1 Introduction - Institut für Kartographie

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TRUPPENDIENST-Handbook
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H. Häusler,R. Mang (eds.)
InternationalHandbook
Military Geography
Volume 2
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Preface
General
Mag. Edmund ENTACHER
In June 2009 the Austrian Armed Forces' Institute for Military Geography and
the University of Vienna's Department of Environmental Geosciencesorganized the
8'h International Conference on Military Geosciences(ICMG 2009) in Vienna. This
conferencewas the first of its kind to be held in Europe - in Vienna, the capital of
Austria, the heart of Europe. As nearly two thirds of Austria are mountainous, it was
obvious that the focus of this conferenceshould be on military operationsin mountainous regions worldwide.
Terrain has always influenced military operations.Especially in mountainousregions,
defendershave always outclassedattackers- provided intelligent use was made of the
terrain. Numerous examples from the two World Wars prove this. This is why the
ICMG 2009 incorporated presentationsand excursions,which focused on the special
environmental conditions in mountainous regions, their impact on military operations,
as well as lessonsto be learned for current and future operations.
An increasing number of armed forces is engaged in multinational operations, so
the geographic focus has shifted from their familiar home territories to unfamiliar,
remote regions. The new focus requires a great quantity of spatially and thematically
enhancedgeographic information, which is used to plan, prepare,execute,control and
post-processmilitary operations.And as all operationstake place in geographicspace,
geographicinformation is equivalent in importance to the core information about one's
own military situation and that of the other parties.
As presentedin this volume of the TruppendienstHandbook series,the proceedings
of the conferenceenhancethe scope of the 2006 International Handbook of Military
Geography,published in the same series.
International Handbook Military Geography, Vol. 2: Proceedings ICMG 2009
They reflect the global activitiesof the military geographiccommunity in a convenient
way useful for any military planner and military commanderconfrontedwith the
incrediblevarietyof the geospatialenvironment.I trust that theseproceedings
contribut
to the successof the ICMG 2009 and that they will also help to enhancethe quality of
military decision-making
by providinggeographicinformation,which is both suitable
and scientificallybased.
I would like to expressmy gratitudeto all personsand institutionsinvolvedin the
production of the volume an exemplaryco-operationbetweenthe military (both
professionalsoldiersand reserves)and civilian fields. As the then Chief of Defence
Staff of the AustrianArmed Forces,I alsoencouraged
all membersof the international
military geographiccommunityto continueto contributetheir experience,knowledge
and perspectives
to further conferences
of this kind. Military geographydeservesno less.
I n t e r n a t i o n aH
l a n d b o o kM i l i t a r y G e o g r a p h yV
. o l . 2 : P r o c e e d i n g sI C M G 2 0 0 9
General
Mag. Raimund SCHITTENHELM
Commander of National Defence Academy
Ladies and Gentlemen,Honored Guests,
As Commander of the National Defence Academy it is a great pleasure for me to
welcome you to the 8'hInternational Conferenceon Military Geosciences.Since this is
the first time that this conferenceis held in continental Europe we consider it a great
honor that you have chosen Vienna as a venue. Hosted by the Austrian Ministry of
Defenceand Sports,this conferenceis organizedby the Institute for Military Geography,
which from 1997to 2002, was an integratedpart of the National DefenceAcademy,the
highest ranking institution for military researchand education in the Austrian Armed
Forces.Although as part of the reorganizationof the Ministry of Defence in 2002 the
Institute for Military Geography was subordinatedto the Command and Control Support Command it is still housed at the National Defence Academy.
Looking back in history, military geographyhas a long-standingtradition in Austria.
In fact, it was the first specializedgeneral staff service in the Austrian Armed Forcesdating back to the 18thcentury. From 1839to 1918,the famous Military Geographic
Institute provided all kinds of geographic information for the Imperial Army of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War I, the Military Geographic Institute was
transformed into a civil enterprise and was renamed into Federal Office of Metrology
and Surveying (Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen).In 1997 the Austrian
Armed Forces establishedtheir own Institute for Military Geography and, in 2007
both institutions entered into a close partnership - giving proof of very successful
civil-military cooperation.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, in 1989,the armed forces of many countries were
facing new tasks, brought about by the dramatic changes in the political landscape
which also had implications for military geographers.
Austria has and is participating in many multinational operations,so that the spatial
focus has shifted from Austrian territory to very far-away regions. We all know that
historical, political, economic developments,military actions, and geo-spaceare interlinked. In this way, Napoleon'swords, "La politique d'un ötat est dans sa g6ographie",
i.e. "The politics of a nation is based upon its geography", still hold true.
