"Krone" glacier series

“We lose 10 centimetres of ice on hot days”

The glacier researchers at work

(Bild: Hölzl Roland)

The "Krone" accompanies Salzburg's ice researchers as part of the glacier series to measure the ice giants. The figures on the decline of the eternal ice in the high mountains are alarming.

On hot summer days like this week, the glaciers are just about melting away. "On hot days, we lose ten centimetres of glacier ice," says Bernhard Zagel. For the surveyors, however, the season hasn't even started yet. "We don't actually take measurements in mid-August," explains the researcher, who coordinates the glacier measurements in the Stubach Valley around Lake Weißsee.

For the "Krone" series about Salzburg's disappearing ice giants, Zagel and his colleague Gabriel Seitlinger made an exception and took us to the Stubacher Sonnblickkees for a local inspection.