Mountain Research and Glacier Studies

Mountain Research and Glacier Studies in Times of Climate Change

November 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM in the Klostersaal Traunkirchen

Priv.-Doz.in. Andrea Fischer
Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the ÖAW

The traces of the Ice Age glaciers in the foothills of the Alps helped to break through the then abstract theory of a changing climate. After more than a century of climate research, the glaciers once again show us that it could become warmer in the coming decades than it has been in the last 1.2 million years. What does climate change mean for us in the Alps, what should we know, and what can and should we not know?

The measurement of unprecedented rapid changes requires new measurement techniques – the ice losses of 2022 were significantly beyond the imaginable. If applied to the distribution of height among elementary school students, there would have been a 3 m tall child in the class – how do we prepare for such events? Remarkably much in our daily lives, from snow removal to zoning plans, is adapted to the previously known climate regime. Cultural practices, spatial planning, and land use have evolved from the interaction between nature and humans for thousands of years. Making informed decisions for a sustainable future is important, and despite or precisely because of many uncertainties, it is science that lays the groundwork for societal decisions that reflect our values and priorities.

Speaker: Priv.-Doz.in Andrea Fischer, ÖAW/ Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research

Andrea Fischer is a geophysicist and glaciologist as well as the deputy director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at the University of Innsbruck. Her areas of work include glaciology, climatology, and mountain research, primarily in the Alpine region, but also in Asia, Africa, and South America. Andrea Fischer's diverse research projects not only deal with purely scientific questions (for example, long-term monitoring of various Austrian glaciers and debris glaciers) but also with practical aspects such as the impacts of snow farming and summer coverings in glaciated areas or the possibilities and consequences of artificial snow production.

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Admission: voluntary donation

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