Although the Institute for Military Geography is no longer part of the National Defence
Academy, it is only logical that it is housed here together with the other institutes of
lnternational Handbook Military Geography, Vol. 2: Proceedings ICMG 2009
the Academy,as its work is predominantlyscientific in characterand the geographic
information it providesis integratedinto our teaching.The National DefenceAcademy
has long standingties with the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of
Sciences.It is thereforeonly appropriatethat the ICMG brings togetherexperts from
respectiveinstitutionshere.
If you get a chanceto look at the postersin the hallway outsidethis room you will
not only gain insight into what National DefenceAcademy standsfor but you will also
find a descriptionof the Institute for Military Geography.
I now want to thank the organizersespeciallyBrigadierDr. ReinhardMANG and
his team who as I could convincemyself- haveprepareda very interestingprogram,
which, asidefrom lecturesand discussions,also includesexcursionsto some of the
battle fields of both World Wars.
I trust that this conferencewill be a successand will ultimatelyhelp contributeto
enhancingthe qualityof military decisionmakingthroughprovidingscientificallybased
adequategeographicinformation.
Let me welcomeyou againand wish you a successfuland pleasantstayherein Vienna.
InternationalHandbook Military Geography,Vol. 2: ProceedingsICMG 2009
Brigadier
Dr. Reinhard MANG
Head of Institute for Military Geography (IMG)
Austrian Armed Forces,Ministry of Defence and Sports
General, Sir, dear guests,Ladies and Gentlemen!
My name is Brigadier Dr. Mang. I am head of the Institute for Military Geography
(IMG) of the Austrian Armed Forces and I am the responsiblefor the organisation of
this conference.
The IMG, belonging to the "Command and Control Support Command" in collaboration with the "Department of Environmental Geosciences",belonging to the University
of Vienna, welcome the community of military geoscientiststo the 8thInternational
Conference on Military Geosciencesin Vienna, Austria. We are glad to present you
a full-time military geoscientific program as a mix of presentations,poster sessions,
discussions,half- and full day excursionsand last but not least - a warm and comfortable environment for creating and enlarging personal networks.
The past seven conferenceson "Military Geology" and on "Military Geology and
Military Geography"respectively,in the USA, in UK and in Canada,comprisedlectures
predominantly presentedby geologists and geographersengagedin the armed forces. To
emphasizethe importance of comprehensiveand enhancedgeneralgeoscientific knowledge for military decisionmakers, we introduced the term "Military Geosciences"into
the conference'stitle - a term which will be discussedin detail later on in this meeting.
The history of this series of conferencesstarted in 1984. Dr. Hermann Häusler
documented it in detail in a special edition of our journal MILGEO, available at the
check-in desk.
The 8thInternational Conferenceon Military Geosciencesis the first one on the European continent, in the heart of Europe - in Vienna. Based upon this central geographic
position in Europe, we try to build bridges between military geoscientistsof the so far
organizing countries on the one hand and their colleaguesin continental Europe on the
other hand. Contributing to create an international, an intercontinental community of
Military Geoscientistsis on of the main ambitions of this conference.
Centuries of experience,centuries of geoscientificwork in different political systems
and centuries of technical, tactical and operational developmentsgenerateda huge potential of military geoscientific knowledge. The community of military geoscientists
should use these experiencesactively to improve preparation and execution of international, global military activities such as peace supporting and humanitarian search
and rescue operations.
All thesetypes of operationshaveone thing in common:without exception,they take
place in the geographicspace,the geospace.Comprehensive
informationand knowledge about the geospaceare thereforevital preconditionsfor all operations.But this
geographicinformation has to be reproducibleand teachableand by this, it meetsthe
main criteria of "scientific information". Therefore,the Vienna Conference2009 tries
to make as transparentas possiblethe scientific characterof the functional relations
betweengeospatialand military factors,and by doing so, creatingand supportingan
- ready for
internationallyrecognizedand acceptedtop staff of military geoscientists
further challenges!Furthermore,the conferencewill contribute
- to precisethe scopeof military geosciences,
- to enhancemilitary georesearch,
- to supportmilitary geoeducation
and -training,
- to define the use of military geoproducts,
and
- to promote internationalmilitary geoscientificnetworking.
Furtheron, we would like - at least- discussthe set up of somethinglike an "lnternationalJournalof Military Geosciences"
as well as the set up of an InternetPlatfbm
fo r Ap plied M ilit ar y G e o s c i e n c eass a fi rs t s te p to wardssomethi ngl i ke a " Mi l i tarv
GeoscientificAssociation".lt's high time for such an initiative!
All theseintentionsI just mentionedaremirroredin the actuallogo of this confbrence.
- Th e globe in t he b a c k g ro u n ds y m b o l i z i n g th e e arth as pri mary obj ect of our
investigations
- The crossedswordsgo without comment
- The openedbook symbolizingthe scientificpretensions
of this conferenceand
- The motto "mediasin res" standingfor the centralpositionof military geosciences
in the military in general.
