Summer School on Mass Balance Measurements and Analysis 2013

2 – 7 September 2013, Hotel Riffelberg, Zermatt, Switzerland

About

In 2013, the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) organized a Summer School on Mass Balance Measurements and Analysis. The course was restricted to about a dozen participants from the Andes and Asia who are involved with ongoing mass balance programmes in their region. The participants were trained in both field and office work by an international team of experts in glacier monitoring and capacity building. This summer school was carried out within the framework of the project “Capacity Building and Twinning for Climate Observing Systems” (CATCOS) which is led by MeteoSwiss and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The event was co-sponsored by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), the Global Cryosphere Watch of the World Meteorological Organization (GCW/WMO), and the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IACS/IUGG).

Reports

PROGRAMME

Monday, 2 September 2013
Ice Breaker and Registration
Welcome by WGMS Director and introduction of participants

Tuesday, 3 September 2013

Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Rotational group work on Findelengletscher

  • Post 1: Mountaineering equipment and safety training on clean ice
  • Post 2: Construction of ablation stake and network concept, GPS survey of frontal and stake positions
  • Posts 3 and 4: Drilling of ablation stake with Heucke Ice Drill and manual auger; lowest 2-4 stakes in support of fall survey
  • Findelen_stake_network_2012

Thursday, 5 September 2013
Rotational group work in accumulation area of Theodulgletscher

  • Posts 1 and 2: Safety training on ice and snow
  • Posts 3 and 4: Snow probing, digging, and coring

Friday, 6 September 2013

Costs

Summer school fees and accommodation costs (including breakfast and dinner) as well as travel costs (up to a maximum of 1500.- CHF) are covered by the WGMS and the CATCOS project. Beverages and lunch might have to be covered by the participants.

List of selected participants

More than 80 valid applications were received by the end of the application period (30 November 2012). From these, a total of 17 training positions are offered to a maximum of two candidates from countries directly involved in the CATCOS project (EC, KG) and to one per other countries in the Andes and Asia. During the selection process, priority was given to candidates involved with established mass balance programmes.
The following candidates were selected for participation in the WGMS Summer School 2013:

From the Andes:

From Asia:

Scientific steering committee and teaching team

The concept and programme of the summer school has been developed by the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) and will be implemented by the international Teaching Team (TT) consisting of the following members:

  • Martin Hoelzle (SSC & TT), WGMS, Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, CH
  • Matthias Huss (SSC & TT), Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, CH
  • Bernhard Hynek (SSC & TT), Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik, AT
  • Horst Machguth (SSC & TT), WGMS, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, CH
  • Antoine Rabatel (SSC & TT), Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement, FR
  • Dorothea Stumm (SSC & TT), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, NP
  • Michael Zemp (SSC & TT), WGMS, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, CH
  • Yves Arnaud, (SSC), Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement, FR
  • Isabelle Gärtner-Roer (SSC), WGMS, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, CH
  • Wolfgang Schöner (SSC), Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik, AT
  • Patrick Wagnon, (SSC), Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement, FR

 

last change 16/07/2015