Permafrost melt threatens mountains
Tuesday March 2, 2010 - Email this article to a friend

In the most significant incident in recent years 20m cubic metres of rock fell off the Eiger in July 2006. 

It was caused by the glacier that used to cover it retreating and the warmer temperatures melting tiny particles of ice that bond the rock together.

It had been predicted by scientists, so was no great surprise, but it doesn't take much imagination to see what could happen over the years in many places across The Alps.

Now a team of scientists from the Universities of Basel and Zurich are researching the processes involved in a project called "Permasense".

Is it crumbling down?They have installed battery-powered sensors in some of the key affected areas including the Jungfraujoch, where the Eiger is, and the Matterhorn above Zermatt.

Each summer the Matterhorn is a magnet for climbers and each summer the guides sometimes have to close it when it gets too warm as there is a high danger of rockfall. 

Sometimes it looks like the famous peak is literally falling apart as small slides come down it. We have seen it with our own eyes.

"The Alps are not going to fall down overnight," says the geologist, Hansrudolf Keusen.

"They'll be with us for many years to come. But we do have to prepare. We are already working on improving the safety on hiking trails, and on mountain railways. But at the same time, climbers and hikers will have to be more watchful too."

He was speaking to the BBC after the Eiger rockfall in 2006.

The battery-powered machines now installed deliver reliable data from the deeper rock layers; freezing processes, rock movement and temperature development.

The information will help to gain more knowledge on the speed of the melting processes.

"A research project like this has to go on for years until the first statistically founded results are generated," explained Dr. Jan Beutel, a team leader.

Interpreting the first data, the scientists will be able to present first conclusions in the months to come.

Built into the permafrostBut it is not just rock falls that may affect us skiers and snowboarders.

It could have a more significant, and relevant, impact on man-made structures at high altitude, like lift stations and buildings.

They were built assuming the ground would be, literally, rock-hard.

That may not now be the case and so the buildings and structures may be declared unsafe and have to be re-built.

The cost of re-placing the lift stations, pylons, restaurants and other structures acros The Alps that are in the permafrost areas would be astronomical.

For further information see here.

Meanwhile, for a look about how the hot summers are affecting the glaciers see the video below, from the Swiss resort of Saas Fee, that we made last year.

Some additional reporting by Snow24.

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