Now it's high time to welcomeall our guests.We welcomeabout 55 official participants.They come from Canada,Croatia,France,Germany,Great Britain, Greece,
Nigeria, SouthAfrica, USA and last but not least- Austria.
And now a specialwelcometo our guestsfrom the Austrian Armed Forces,at first
placeGeneralMag. Schittenhelm,commanderof NationalDefenceAcademy,which is
locatedin this building and which is providingthe infrastructurefor this conference
suchas rooms,technicaldevices,catering,etc. General,Sir, welcome!
Another specialwelcometo the deanof the Facultyof Geosciences,
Geographyand
Astronomy of the Vienna University,Univ.-Prof.Dr. Fassmann.One of the depart- is our main
mentsof this faculty - the "Departmentof EnvironmentalGeosciences"
academicpartner rn organizingthis conference.Prof. Fassmannas dean agreedto this
partnershipbetweenthe Austrian Armed Forcesand the University of Vienna for a
joint organizationof ICMG. By this, the military-scientificcharacterof the conference
is underlinedonce more.
Furthermore,we are glad to welcome our two guest speakersfrom Germany,
- Colonelrtd Dr. Ulrich Barner and
- Colonelrtd Dr. WernerGilleßen,
both former headsof military geographicservicesin the two "Germanies"around1989.
Besidethe main organizersof the ICMG 2009,the Austrian Armed Forces(lMG)
and the Universityof Vienna (Departmentof EnvironmentalGeosciences),
there are
l a n d b o o kM i l i t a r y G e o g r a p h y V
, o l . 2 : P r o c e e d i n g sI C M G 2 0 0 9
some other important partners and co-sponsorsof the ICMG 2009, which should be
mentioned here. We appreciatefor their contributions to this conference
- the Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying, our official partner in civil-military
cooperation,
- the GeologicalSurvey of Austria,
- the Austrian Geographical Society and
- the Austrian GeologicalSociety.
And last not least - talking about the organisationalbackground let me - at this
point - addressthe employeesof IMG.
To continue, let me now give you some information close to the topics of this conference- "geospatial information" - information about the locality where this conference takes place.
The whole complex is officially called'AmtsgebäudeStiftgasse",earlier on "Stiftskaserne" (Stift barracs).It was constructedbetween the end of the 17'hcentury and
(really!) today. The new sports hall just opposite this wing was opened only some
weeks ago. During World War II, one of the six giant Anti Aircraft Towers of Vienna
was erectedin this area,and it is still in use for the military.
Nowadays,in this area severalmilitary offices are accommodated.Actually, we are
here in the so called "academywing" - referring to National DefenceAcademy,which
is dislocatedhere since 2004. And this hall - where we are just now - is called "Sala
Terrena" - the term dates back to the baroque era. From that time on it served different purposes.You can get more detailedinformation about all this looking at the wall
tables along the corridor in front of Sala Terrena.
I'd like to make now some short remarks on our guest speakersand the subjects
they will report on: In 1989,the world changeddramatically.In June 1989,20 years
away from now, the technical componentsof the iron curtain were removed between
Austria and Hungary and the new post Cold War era began.As this conferenceis held
in Austria which was and still is formally still neutral, which languageis German, it
was nearly self evident to dare a general comparison between the military geographic
servicesof the German FederalArmy of the FederalRepublic of Germany and the late
National PeoplesArmy of the German DemocraticRepublic at the end of the l980ies.
This comparisonwas intendedon two levels:the level of the military geographicservice itself and the superordinatedlevel (how was Military Geography recognized and
used by the hierarchy).But this intention unfortunately had to be constrainedto the
serviceslevel. The reason:even 20 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain it was not
yet possible to bring together two top ranked persons of that time on the same stage.
We tried very hard, but we failed... Nevertheless,the two guest speakersagreedin at
And I am
leastpartly trying to add some superordinatedaspectsto their presentations.
job!
pretty
good
sure they will do a
Thank you for your patient attention!
lnternationalHandbookMilitary Geography,Vol. 2: ProceedingsICMG 2009
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heinz FASSMANN
Dean of the Faculty of Earth Sciences,Geography
and Astronomy
University of Vienna
Generals,membersof the Defence Staff and delegatesof the Austrian Armed Forces,
in particular from the National Defence Academy in Vienna, and from the Institute
for Military Geography
Colleaguesfrom the Austrian Universities,
Distinguished Guests,
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the Dean of the Faculty of Earth Sciences,Geography and Astronomy it is a
pleasurefor me to addressmy greetings to you on behalf of the University of Vienna.
The University is the co-organizer of this Conferenceon Military Geosciences.
The University of Vienna was founded in 1365 and is the oldest university in the
German-speakingworld and one of the largest in Central Europe. The University of
Vienna comprises 15 faculties and 3 university centres and at present about 74 000
studentsare enrolled. The University of Vienna is also the largestteaching and research
institution in Austria with close to 8 600 employees,6 500 of which are scientistsand
academics.
