COORDINATES 46° 48' N / 10° 46' E
Photo taken by G. Patzelt on 21 September 1989.
COORDINATES 46° 48' N / 10° 46' E
Photo taken by G. Patzelt on 21 September 1989.
The valley-type glacier is located at the southern end of the Oetztal within the relatively dry interior zone of the Alps and extends from 3,720 to 2,450 m a.s.l. Its surface area is 8.9 km2 and the exposure is E to NE. Annual mean air temperature at the equilibrium line of the glacier is around -6 to -7 °C. The glacier is temperate in the accumulation area and has a cold surface layer in the upper parts of the ablation area. Periglacial permafrost is asssumed to be discontinuous and probably occurs mainly on the orographic right slopes of the glacier. Average annual precipitation as measured at 2,970 m a.s.l. is about 1,450 mm.
As in previous years, the mass balances of 1993/94 and 1994/95 were negative. The balance of -1.1 m water equivalent in 1993/94 is among the most negative ones since measurements began in 1952/53. Altough winter precipitation was above average, the March temperature with 5.2 °C and the summer temperature of 1.7 °C above the long-term mean are the reasons for this strongly negative value. The mass balance of 1994/95 with -0.46 m water equivalent was slightly more negative than the long-term average of -0.40 m, and the precipitation in winter was close to normal. Only the mean temperature for July and the first two weeks of August were above the average, while as a whole this summer was undistinguished in terms of both temperature and precipitation.
