PANGAEA. Experiments and special investigations in
the catchment of VF are listed in Escher-Vetter and Siebers (2013); since
2003, the meteorological observations have been extended to the ice surface
of the glacier itself. Whereas in the first years these data have gaps
(mainly in winter), they are mostly continuous since 2011.
Rofental apart from the glaciers
In the Rofental several totalizing rain gauges have are used to collect
precipitation data, the first of which was installed in 1905 (see Fig. 6).
The totalizing rain gauges are operated by the Department of Atmospheric and
Cryospheric Sciences of the University of Innsbruck with financial support by
the Hydrographic Service of Tyrol. These totalizing rain gauges provide a
valuable picture of the historical evolution and temporal variability of
precipitation, and they support the development of precipitation fields
derived from interpolation of the recordings (Hoinkes and Steinacker, 1975),
which is particularly important for distributed modeling exercises.
Evaporation and freezing of the devices is inhibited by annual additions of
oil and salt to the gauge reservoir. Readings of totals are undertaken every
2 months in summer with a 4-month break in winter. These totals are then
redistributed to monthly values using the recordings of the weighing rain
gauge in Vent. Altitude, geographical location and the period of operation of
these totalizing rain gauges are given in Table 4.
Meteorological observations have been made in close proximity to the village
of Vent since 1934 (Lauffer, 1966; Siogas, 1977b). This long-term station
provides a valuable reference for shorter series of meteorological
observations and also the lower boundary conditions on the likely variation
of meteorological variables with elevation across the catchment. Data are
available for 1935–2011 at 10.1594/PANGAEA.806582, and for 2012–2016
at 10.1594/PANGAEA.876595. In September 2015 the weather station
installation was updated and the position changed by a horizontal
displacement of 102 m (new position: 1907 m a.s.l., 46.85745∘ N,
10.91288∘ E). The recordings of this station comprise the
meteorological variables air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and
direction (since February 2016), and atmospheric pressure (since September
2016; same instruments and specifications as for station Hintereisferner,
Table 2). Precipitation is recorded with a heated Ott Pluvio 2 in millimeters
per hour with an accuracy of
0.1 mm h-1.
In the uppermost parts of the Hochjoch valley, two AWSs have been more
recently brought into operation: “Latschbloder” (2919 m a.s.l.,
46.80106∘ N, 10.80659∘ E), installed in September 2013, and
Bella Vista (2805 m a.s.l., 46.78284∘ N, 10.79138∘ E), installed in
June 2015. The data of these two fully automatic stations complement the
spatial picture of the meteorological variables in the upper zones of the
Rofental. Both stations collect 10 min values of temperature, precipitation
(unheated, but also recording by the type of precipitation), wind (mean and
maximum speed and direction), relative humidity, radiative fluxes (incoming
and outgoing short- and longwave) and air pressure (Table 5). The
Latschbloder station is about 25 m from the totalizing rain gauge at the
same site (see Table 4). Three continuous years of consistent records are
available for 2014, 2015 and 2016 (mean annual temperature -1.3, -1.5 and
-2.2∘C (WXT520), and annual precipitation: 1590, 1311 and
1118 mm (Pluvio 2 unheated)).
The weather station at Bella Vista includes a heated Ott Pluvio 2, supplied with main power from the
“Schöne Aussicht-Hütte” approximately 90 m away. This site also
includes fuller snow instrumentation (Table 6) to measure: snow water
equivalent (by means of a snow pillow), snow depth (by means of an ultrasonic
ranger) and snow temperature profile (by means of a series of temperature
sensors at different height levels). These snow sensors are still undergoing
technical examination and development, and as yet no check for consistency
has been undertaken (e.g., by using the data as input in a snow model as in
Morin et al., 2012). In 2016, mean annual temperature at the station was
-0.4∘C, and annual precipitation was 1605 mm. The Bella Vista weather and snow
monitoring station is one of the highest of its kind in the Alps. During
summer 2017 an automatic camera that has the station in its field of view has
been installed (Fig. 12).
Webcam picture of the Bella Vista weather station (2805 m a.s.l.,
46.78284∘ N, 10.79138∘ E), view to the East. Left: Ott
Pluvio 2 with wind shelter. Center: temperature profiler. Right: snow pillow
(foreground) and mast with sensors (background) for wind speed and direction,
snow height, temperature/humidity and radiative fluxes. The most recent
picture is available at http://alpinehydroclimatology.net.
Climate and snow variables recorded by the sensors installed at the
station Latschbloder (2919 m a.s.l., 46.80106∘ N,
10.80659∘ E). Accuracy according to technical data sheets of the
manufacturers. Original temporal resolution of the data records is 10 min.
VariableSensorPeriod of operationResolution and accuracyUnitAir temperatureVaisala WXT520Since September 20130.1 ∘C ± 0.3 ∘C∘CRelative humidityVaisala WXT520Since September 20130.1 % ± 3 % RH for 0–90 % RH,%0.1 % ± 5 % RH for 90–100 % RHWind speed andVaisala WXT520Since September 20130.1 m s-1± 3 % (speed)m s-1direction1∘± 3 % for 10 m s-1 (direction)and ∘Radiative fluxesKipp & Zonen CNR 4Since September 201310–20 W m-2 (incoming)W m-2(short- and longwave)5–15 W m-2 (outgoing)PrecipitationVaisala WXT520Since September 20130.01 mm h-1± 5 %*mmFriedmann tipping bucketSeptember 2013 to June 2014(not yet known)Ott Pluvio 2 v. 200Since July 20140.01 mm h-1± 1 %with wind shelterAtmospheric pressureVaisala WXT520Since September 20130.1 hPa ± 0.5 hPa for 0–30 ∘ChPa0.1 hPa ± 1.0 hPa for -52–60 ∘C
* for hailstorm: 0.1 hit cm-2. The Vaisala WXT520
records rain and hail as well as their durations and intensities, but cannot
recognize snowfall. Data 2013: 10.1594/PANGAEA.879215; 2014:
10.1594/PANGAEA.879216; 2015: 10.1594/PANGAEA.879217; 2016:
10.1594/PANGAEA.879218; 2017: 10.1594/PANGAEA.879219.
Weather and snow variables recorded by the sensors installed at the
station Bella Vista
(2805 m a.s.l., 46.78284∘ N, 10.79138∘ E). Accuracy
according to technical data sheets of the manufacturers. Original temporal
resolution of the data records is 10 min.
VariableSensorPeriod of operationResolution and accuracyUnitAir temperatureE+E EE08Since July, 2015< 0.5 ∘C1∘CVaisala WXT5200.1 ∘C ± 0.3 ∘CRelative humidityE+E EE08Since July, 2015±2 % RH for 0–90 % RH,%Vaisala WXT520±3 % RH for 90–100 % RH0.1 % ± 3 % RH for 0–90 % RH,0.1 % ± 5 % RH for 90–100 % RHWind speed and directionVaisala WXT520Since July 20150.1 m s-1± 3 % (speed)m s-1 and ∘Kroneis 2621∘± 3 % for 10 m s-1 (direction)Radiative fluxesKipp & Zonen CNR 4Since July 201510–20 W m-2 (incoming)W m-25–15 W m-2 (outgoing)PrecipitationVaisala WXT520Since July 20150.01 mm h-1± 5 %2mmOtt Pluvio 2 v. 200Since July, 20150.01 mm h-1± 1 %with wind shelterAtmospheric pressureVaisala WXT520Since July, 20150.1 hPa ± 0.5 hPa for 0–30 ∘ChPa0.1 hPa ± 1.0 hPa for -52–60 ∘CSnow water equivalentSommer snow pillow 3 × 3(still experimental)3(still experimental)mmSnow depthSommer USH-8(still experimental)31 mm ± 0.1 %mmSnow temperaturePilz temperature profiler(still experimental)3(still experimental)∘C
1 depending on air temperature; see technical data sheet of
the manufacturer. 2 for hailstorm: 0.1 hit cm-2. The Vaisala
WXT520 records rain and hail as well as their durations and intensities, but
cannot recognize snowfall. 3 data not yet downloadable from PANGAEA.
Data 2015: 10.1594/PANGAEA.879210; 2016: 10.1594/PANGAEA.879211;
2017: 10.1594/PANGAEA.879212.
