Articles | Volume 19, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3329-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3329-2025
Research article
 | 
27 Aug 2025
Research article |  | 27 Aug 2025

Loss of accumulation zone exposes dark ice and drives increased ablation at Weißseespitze, Austria

Lea Hartl, Federico Covi, Martin Stocker-Waldhuber, Anna Baldo, Davide Fugazza, Biagio Di Mauro, and Kathrin Naegeli

Related authors

On thin glacial ice: New Austrian Glacier Inventory shows accelerating glacier shrinkage and 31% area loss within two decades
Lea Hartl, Jakob Abermann, Ayla Akgün, Giulia Bertolotti, Tobias Bolch, Svenja Conzelmann, Codrut-Andrei Diaconu, Iris Hansche, Anne Hartig, Anna Haut, Kay Helfricht, Bernhard Hynek, Marie Sophie Kaucher, Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Ann Christin Kogel, Julie Krippes, Marcela Violeta Lauria, Christoph Mayer, Jan-Christoph Otto, Rainer Prinz, Sina Prölß, Lorenzo Rieg, Lea Schönleber, Gabriele Schwaizer, Bernd Seiser, Martin Stocker-Waldhuber, Markus Strudl, Martin Verhounik, and Harald Zandler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1241,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1241, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
The role of large-scale atmospheric patterns for recent warming periods in Greenland from 1900–2015
Florina Roana Schalamon, Sebastian Scher, Andreas Trügler, Lea Hartl, Wolfgang Schöner, and Jakob Abermann
Weather Clim. Dynam., 6, 1075–1088, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-1075-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-1075-2025, 2025
Short summary
Recent observations and glacier modeling point towards near-complete glacier loss in western Austria (Ötztal and Stubai mountain range) if 1.5 °C is not met
Lea Hartl, Patrick Schmitt, Lilian Schuster, Kay Helfricht, Jakob Abermann, and Fabien Maussion
The Cryosphere, 19, 1431–1452, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1431-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1431-2025, 2025
Short summary
Glaciological and meteorological monitoring at Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites Mullwitzkees and Venedigerkees, Austria, 2006–2022
Lea Hartl, Bernd Seiser, Martin Stocker-Waldhuber, Anna Baldo, Marcela Violeta Lauria, and Andrea Fischer
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 4077–4101, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4077-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4077-2024, 2024
Short summary
Multi-sensor monitoring and data integration reveal cyclical destabilization of the Äußeres Hochebenkar rock glacier
Lea Hartl, Thomas Zieher, Magnus Bremer, Martin Stocker-Waldhuber, Vivien Zahs, Bernhard Höfle, Christoph Klug, and Alessandro Cicoira
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 117–147, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-117-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-117-2023, 2023
Short summary

Cited articles

Abermann, J., Kinnard, C., and MacDonell, S.: Albedo variations and the impact of clouds on glaciers in the Chilean semi-arid Andes, J. Glaciol., 60, 183–191, https://doi.org/10.3189/2014JoG13J094, 2014. a
Arndt, A., Gampierakis, N., Collier, E., Gastaldello, M., baldoa, and Richter, N.: baldoa/cosipy_MSc: COSIPY_vAWSinput, v1.0.0, Zenodo [code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16898470, 2025. a
Azzoni, R. S., Senese, A., Zerboni, A., Maugeri, M., Smiraglia, C., and Diolaiuti, G. A.: Estimating ice albedo from fine debris cover quantified by a semi-automatic method: the case study of Forni Glacier, Italian Alps, The Cryosphere, 10, 665–679, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-665-2016, 2016. a
Barandun, M., Bravo, C., Grobety, B., Jenk, T., Fang, L., Naegeli, K., Rivera, A., Cisternas, S., Münster, T., and Schwikowski, M.: Anthropogenic influence on surface changes at the Olivares glaciers; Central Chile, Sci. Total Environ., 833, 155068, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155068, 2022. a, b, c
Berthier, E., Vincent, C., and Six, D.: Exceptional thinning through the entire altitudinal range of Mont-Blanc glaciers during the 2021/22 mass balance year, J. Glaciol., 70, e30, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.100, 2023. a
Download
Short summary
Glacier albedo determines how much solar radiation is absorbed by the glacier surface and is a key driver of glacier melt. Alpine glaciers are losing their snow and firn cover, and the underlying darker ice is becoming exposed. This means that more solar radiation is absorbed by the ice, which leads to increased melt. To quantify these processes, we explore data from a high-elevation, on-ice weather station that measures albedo and combine this information with satellite imagery.
Share