We are happy to announce the next publication from the Hidden.Ice project Flood Flow in a Proglacial Outwash Plain: Quantifying Spatial Extent and Frequency of Inundation from Time-Lapse Imagery Paraglacial transition zones in catchments with rapidly retreating glaciers and abundant sediments are key elements in high alpine river systems and promise to be revealing, yet challenging, areas of investigation for the quantification of current and future sediment transport. In this study, Hiller et al. explored the potential of semi-automatic image…

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The sediment samples were evaporated in a large drying cabinet and measured with high-precision scales. The amount of sediment provides information about the transport of suspended sediments from the inner Jamtal out of the valley.    

Clemens presented his work at the Mid-European Geomorphology Meeting 2021 held in Munich from Nov. 6-9. The title of his presentation was  “Topography, bed roughness & surface sediment characteristics of a proglacial outwash plain –  A combined Approach based on UAV-borne Photogrammetry (Jamtal, AT)”. Hiller et al. MGM2021  

With the onset of winter at high altitudes, we dismantled the discharge measurement at the Getschner Bridge. The water sampler and the turbidity probe were also uninstalled and transported to Innsbruck for a safe winter storage.

Towards the end of September, a simultaneous survey of the glacier forefield was taken from the helicopter and drone. Laser scanning was performed from a scanner mounted to the helicopter. These recordings covering a large part of the Jamtal and the glaciers were carried out by the project partner of KU Eichstätt. Right after, the sediment levels of the glacier forefield were recorded again with the UAV. The comparative data set serves as a basis for the evaluation of changes…

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The next survey of the glacier forefield took place after an heavy precipitation event. Changes in the glacier forefield were documented not only by the UAV survey, but also be measuring channel depths. After the high runoff with high load of suspended sediments we changed the bottles of the water sampler at Getschnerbrücke.  

The first Open-Access reserach article in the framework of the Hidden.ice is published by Hohensinner et al. in Frontiers in Environmental Science – Land Use Dynamics. The presented long-term investigation of the Alpine landscape in “Tracing the Long-Term Evolution of Land Cover in an Alpine Valley 1820–2015 in the Light of Climate, Glacier and Land Use Changes” reveals that the transformation processes  have accelerated in recent decades such that the deglaciation process is much faster than the colonization process by…

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These two days were used to create a bigger picture of research already existing and planned in the LTER Jamtal. The excursion lead to a great viewing point for dicussing the longterm evolution of the catchment partly covered by glaciers with all its geomorphological forms and processes. High runoff in the evening caused overspill at the water intake downvalley.

The grain size distribution of a number of test-plots was counted using the Bunte sampling method in addition to the regularely UAV based photogrammetric surveys of the glacier forefield. The test-plots were geolocated with DGPS and are visible in the orthofotos from the UAV surveys. Thus the transferability of surface roughness from areal high resolution point clouds and digital elevation models to actual grain size distribution at the surface will be tested and developed.

At end of June, we  set up the turbidity probe and the water sampler in cooperation with the collegues of the Potsdam University  Institute for Environmental Science and Geography. A cool weather conditions help that the runoff is somewhat lower and the installation is thus easier.