In summer 2017, a 6 m high tower close to the permanent terrestrial laser
scanner on Im hintern Eis (3244 m a.s.l., 46.79586∘ N,
10.78277∘ E; see Sect. 3.4.2) was equipped for detailed turbulent
flux measurements with the following sensors: three Lufft Ventus 2-D Sonic wind
sensors at 1.5, 3 and 6 m altitude; two ventilated Rotronic HC2-S3
temperature–humidity sensors at 3 and 6 m altitude; a Campbell SR50 AH
heated ultrasonic snow depth sensor in 1.5 m altitude; a Campbell Krypton
hygrometer at 3 m altitude (only for specific campaigns); a Kipp & Zonen
CNR4 net radiometer at 1.5 m altitude; a Metek USA-1 3-D sonic turbulence
sensor at 3 m altitude; and a Setra 278 barometric pressure sensor in the
logger box. The data of these sensors will be made available in PANGAEA as
soon as first tests have proven the installation to be reliable, and a time
series of at least a year of data is available.
Three additional AWSs are located south of the Rofental, in the Italian
Schnalstal: “Teufelsegg” (3035 m a.s.l., 46.7847∘ N,
10.7647∘ E) close to the accumulation area of HEF, “Grawand”
(3220 m a.s.l., 46.7703∘ N, 10.7966∘ E) in the Schnalstal
glacier ski resort and “Vernagt” (1950 m a.s.l., 46.7357∘ N,
10.8493∘ E) close to the village and the lake with the same name.
These stations are maintained by the Hydrographic Office of the Civil
Protection Agency of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol. Their
data are available at
http://daten.buergernetz.bz.it/de/dataset/misure-meteo-e-idrografiche.
Hydrological dataHintereisferner and Kesselwandferner catchment
During the International Geophysical years 1957 to 1959 a gauging station was
in operation at “Steg Hospiz” (2287 m a.s.l.), registering the combined
streamflow from HEF and KWF (Lang, 1966). The measurements of this campaign
are described here as an example for the many short- and longer-term
monitoring activities carried out in the Rofental. The Steg Hospiz catchment
is 26.6 km2 in size, with a fraction of 58 % being covered by the
glaciers at that time. Mean annual recorded streamflow for the catchment area
amounted to 1848 mm (1957–1958) and 1770 mm (1958–1959), respectively (millimeters are
equivalent to liters per square meter per year). Winter runoff (October through
March) only was 5 and 10 % of the annual amount, whereas the three summer
months (July through September) provided 76 and 72 %. Highest mean
monthly streamflow amounts were registered in August 1958 (575 mm) and July
1959 (559 mm). The frequency distribution of daily streamflow for 1957–1958
shows a period of daily low flows of less than 0.5 m3 s-1
(18.8 L s-1 km-2) for 217 days (October through May). Higher
daily streamflow > 6.0 m3 s-1 (225 L s-1 km-2)
only occurred during July and August. The observed maximum daily streamflow
was 16.9 m3 s-1. The glacier contribution, determined as the
fraction of (observed) negative mass balance to recorded streamflow, was
relatively high in this period: 24 and 20 % of annual streamflow,
respectively. The exponential decrease of the hydrograph in fall to the
minimum in spring suggests that the winter streamflow mainly originates as
delayed meltwater of the previous season from the glaciers. The increase in
the water flows after the beginning of the snow melt period occurs with a
certain time delay – due to the refreezing of meltwater, and its retention
in the snow cover (Lang, 1966).
As of 2017, neither HEF nor KWF are equipped with a permanently registering
discharge gauge; this is projected for future initiatives.
