Hamish Jeffreson
This August, I had the opportunity to be part of the Alpine Glacier Project (AGP) annual research trip. Established by the late Professor David Collins in 1974, the AGP is dedicated to advancing the understanding of glacial hydrology whilst providing students with opportunities to gain valuable experience in field research.
The glacial meltwater stream that was the focus of our trip and my research, originates at the Findel Glacier and forms part of the Upper Rhone catchment, one of the largest intra-montane watersheds in the European Alps.
Figure 1. Upper Rhone River catchment, Switzerland, drains over 5,220 km² and provides 75% of the total inflow to Lake Geneva (Loizeau et al., 2012; K.Rahman et al., 2013).
Meeting the team
On an early morning flight from Manchester Airport, I was joined by trustee of the Alpine Glacier Project and Professor at the University of Salford Neil Entwistle, Royal Geographical Society apprentices and University of Salford undergraduates Saskia Mills, Emily Holt, and Qasim Arif, PhD student ihejieto chibueze anthony, and later Robert Gardner, an alumnus of the project who first worked with AGP as an undergraduate in 1999.
Our route took us via Geneva where we boarded a train to Zermatt. The scenic views throughout the journey were interspersed with regular reminders of the flood event which tore through the valley only weeks before. Picturesque landscapes tainted with the impacts of climate change would become a recurring theme during our trip.
Figure 2. The 2024 research team in front of the Matterhorn.
Findel Glacier’s rapid retreat
On the first morning in Zermatt, we trekked to the Grande Dixence extraction point below the Findel Glacier. The grim reality of glacial retreat was quickly brought into view as we crested the final hill to look up through an open valley where just 25 years ago the glacier once proudly stood. This was especially profound for Rob, who during his fieldwork in 1999 spent weeks drilling boreholes through hundreds of metres of ice in the very location where we were now walking on bare ground.
Figure 3. AGP alumnus Robert Gardener shows the research team where the terminus of the Findel Glacier was during his 1999 research trip.
Figure 4. Findel Glacier terminus in 1987 (Credit: Chris Bradley).
Macroinvertebrates and data gathering
Towards the end of the trip, it was time to collect data for my University of Birmingham MSc dissertation. Motivated as ever by the threat of missing the last train home, the research team spent the day tirelessly collecting kick samples and physicochemical data at four points along the Findel glacial stream and one within the ‘Lost Valley’ – a breathtaking landscape tucked behind the left lateral moraine of Findel Glacier.
This data will form the basis of my research, through which I’m hoping to improve understanding of macroinvertebrate colonisation of newly formed glacial meltwater streams and how channel stability and increasing air temperatures play a part in this unique and dynamic freshwater ecosystem.
Figure 5. Author kick sampling within the braidplain.
Figure 6. Neil kick sampling at the terminus of Findel Glacier.
The Terminus of Findel Glacier now sits over 1.5 km back from the Grande Dixence extraction point. A product of this retreat is the establishment of a large braidplain as well as side channels, backwaters, and offline lakes. The current substrate composition of the channel and its floodplain is highly unstable, making it difficult for riparian fauna and flora to establish. With air temperatures increasing and the tree line rapidly advancing, it may not be too long before we see an environment which more closely resembles the ‘Lost Valley’, and with it more diverse fauna and flora.
Figure 7. The unstable Findel Valley braidplain.
Figure 8. The stable and vegetated ‘Lost Valley’.
The wider implications for the region
Catchments fed by snow and glacial meltwater, such as those within the Upper Rhone basin, are more susceptible to changes in climate due to their higher altitude. The recent summer flooding in Zermatt brought home the IPCC’s warning that people living in such environments will be increasingly exposed to extreme weather events and fluctuating water availability. This change will not only impact the ecology and hydrology of the region, it will reverberate throughout the agriculture and tourism industries the alpine economy is so heavily reliant on. This year we are seeing these impacts play out in varying ways. For instance through the closure of ski resorts and the redrawing of the Swiss-Italian border.
The IPCC predicts smaller glaciers like the majority of those found in the Swiss Alps will lose 80% of their mass by 2100. So whilst the rate and extent of glacial retreat in the Findel Valley appears extreme, it is sadly a trend replicated throughout Central Europe and around the world.
Figure 9. Cumulative mass change relative to 1976 in meter water equivalent (m.w.e.). Western Canada and USA and Central Europe are well below the mean, showing the rate of glacial retreat to be much higher than in other regions of the world (World Glacier Monitoring Service, 2023)
A sobering end to the trip
Throughout the week we saw numerous examples of the dangers local communities are exposed to as a result of warmer air temperatures and extreme rainfall events, with landslides and rockfalls a regular sight along the trails. On the day we headed for home, residents were placing flood defences throughout the town in response to rising river levels. Whilst Zermatt was spared on this occasion, the nearby town of Saas-Fee was badly impacted, with tourists and residents having to be airlifted out due to major infrastructure damage.
After days of discussion and debate around climate change and the impacts of glacial mass loss on local communities, it was a stark reminder that for the people who live there, it is a destructive and life-threatening reality that they must quickly adapt to.
Figure 11. On the day we left Zermatt, storms and heavy rain triggered a landslide which closed the main cantonal road into the Saas Valley (
Final reflections
The widespread uncertainty regarding the speed and intensity of climate change, combined with socioeconomic factors driving urbanisation and agricultural land abandonment make research and monitoring essential to future management and governance within the valley.
If we are successful in limiting the damage brought about by climate change, it will be through evidence generated by the hard work of organisations and charities like the AGP which enables governments and individuals to enact change. My week in glaciology has given me hope that it’s possible.
References:
Loizeau JL, Girardclos S, Dominik J (2012) Taux d’accumulation de sediments recents et bilan de la matiere particulaire dans le Lema (Suisse – France). Arch Des Sci 65:81–92
Fette, M., Weber, C., Peter, A., & Wehrli, B. (2007). Hydropower production and river rehabilitation: a case study on an alpine river. Environmental Modeling & Assessment, 12(4), 257-267.
Fuhrer, J., P. Smith, A. Gobiet, (2014) Implications of climate change scenarios for agriculture in alpine regions — A case study in the Swiss Rhone catchment, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 493, Pages 1232-1241, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.06.038.
Matthews, J.H. Wickel, B.A.J., Freeman, S. (2011) Converging currents in climate-relevant conservation: water, infrastructure, and institutions. PLoS Biology, 9, p. E1001159
Price, Bronwyn., Felix Kienast, Irmi Seidl, Christian Ginzler, Peter H. Verburg, Janine Bolliger, (2015) Future landscapes of Switzerland: Risk areas for urbanisation and land abandonment, Applied Geography, Volume 57, Pages 32-41, ISSN 0143-6228, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.12.009.
Slemmons K.E.H., Saros J.E., Simon K. (2013) The Influence of Glacial Meltwater on Alpine Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review. Environ. Sci: Processes Impacts. 2013, 15, 1794. DOI: 10.1039/c3em00243h
Khamis K., Hannah D.M., Brown L.E., Tiberti R., Milner A.M. (2014) The use of invertebrates as indicators of environmental change in alpine rivers and lakes. Science of the Total Environment 493 (2014) 1242–1254. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.02.126
