1. www.wgms.ch ¦ www.nsidc.org ¦ www.glims.org ¦ www.gtn-g.org
Interactive map interface showing WGI (blue dots), GLIMS (pink polygons) and FoG (brown dots) data
A map-based web-interface, as shown in the figure
above, is currently under implementation.
One-stop web-interface
The internationally coordinated collection of information about ongoing glacier
changes since 1894 and the efforts towards the compilation of a world glacier
inventory have resulted in unprecedented datasets. Several generations of
glaciologists around the world have contributed with their data to the present state
of knowledge.
All data are made available in digital and standardized formats by the WGMS, the
NSIDC and GLIMS through the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers.
Macroregion Area
FRONT VARIATION MASS BALANCE
NoSer NoSer
21th
First
RY
First
SY
Last
SY
AvTR AvNo
Obs
SerDens NoSer NoRef
Ser
NoSer
21st
First
SY
Last
SY
AvNo
Obs
Ser
Dens
New Guinea 3 3 0 1936 1941 1990 46.3 4.7 1000.0 0 0 0 0.0
Africa 6 14 11 1893 1899 2004 71.4 6.1 2333.3 1 0 0 1979 1996 18.0 166.7
New Zealand 1160 99 70 1879 1892 2005 14.4 6.2 85.3 3 0 1 1959 2005 2.7 2.6
Scandinavia 2940 67 45 1896 1899 2005 53.2 30.2 22.8 39 8 23 1946 2005 16.3 13.3
Central Europe 3785 764 417 1730 1815 2005 65.1 35.3 201.8 43 10 29 1948 2005 19.6 11.4
South America 25500 160 49 1830 1888 2005 36.4 4.1 6.3 11 1 9 1976 2005 8.1 0.4
Northern Asia 59600 24 11 1833 1895 2005 55.2 14.1 0.4 14 3 5 1962 2005 13.5 0.2
Antarctica 77000 48 7 1882 1883 2004 30.4 2.8 0.6 1 0 1 2002 2005 4.0 0.0
Central Asia 114800 310 16 1850 1893 2005 21.5 4.5 2.7 35 2 6 1957 2005 13.1 0.3
North America 124000 221 15 1720 1885 2005 36.9 5.2 1.8 45 4 24 1953 2005 15.8 0.4
Arctic 275500 93 49 1840 1886 2005 52.4 30.5 0.3 34 2 20 1960 2005 12.6 0.1
Worldwide 684294 1803 690 1720 1815 2005 46.7 20.1 2.6 226 30 118 1946 2005 15.0 0.3
Notes:
NoSer: number of series; NoSer21th: number of series with last survey after 1999; FirstRY: first reference year; FirstSY: first survey year; LastSY: last
survey year; AvTR: average time range per series; AvNoObs: average number of observations per series; SerDens: number of series per 1 000 square
kilometre; NoRefSer: number of ‘reference’ mass balance series with continuous measurements since 1976. The horizontal blue bars indicate the
Source: WGMS (2008): Global Glacier Changes: facts and figures.
size of the glacier cover of the eleven macroregions.
Spatio-temporal overview of available data
Photos: NSIDC/USGS
from W.O. Field (1941),
B.F. Molnia (2004).
Muir Glacier, Alaska.
The Glacier Photograph Collec-
tion (GPC) contains 13,000
photographs from some 500
glaciers. Such overview pictures
and repeat photographs back to
the late 19th century constitute
an important historical record
and valuable meta-data to the
other scientific datasets.
Glacier photo collection
Repeat inventories, Baffin Island, Canadian Arctic
(Figure by F. Svoboda).
The Global Land Ice Measure-
ments from Space (GLIMS)
initiative was launched to
continue the inventorying task
with space-borne sensors storing
the glacier outlines and detailed
tabular information. At present
the database contains 100,000
glaciers.
GLIMS database
Glacier inventory in the Alps (Figure by M. Zemp).