Vernagtferner catchment
The VF catchment is one of the very few glacierized catchments where
simultaneous measurements of glacier mass balance and discharge exist for
several decades since 1974 (Escher-Vetter and Reinwarth, 2013). Discharge is
measured at the gauge Vernagtbach (46.85675∘ N,
10.82886∘ E), which at 2635 m a.s.l. is the highest streamflow
gauge in Austria (Fig. 13). The water level is continuously monitored in the
gauge since 1974, and water-level-to-discharge calibrations are regularly
conducted by the salt injection method. The water level is simultaneously
determined by three sonic rangers distributed across the runoff channel in
order to detect the 2-D surface geometry of the water flow, and surface
velocity is monitored by a Doppler system. The total catchment area covers
11.44 km2, 7.3 km2 of which was glacierized in 2015 (63.8 %). The
vertical extent ranges from 2635 m a.s.l. at the gauge to 3635 m a.s.l.
at the summit of “Hinterer Brochkogel” (see also Fig. 4). The discharge
values are available as 5 min values for 2002 to 2012
(10.1594/PANGAEA.829530). Hourly hydrological records for the
Vernagtbach catchment are available for the period 1974 to 2001 at
10.1594/PANGAEA.775113. Monthly averages of discharge are available at
10.1594/PANGAEA.832432, and yearly values are available for the period
1974 to 2012 at 10.1594/PANGAEA.832429.
The Vernagtbach gauging station in 2006 (2635 m a.s.l.,
46.85675∘ N, 10.82886∘ E), view to the northwest. Photo by
Ludwig Braun.
The rainfall totalisator and the gauge at Vent (1891 m a.s.l.,
46.85722∘ N, 10.91083∘ E) (a; Photo: Hydrographic
Service of the Tyrol), and mean monthly streamflow of the Rofenache
1971–2009 (b). Data from the Hydrographisches Jahrbuch (BMLFUW
2011).
Rofental catchment
Streamflow in the Rofental catchment is recorded at the gauge
“Vent–Rofenache” (1891 m a.s.l., 46.85722∘ N,
10.91083∘ E, 98.1 km2) at the outlet of the catchment
(10.1594/PANGAEA.876119). Vent–Rofenache is one of the highest
operational observation sites of the Hydrographic Service of Tyrol, providing
a continuous time series of streamflow and sediment transport recordings
since 1967 and 1999, respectively. The regime is dominated by snow melt and
ice melt with a significant maximum in July and August (Fig. 14); the
glaciated area has decreased from 44 % (in 1969) to 38 % (in 2009;
Müller et al., 2009) and is expected to drop to almost zero during the
course of the 21st century, due to the rapidly changing climatic conditions
(Hanzer et al., 2017). The coexistence of the Vernagtbach gauge in the VF
head watershed allows for combined hydrological investigations. Episodical
recordings at smaller tributaries of the Rofenache were obtained during the
spring snow melt season in 2014 (Schmieder et al., 2016), and during the
glacier melt season in 2016 (Schmieder et al., 2018).
Laser scanning data
Laser scanning is an active remote sensing technique which uses a laser beam
to acquire 3-D point data, representing the surface and objects on that
surface in high spatial resolution. In addition to high accuracy and
resolution, additional information on the spectral properties intensity and
reflectance of the scanned surface in the wavelength of the specific scanner
is recorded. The DTMs derived from laser scanning measurements are becoming
increasingly important for glaciological and geomorphological studies. DTM
differencing is an important method for detection and quantification of
surface changes and mass budget calculations (Sailer et al., 2014; Klug et
al., 2017). Airborne laser scanning (ALS) and terrestrial laser scanning
(TLS) are the most common methods for lidar data collection (Telling et al.,
2017). The Rofental has been an intensive experimental site for both types of
laser scanning data processing and analysis.
Airborne laser scans
ALS is well-suited for remote mountain areas, because no external light
source is required and, due to overlapping flight strips, the entire surface
is captured, even in very steep terrain (Höfle and Rutzinger, 2011). The
vertical accuracy is in the order of 0.05 to 0.20 m, mainly dependent on the
slope angle (Beraldin et al., 2010; Bollmann et al., 2011). Low vertical
errors of 0.05 m were observed in the HEF catchment for areas with slope
angle < 40∘ by comparison of an ALS-derived DTM with dGNSS
(differential global navigation satellite system) measurements. For the areas
with slope angle > 40∘, an exponential increase of the vertical
error was observed (1.0 m for 80∘, Bollmann et al., 2011; Geist et
al., 2005; Sailer et al., 2012).
