Snow accumulation, firn temperature and solar radiation in the area of the Colle Gnifetti core drilling site (Monte Rosa, Swiss Alps): Distribution patterns and interrelationships

Distributional patterns of glaciological parameters at the Colle Gnifetti core drilling site are described and their interrelationships are brietly discussed. Observations within a stake network established in 1980 furnish information about snow accumulation (short term balance), submergence velocity of ice flow (long term balance), ram hardness (melt layer stratigraphy), and firn temperature. In addition, a numerical model was used to estimate local variations of available radiant energy. Melt layer formation is considerably more intensive on the south facing parts of the firn saddle where incoming radiation is high. These melt layers seem to effectively protect some of the fallen snow from wind erosion. As a result, balance ist up to one order of magnitude larger on south facing slopes. Heat applied to the surface is therefore positively correlated with balance, whereas the relation between solar radiation and firn temperature is less clear. Distributional patterns of submergence velocity confirm that the observed spatial variability of surface balance is representative for longer time periods and greatly influences the time scale and the stratigraphy of firn and ice cores from Colle Gnifetti

Robust estimates of climate-induced hydrological change in a temperate mountainous region

A sustainable water resources management depends on sound information about the impacts of climate change. This information is, however, not easily derived because natural runoff variability interferes with the climate change signal. This study presents a procedure that leads to robust estimates of magnitude and Time Of Emergence (TOE) of climate-induced hydrological change that also account for the natural variability contained in the time series. Firstly, natural variability of 189 mesoscale catchments in Switzerland is sampled for 10 ENSEMBLES scenarios for the control (1984–2005) and two scenario periods (near future: 2025–2046, far future: 2074–2095) applying a bootstrap procedure. Then, the sampling distributions of mean monthly runoff are tested for significant differences with the Wilcoxon-Mann–Whitney test and for effect size with Cliff’s delta d. Finally, the TOE of a climate change induced hydrological change is determined when at least eight out of the ten hydrological projections significantly differ from natural variability. The results show that the TOE occurs in the near future period except for high-elevated catchments in late summer. The significant hydrological projections in the near future correspond, however, to only minor runoff changes. In the far future, hydrological change is statistically significant and runoff changes are substantial. Temperature change is the most important factor determining hydrological change in this mountainous region. Therefore, hydrological change depends strongly on a catchment’s mean elevation. Considering that the hydrological changes are predicted to be robust in the near future highlights the importance of accounting for these changes in water resources planning

Montanaqua: tackling water stress in the alps: water management options in the crans-montana-sierre region (valais)

Transdisciplinary research is considered an appropriate mode of knowledge production in the search for pathways towards a more sustainable governance of natural resources. However, the co-production of new knowledge between scientists of different disciplines and nonacademic stakeholders is a challenge that requires novel research designs, methods, and approaches. The MontanAqua team has tackled this challenge by designing and implementing an innovative process of co- production of knowledge. An important element of this process was an assessment and communication tool known as “the sustainability wheel”

Assessing the sustainability of water governance systems: the sustainability wheel

We present and test a conceptual and methodological approach for interdisciplinary sustainability assessments of water governance systems based on what we call the sustainability wheel. The approach combines transparent identification of sustainability principles, their regional contextualization through sub-principles (indicators), and the scoring of these indicators through deliberative dialogue within an interdisciplinary team of researchers, taking into account their various qualitative and quantitative research results. The approach was applied to a sustainability assessment of a complex water governance system in the Swiss Alps. We conclude that the applied approach is advantageous for structuring complex and heterogeneous knowledge, gaining a holistic and comprehensive perspective on water sustainability, and communicating this perspective to stakeholders

Trends in extreme weather events in Europe: implications for national and European Union adaptation strategies

This report, based on a comprehensive collection of scientific data from the last 20 years, provides a rallying call for Europe’s policy makers to come together to devise common strategies to help mitigate the physical, human and economic costs of the rising number of extreme weather events in Europe, such as extreme heat and cold, extremes of precipitation, storms, winds and surges, and drought. Highlights refer to the nature of the evidence for climate-driven changes in extreme weather in the past, the potential impact of further climate change in altering the pattern of these extremes, and possible adaptation strategies for dealing with extreme weather impacts. It first provides information on extreme weather events and trends in recent decades as well as related impacts upon society. It is followed by an introduction to the scientific background on global warming and weather extremes, and the projections of future trends of meteorological extreme events that emerge from climate models under various scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, approaches to adaptation are introduced and recommendations provided. Readers wishing to obtain full source details for the figures, tables and references are recommended to consult the full report, which also includes more detailed analyses of the climatic conditions in various sub-regions of the EU