A first approach to compile a
World Glacier Inventory (WGI),
mainly based on aerial photo-
graphs and maps, resulted in a
dataset of coordinates and
detailed tabular information for
100,000 glaciers worldwide with
an overall area of 240,000 km2
and preliminary estimates for the
remaining ice cover.
WGI database
Ice avalanche (Photo by J. Alean, www.SwissEduc.ch).
Information on 200 glacier-
related special events which may
pose threats to human activities,
such as glacier surges, outbursts
of lakes, ice avalanches, drastic
retreat or advance of tidal
glaciers or eruptions of ice-clad
volcanoes have been reported
from 130 glaciers.
Fluctuations of Glaciers (FoG)
special events
Ablation stake, snow pit measurement
(Photos by D. Vonder Mühll, M. Hoelzle).
Mass balance measurements on
entire glaciers have been carried
out since the late 1940s. Annu-
ally, mass balance data are
reported from about 110 glaciers
worldwide. There are 37 mass
balance programmes with
continuous observation series
since 1976 or earlier.
Fluctuations of Glaciers (FoG)
mass balance
Length change observation (Photo by S. Kappeler).
Regular observations of horizon-
tal changes in the position of the
glacier terminus have been
reported and published since the
end of the 19th century. Today,
more than 36,000 length change
observations from 1,800 glaciers
are available throughout the
world.
Fluctuations of Glaciers (FoG)
front variations
Changes in glaciers and ice caps provide some of
the clearest evidence of climate change and have
impacts on global sea level fluctuations, regional
hydrological cycles and local natural hazard situa-
tions. Internationally coordinated collection and
distribution of standardized information about
glaciers and ice caps was initiated in 1894 and is
today coordinated within the Global Terrestrial Net-
work for Glaciers (GTN-G).
A recently established GTN-G Steering Committee
coordinates, supports and advices the operational
bodies responsible for the international glacier moni-
toring, which are the World Glacier Monitoring Ser-
vice (WGMS), the US National Snow and Ice Data
Center (NSIDC), and the Global Land Ice Measure-
ments from Space (GLIMS) initiative.
Consistency and interoperability of the different
glacier databases (FoG, WGI, GLIMS, GPC) is
elaborated by joint efforts within the project
presented here. Thereby, the lack of a complete
worldwide, detailed glacier inventory as well as
different historical developments and methodologi-
cal contexts of the datasets are major challenges for
linking individual glaciers throughout the databases.
About
WORLDWIDE GLACIER MONITORING AS PART OF POLICY-RELATED
CLIMATE OBSERVATION: DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY OF THE
GLOBAL TERRESTRIAL NETWORK FOR GLACIERS (GTN-G)
W. Haeberli (1), M. Zemp (1), I. Gärtner-Roer (1), R. Armstrong (2), F. Fetterer (2), M. Hoelzle (3),
A. Kääb (4), J. Kargel (5), S.U. Nussbaumer (1), F. Paul (1), and B.H. Raup (2)
(1) World Glacier Monitoring Service, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
(2) National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, U.S.A.
(3) World Glacier Monitoring Service, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
(4) Global Land Ice Measurements from Space, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
(5) Global Land Ice Measurements from Space, University of Arizona, Tucson, U.S.A.
Contact: wilfried.haeberli@geo.uzh.ch
Fluctuations of the Mer de Glace, France.
(Nussbaumer et al., 2007).
Reconstructions of glacier front
variations based on well-dated
historical evidence extend the
observational record as far back
as the 16th century. So far,
fluctuation series are available
for 26 glaciers.
Fluctuations of Glaciers (FoG)
reconstruction series
Geodetic thickness or volume
changes, as derived from terres-
trial or remote sensing methods,
are available from 430 glaciers
worldwide.
Fluctuation of Glaciers (FoG)
geodetic changes
Thickness change of Storglaciären, Sweden.
(Koblet et al. 2011).