The HEF data set is built from 21 separate ALS acquisitions from 2001 to 2013,
covering an area of 32 km2, including HEF (approx. 6.8 km2 in
2011), KWF (approx. 3.8 km2 in 2011), “Langtaufererjochferner”
(approx. 1.1 km2 in 2011) and “Stationsferner” (approx. 0.3 km2
in 2011). DEMs of 1 × 1 m were generated by calculating the z value
(altitude) from the mean z value inside the respective grid cell by
excluding 5 % of the smallest and largest observations of the ALS points.
For the provision of the GeoTIFF (UTM32N) raster files the high-resolution
DEMs were resampled to DEMs with a cell size of 10 × 10 m, applying
bilinear interpolation. The resulting DEMs are available at
10.1594/PANGAEA.875889.
The available ALS measurements for HEF were used to study the volume changes
of the glacier complementary to direct glaciological surface mass balance
measurements. At least one scan was performed at the end of every glacier
mass balance year (end of September). From these, a time series of geodetic
mass balances was derived for 2001–2002 to 2010–2011 (see Fig. 8). In
2001–2002, 2002–2003, 2007–2008, 2008–2009 and 2010–2011 additional
project-based intermediate campaigns were carried out. An overview of the
data (UTM32N, WGS84) including the technical details is given in Table 7.
Klug et al. (2017) corrected the surface models as well as glacier mass
balance data by considering method-inherent uncertainties originating from
snow cover, survey dates and density assumptions to calculate corrected
annual geodetic mass balances. The most negative balance year is 2002–2003,
with a mean specific mass balance of -2.713± 0.20 m water
equivalent (w.e.). In the subsequent mass balance year 2003–2004, the smallest
mass loss is observed (mean specific mass balance
-0.654± 0.09 m w.e.). For the entire observation period (2001 to
2011) a mean mass balance of -1.3 m w.e. was calculated with the HEF ALS
data set (Klug et al., 2017).
With the same ALS data sets as described in Table 7, Helfricht et al. (2014b)
investigated the spatial snow distribution and its interannual persistence
for a partly glacierized mountain area including HEF and KWF
(∼ 36 km2).
Overview of the available HEF ALS data with flight date, used Optech
sensor, mean flight height above ground (m), maximum scanning angle
(∘), pulse repetition rate (Hz), across-track overlap (%), mean
point density (points m-2) and vertical accuracy (m). Data are
available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.875889.
MeanMaximumPulseMeanVerticalFlight dateOptechheight abovescanningrepetitionAcross-trackpoint densityaccuracySensorground (m)angle (∘)rate (Hz)overlap (%)(points m-2)(m)11 Oct 2001ALTM 12259002025 000241.10.119 Jan 2002ALTM 12259002025 000241.20.147 May 2002ALTM 12259002025 000241.20.1415 Jun 2002ALTM 12259002025 000241.30.148 Jul 2002ALTM 12259002025 000241.40.1519 Aug 2002ALTM 12259002025 000241.40.1018 Sep 2002ALTM 30339002033 000241.00.104 May 2003ALTM 205011502050 000400.80.1012 Aug 2003ALTM 205011502050 000400.80.1026 Sep 2003ALTM 12259002025 000241.00.065 Oct 2004ALTM 205010002050 000242.00.0712 Oct 2005ALTM 310010002270 00050–703.40.078 Oct 2006ALTM 310010002070 00037–752.00.0811 Oct 2007ALTM 310010002070 00037–753.40.069 Sep 2008ALTM 310010002070 00040-452.20.067 May 2009ALTM 3100––––––30 Sep 2009ALTM 310011002070 00031–662.70.058 Oct 2010ALTM Gemini10002570 000623.60.034 Oct 2011ALTM 310011002070 00025–752.90.0411 May 2012ALTM 310012002070 00031–662.80.063 Sep 2013ALTM Gemini12002070 00059–804.20.04Terrestrial laser scans – the permanent laser scanner on Im hintern Eis
The utility of TLS in performing high-resolution glacier observations was
tested for HJF from 2013–2015 when both glaciological and geodetic mass
balances were measured. Likewise, a Riegl VZ-6000 TLS was used to produce
surface models within 0.1 m of coincident high-accuracy ALS data for approx.
