Glaciers are the most visible indicators of global change. Mass balance data allow the calculation of the past and current contributions of land ice to the sea level change. Additionally, glaciological data are used to reconstruct former climate states and complement other climate proxies for the holocene. Since the instrumental climate data are biased towards low altitudes, glacier data offer an archive of high mountain climate that is subject to strong gradients and improve our knowledge on climate to remote regions during the instrumental period. For the development of forward and inverse models, the understanding of the glacier-climate relation is essential. Thus the relationships between different types of glaciological data measured worldwide must be studied on benchmark glaciers, where all kinds of glacier and climate data are available.
In Austria, glacier mass balance is measured at Goldbergkees, Hallstaetter Gletscher, Hintereisferner, Jamtalferner Kesselwandferner, Kleinfleisskees, Mullwitzkees, Pasterzenkees, Stubacher Sonnblickkees, Vernagtferner, and Wurtenkees. Records on glacier length are available from 1891, currently more than 100 glaciers are surveyed. Glacier inventory data is available for 1969, and 1998.
The project homepages are located at e.g.
http://imgi.uibk.ac.at and http://www.zamg.ac.at .
Political ideas: European and Austrian laws include the obligation for the authorities to survey the hydrological parameters. Project funders for mass balanace Hintereisferner, Kesselwandferner, Jamtalferner, Hallstaetter Gletscher and Mullwitzkees and glacier length changes:
Amt der Oberoesterreichischen Landesregierung
Austrian Alpine Club
Energie AG
Hydrographischer Dienst der Abteilung Wasserwirtschaft des Amtes der Tiroler Landesregierung
Nationalpark Hohe Tauern
Kommission fuer Geophysikalische Forschungen der Oesterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften