Martin P. Lüthi

Dynamics and thermodynamics of cold firn: Colle Gnifetti

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Project

During my PhD thesis I performed a lot of field work on Colle Gnifetti, the highest accumulation basin (4500 m) of the Gorner/Grenzgletscher system of glaciers.

The Colle Gnifetti project of VAW / ETHZ aimed at understanding the rheology of cold firn, and to investigate the thermal structure of a small, high-alpine glacier.

Results

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The 3D flow field of Colle Gnifetti, modeled with finite elements and an appropriate firn rheology.

Fieldwork

1995-1999

About 10 field campaigns to measure ice motion, borehole temperatures and mass balance.