Field trip 4, Monday 23^rd September 2024 (Full day)

Rockfall, glacier recession and permafrost degradation: Long-term monitoring of climate change impacts at the Open-Air-Lab Kitzsteinhorn, Hohe Tauern

Guides: Ingo Hartmeyer, Jan-Christoph Otto

This full-day excursion will take you to the Hohe Tauern Range (about 90 minutes from the city of Salzburg) where you will visit the summit region of the Kitzsteinhorn (3202 m a.s.l.). Here, the GEORESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft has established long-term geoscientific monitoring to investigate the impacts of climate change which are particularly pronounced in high-alpine environments. The monitoring is based on a combination of surface (e.g. laserscanning, UAV surveys, crackmeters etc.), subsurface measurements (temperature/inclination measurements in boreholes etc.) and investigates how rock stability is affected by rapid atmospheric warming. The excursion includes three consecutive cable car runs (~ 45 minutes) to the top station (3030 m a.s.l.) and short hikes around the study site to inspect the monitoring sites (if the weather permits). Please bring appropriate protection against the cold (subzero temperatures possible) and the sun (strong UV radiation).