Melting underground ice masses in Hochtor massif, Gesäuse National Park - documentation and implications for the water resources of alpine karst
Eckart Herrmann, VÖH Verband Österreichischer Höhlenforscher/ Landesverein für Höhlenkunde in Wien und NÖ, Vienna (AT)
Since 2002 hundreds of caves were surveyed in the Hochtor massif. Some cirques covered by large firn fields in 1920 are now snow-free revealing clusters of shaft caves. In some of them ice masses reached depths of hundreds of meters. During the last 15 years we observed a rapid subsurface glacier retreat in those places. This is seen as a dramatic signal of climate warming and contributes to a change of alpine landscape and biosphere. We expect adverse consequences for karst water resources in the Northern Calcareous Alps, which make a major contribution to drinking water supply in Austria.