80 % of the surface of HJF. The TLS surface models are of higher spatial
resolution and surface details than the ALS. The TLS data were used – along
with coincident optical imagery from the onboard camera – to produce high-resolution surface classifications to map snow-cover extent, and to explore
the spatial patterns of the surface mass balance of HJF (Prantl et al.,
2017).
In 2016, a permanent TLS was installed in a climate controlled container at
3244 m a.s.l. close to the summit Im hintern Eis (46.79586∘ N,
10.78277∘ E). The 3-D laser scanner VZ-6000 (manufactured by RIEGL
Laser Measurement Systems GmbH) offers a long measurement range of more than
6000 m and operates with beam divergence of 0.12 mrad at a wavelength of
1050 nm, particularly suited for snow- and ice-related applications. The
device operates with an angular step width of 0.01∘ for a field of
view of 60∘ vertically and 120∘ horizontally and a laser
pulse repetition rate of 30 kHz, equivalent to an effective measurement rate
of 23 000 measurements s-1, leading to a point density of approx.
10 pts m-2 for a distance of 1000 m, and to approx. 1 to
2 pts m-2 for the remote areas at a distance of > 3500 m. Hence,
the instrument is ideal for static topographic applications such as
monitoring of glaciological and geomorphological processes in high mountain
terrain. Due to the large field of view, nearly the entire HEF catchment area
can be covered by the instrument (Fig. 15); only a very small part of the
terminus and small flat areas in the upper glacier zones cannot be sampled.
The TLS surface point cloud is accompanied by high-quality optical imagery
(5 megapixel). This installation not only allows high temporal and spatial
resolution glacier volume changes for HEF to be determined; in addition, the
high spatial resolution supports the monitoring of surface features such as
crevasses, evolving surface roughness, the supraglacial drainage network and geomorpho-dynamically induced surface changes (e.g., debris flows) or
snow avalanches. Seven scans have been carried out during the test phase
(September 2016 to April 2017).
The terrestrial laser scanner in its container housing at Im hintern Eis (3244 m a.s.l., 46.79586∘ N, 10.78277∘ E).
View to the west over the upper areas of Hintereisferner to the summit of
Weisskugel (3739 m a.s.l.) and Langtauferer Spitze (3529 m a.s.l.). Photo
by Rudolf Sailer.
The data sets presented here are available freely from
PANGAEA (10.1594/PANGAEA.876120). The data from the Rofental have been
widely used for process studies and all kinds of method and model development
activities. These data sets, however, represent only a small fraction of what
has been observed and collected during the past few decades. Many measurements
have been conducted during special field campaigns and are not yet documented
for online data publication. For example, hydrological investigations have
been conducted in the valley of the Hochjochbach, including streamflow
observations with pressure sensors and tracer experiments since 2014
(Schmieder et al., 2016, 2018). Other data await digitization and processing.
Originally published in analogue printwork, these data include 3 years of
hourly ice temperatures from HEF (Markl and Wagner, 1978), observations of
sublimation of ice and snow at HEF (Kaser, 1982, 1983), firn investigations
at KWF (Ambach et al., 1978), remote sensing experiments and many energy
balance investigations at HEF (Jaffé, 1958, 1960; Hoinkes and
Untersteiner, 1952; Hoinkes, 1953a, b; Ambach and Hoinkes, 1963; Wendler,
1967; Kuhn et al., 1979, Wagner, 1979, 1980), and many others. For VF, the
situation is similar; a comprehensive overview of the research work has been
published by Braun and Escher-Vetter (2013), including various descriptions
and documentations of the used data, methods and models. Older long-term
field experiments at VF are described in Moser et al. (1986). Runoff data of
the gauge “Vent” have been widely used in hydrological studies, the most
recent ones including Schmieder et al. (2016) and Hanzer et al. (2016, 2017).
On a regional scale, the Rofental data contributed to modeling exercises for
future scenario climatic conditions and their effect on simulated streamflow
discharge (Marke et al., 2011, 2013). The Hydrographic Service of Tyrol
visualizes its data online at apps.tirol.gv.at/hydro, and provides their
download at http://ehyd.gv.at. As of 2017, data of the sites
Latschbloder and Schöne Aussicht are used in several ongoing research
projects (listed at http://alpinehydroclimatology.net), and also
provide valuable experimental material for application in various student
courses.
