Showing papers by "Viktor Kaufmann published in 2012"

Permafrost research in Austria: History and Recent Advances

Abstract: In the Austrian Alps the study of alpine permafrost started during the 1920ies and until about 1980 was mainly concentrated on rock glaciers. Since 1980 the number of publications related to permafrost increased and since the late 1990ies investigation of permafrost has been intensified. This introductory article provides an overview on the history of permafrost research in the Austrian Alps, on current activities including new results and a short outlook for the next years. Current research includes the distribution of rock glaciers and modelling of the distribution of permafrost in the Austrian Alps, the study of internal structures and the dynamics of active rock glaciers, permafrost monitoring, the response of permafrost to climate change and natural hazards related to permafrost. Core drilling on active rock glaciers including a detailed analysis of the frozen core and instrumentation of the bore holes for longterm monitoring of permafrost is one of the main issues for the future. In den österreichischen Alpen begann die Erforschung des alpinen Permafrostes in den 1920er Jahren und konzentrierte sich bis 1980 hauptsächlich auf Blockgletscher. Seit 1980 stieg die Anzahl der Publikationen über alpinen Permafrost und in den späten 1990er Jahren wurde die Forschungsaktivität intensiviert. Dieser einleitende Artikel bietet einen Überblick über die Geschichte der Permafrostforschung in den österreichischen Alpen, über gegenwärtige Forschungsaktivitäten und neue Ergebnisse sowie einen kurzen Ausblick auf geplante Aktivitäten für die nächsten Jahre. Gegenwärtige Forschungsarbeiten umfassen die Untersuchung der Verteilung der Blockgletscher und die Modellierung der Verbreitung des alpinen Permafrostes in den österreichischen Alpen, Untersuchung der internen Strukturen und Dynamik aktiver Blockgletscher, Permafrost-Monitoring, das Verhalten des Permafrostes in Hinblick auf Kimaänderungen sowie Naturgefahren in Zusammenhang mit alpinem Permafrost. Kernbohrungen auf aktiven Blockgletschern einschließlich einer detaillierten Analyse der gefrorenen Kerne und Instrumentierung der Bohrlöcher für ein langfristiges Permafrost-Monitoring zählen zu den wichtigsten Zielen für die nahe Zukunft. ____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Permafrost Research in Austria: History and recent advances 1) 2)3) 3) 4) Karl KRAINER , Andreas KELLERER-PIRKLBAUER , Viktor KAUFMANN , Gerhard Karl LIEB , 5) 6)7) Lothar SCHROTT & Helmut HAUSMANN 1) Institute of Geology and Paleontology, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; 2) Institute for Earth Sciences, University of Graz, Heinrichstrasse 26, 8010 Graz, Austria; 3) Institute of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, Graz University of Technology, Steyrergasse 30, 8010 Graz, Austria; 4) Institute of Geography and Regional Science, University of Graz, Heinrichstrasse 36, 8010 Graz, Austria; 5) Department of Geography and Geology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstraße 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria; 6) Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics/ZAMG, Hohe Warte 38, A-1190 Vienna, Austria; 7) Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria;

Measurements of small alpine glaciers: examples from Slovenia and Austria

Abstract: In the last century and a half, average summer temperatures have slowly been rising worldwide. The most observable consequence of this is the change in glacier sizes. For monitoring glacier area and volume, various measuring techniques exist—from measurements with a measuring tape and geodetic measurements to remote sensing and photogrammetry. A comparison of different measuring techniques on two Slovenian glaciers (the Triglav and Skuta glaciers) and two Austrian glaciers (the Gössnitzkees and Hornkees glaciers) is made. A long-term glacial retreat trend is presented for the Gössnitzkees, Hornkees, and Triglav glaciers because these glaciers can be monitored throughout the entire twentieth century by means of archival data. Despite their different sizes, the annual trend of glacial retreat was approximately the same in the period between 1929 and 2006.

Merjenje malih alpskih ledenikov: primeri iz slovenije in avstrije

Abstract: In the last century and a half, average summer temperatures have slowly been rising worldwide. The most observable consequence of this is the change in glacier sizes. For monitoring glacier area and volume, various measuring techniques exist—from measurements with a measuring tape and geodetic measurements to remote sensing and photogrammetry. A comparison of different measuring techniques on two Slovenian glaciers (the Triglav and Skuta glaciers) and two Austrian glaciers (the Gossnitzkees and Hornkees glaciers) is made. A long-term glacial retreat trend is presented for the Gossnitzkees, Hornkees, and Triglav glaciers because these glaciers can be monitored throughout the entire twentieth century by means of archival data. Despite their different sizes, the annual trend of glacial retreat was approximately the same in the period between 1929 and 2006.

Detection and quantification of rock glacier creep using high-resolution orthoimages of virtual globes

Abstract: Rock glaciers are creep phenomena of mountain permafrost and are composed of ice and rocks. Active rock glaciers move downslope by force of gravity. Maximum creep/flow velocities of individual rock glaciers may vary from a few centimeters up to several meters per year, depending on the underlying terrain, mechanical parameters of the material involved, etc. Inter-annual variation of rock glacier flow has been observed and attributed to various reasons, e.g., climate change. It is believed that the observed warming of the atmosphere accelerates rock glacier flow. This paper proposes a method for detecting active rock glaciers and, where applicable, quantifying their movement relatively or absolutely using multi-temporal image data (i.e., high-resolution orthoimages/orthophotos) of virtual globes, such as Google Maps and Microsoft Bing Maps. The present work was originally triggered by the task of detecting all active rock glaciers of a larger mountain region, i.e., the western part of the Schober Mountains located in the Austrian Hohe Tauern range. In support of this task the proposed method was additionally applied to two well-studied rock glaciers, i.e., Hinteres Langtalkar (eastern part of the Schober Mountains) and Auseres Hochebenkar (Otztal Alps, Austria). In this paper we present the results obtained from the two rock glaciers. It can be summarized that change detection and consequently the high-precision measurement of flow velocities of active rock glaciers using image data (screen shots) of virtual globes (geobrowsers) is possible. It must be admitted, however, that the proposed method has some obvious drawbacks: (a) limited availability of high-resolution image data in high mountain areas, (b) limited availability of multi-temporal image data, (c) lack of information about exact acquisition dates or source of image data, (d) lack of information about the accuracy of the image data (orthophotos), and (e) potential legal obstacles to using the image data.

Leibnitzkopf Rock Glacier (Austrian Alps): Detection of a Fast Moving Rock Glacier and Subsequent Measurement of its Flow Velocity

Abstract: Leibnitzkopf Rock Glacier (Austrian Alps): Detection of a Fast Moving Rock Glacier and Subsequent Measurement of its Flow Velocity V. Kaufmann, J.O. Filwarny & K. Wisiol, G. Kienast, V. Schuster, S. Reimond & R. Wilfinger V. Kaufmann, J.O. Filwarny & K. Wisiol Institute of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, Graz University of Technology, Austria G. Kienast, V. Schuster, S. Reimond & R. Wilfinger Institute of Navigation, Graz University of Technology, Austria