Rock glaciers - prominent landforms in (protected areas of) Austria
Thomas Wagner, University of Graz (AT)
About 5500 rock glaciers, permafrost-related debris accumulations in alpine environments, exist in the Austrian Alps. Some 820 thereof are found in three National Parks. They can be differentiated between active (moving, widespread permafrost), inactive (stable, rather widespread permafrost), pseudo-relict (stable, permafrost lenses) and relict (stable, permafrost free) ones. Permafrost existence, as a thermal phenomenon, is controlled by climatic conditions. Hence a change in climate influences its ice content und movement behavior which is also of relevance for other fields of research.