Several initiatives are also ongoing at the international research network
level. Apart from its long history within UNESCO IHP
(http://en.unesco.org/themes/water-security/hydrology), the Rofental
recently became a research basin in the framework of the GEWEX INARCH project
(http://words.usask.ca/inarch). It is a research catchment of the ERB
Euro-Mediterranean Network of Experimental and Representative Basins
(http://erb-network.simdif.com), and a regular complex site in the
LTSER platform Tyrolean Alps (http://lter-austria.at/ta-tyrolean-alps),
which belongs to the national and international long term ecological research
network (LTER Austria, LTER Europe and ILTER). Hintereisferner station is
part of the EU Horizon 2020 INTERACT framework of Arctic (and a few Alpine)
research stations
(https://eu-interact.org/field-sites/station-hintereis/).
The efforts to provide the Rofental data to the scientific community will
continue in all of the currently involved institutions.
Conclusions and outlook
The Rofental in the Ötztal Alps (Austria) is a unique, high Alpine
research basin (98.1 km2, 1890–3770 m a.s.l.) with available time
series of 150 years of glaciological and hydrometeorological observations.
The glaciers in the Rofental attracted early attention and were – for
centuries – observed due to the dangerous nature of frequently occurring
glacier lake outburst floods. Over the last 100 years, the glacier monitoring
has been accompanied by systematic recordings of meteorological and
hydrological variables. Today, a glaciological and hydrometeorological data
set is available for the Rofental that is without comparison worldwide,
with regard to both its amount and temporal coverage. The Rofental data sets
support manifold investigations in the context of coupled climate and glacier
evolution, snow and glacier hydrology, water resources availability in
mountainous regions, or method development like laser scanning or modeling.
The scales of such research range from local, like particular
micrometeorological assessments at a single observation site, to global, e.g.,
the estimation of the glacier contribution to sea level rise. This paper
gives an overview of what has been measured and what is available already.
All the data described are comprehensively documented and made freely
available according to the Creative Commons Attribution License by means of
the PANGAEA repository (10.1594/PANGAEA.876120).
This paper covers availability of data as of fall 2017. There are still
many manual and analogue historical recordings which are being digitized,
processed and documented. After completion they will be made available via
PANGAEA and will add to the extension of the records back in time (left side of the bars
in Fig. 6). New and future data will continue to further build on the
available Rofental database (right side of the bars in Fig. 6). This process
of continuous enlargement of the data described here is ensured by the
living data process as conceived by the journal.
The authors declare that they have no conflict of
interest.
This article is part of the special issue “Hydrometeorological
data from mountain and alpine research catchments”. It is not associated
with a conference.
Acknowledgements
Many of the instruments and the monitoring activities presented here have
been supported by the institutions to which the authors are affiliated to,
and by countless research programs. These have been funded by the Bavarian
Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW), the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW;
project HydroGeM3), the European Region Tyrol – South Tyrol – Trentino
(project CRYOMON-SciPro – IPN 10-N33), the Autonomous Province of Bolzano –
South Tyrol (project hiSnow – 23/40.3), the Austrian Federal Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW, section
IV/4-water cycle), and others. The laser data acquisition and processing has
been funded by the European Union (project OMEGA – EVK2-CT-2000-00069), the
Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG ASAP (Austrian Space Applications
Programme; projects ALS-X – 815527 and SE.MAP – 840109), the Austrian
Research Promotion Agency FFG COMET (Competence Centers for Excellent
Technologies) in cooperation with the alpS GmbH (project MUSICALS – 826388),
the Austrian Climate Research Programme (ACRP; project C4AUSTRIA – A963633),
the Tyrolean Science Foundation (TWF) and the Department of Geography,
University of Innsbruck.
All these funding institutions provide the support to continue our efforts in
the monitoring of the water balance and climate elements of the Rofental in
the long term. The authors gratefully acknowledge all the contributions and
support from their countless colleagues in maintaining the instruments in the
field, being so many that they cannot be listed here by name. Without their
engagement, the long-term monitoring in the Rofental would never have been
possible. Edited by: Danny
Marks Reviewed by: Stefan Pohl, Samuel Morin, Patrick Kormos,
and Adam Winstral
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