Ln2004 our faculty was founded bringing togetherAstronomy, Geology,Meteorology
and the Physical Geography and the more social science orientated Human Geography. Some colleaguesgave some warnings and argued that we are too heterogeneous
to form one faculty. Five years later it became clear, no prognosis became reality, we
are working excellently together and the often and overemphasized differentiation in
social sciencesand natural sciences,in basic researchand in applied researchis of less
importance. We have a clear bond holding all disciplines in our faculty together with
three main elements.
l. We want to produce excellent research,which guaranteesinternational visibility.
2. We want to produce researchwhich is distant to ideologies and based on scientific principles only. We follow the ideas of Max Weber who was a prominent German
sociologist who defined the relation between scientific and normative statementsin a
very convincing way.
3. We want to pick up research questions which are scientifically relevant and to
some extent useful for society.We seeand feel something like responsibility to our tax
payers and we want to bring knowledge and innovations back.
For that reasonI support cooperationwith important institutionsin our societyand our military armed forces and our Ministry of Defenceare without any doubt
important institutionsin and for Austria. I am a member of the Commissionof the
AustrianAcademyof Sciencesfor ScientificCooperationwith our Ministry of Defence
and I know how excellentour discussionsare and how obviousthe win-win situation
is when scienceand military are cooperating.I regretthat I am absentseveraltimes
when Commissionhad it's meetingbut I alwaysenjoyedthe preciseand comprehensive
argumentationof our membersin the Commissionrepresentingthe army.
TherefbreI am happy that Prof. Hermann Häusleraskedme to be presentat this
meeting and to say words of welcome.And I am much appreciatedthat Prof. Häusler
is so active in this cooperationand brings in his excellentcompetencein appliedand
environmentalgeology.
The civil-military cooperationcomprisesjoint projectsin the fields of geology,geography,cartography,geophysics,
meteorologyand others.But the existingcivil-military
cooperationgoes far beyondthesedisciplinesand includestranslationsciences,lan'.
pharmacy and others,only to give a few more examplesof successfulcooperation
betweenboth expertsfrom Vienna University and various Institutesof the National
DefenceAcademy,and higher military commands.
HermannHäuslertold me, that during the last 15yearsmore than half of all 7 conf'erenceson military geologyandmilitary geographywerejointly organizedby unir ersities
and the military in Great Britain and Canada.Three conferenceswere supportedb1'
universitiesin the UK, namelyby the Royal HollowayUniversityof London, in 1996.
by the University of Greenwichin 2000, and by the NottinghamUniversity in 2005
and one conferencewas supportedby the Laval University in Quebec,Canadain 2007.
To my opinion, t his 8 ' hIn te rn a ti o n a lC o n fe re n ceon Mi l i tary Geosci encesi s an
importantsignalfor joint effortsin the Europeancontextas agreedupon in the Petersberg taskswhich were establishedin 1992at the Ministerial Council of the Western
EuropeanUnion. Supportfrom Austria is expectedfor humanitarianand rescuetasks.
peace-keeping
tasks,and tasks in crisis management,
in particularto reducethe risks
deriving from geohazardsworldwide.
The program of this conferenceas announcedin the Conferencewebsiteis well balanced,offering both lectureson historical exampleson the influence of geospaceon
military operationsas well as recent considerationson the interrelationsbetweenthe
military and our environment.The excursionsto placesof wars in the alpine regionsof
Austria will be highlightsof this conference,and as a geographerI personallywould
like to join you.
I expressmy gratitude to all institutions and personsfrom the Austrian Armed
Forces,and from the University of Vienna - especiallyto Hermann Häusler,involved
in planning and supportingthis conference.
I wish all the best for a successfulweek, fruitful and rewardingdiscussionand beside
all lectures:enjoy the city - it's a great one!
t0
l a n d b o o kM i l i t a r y G e o g r a p h yV
Editorial
Brigadier
Mag. Dr. Reinhard MANG
Institute for Military Geography
Ministry of Defenceand Sports, Austria
Colonel (Res)
Prof. Dr. Hermann HÄUSLER
DepartmentofEnvironmentalGeosciences
University of Vienna, Austria
On the occasion of the o'7' Recontre internationale sur la gdologie et la gdographie
militaire" (7thInternational Conference on Military Geology and Geography), held in
Quebec,June 18 - 2L,2007, the editors were requestedto take over the organisationof
the next conference in Vienna,2009.It is a pleasure for us to thank the members of
the advisory board, who supported our conference preparations, namely (in alphabetical order):
- Philippe Boulanger, University professor, Institute of Geography, Paris IV-Sorbonne,
France
- Russell llarmon, Senior Program Manager for Terrestrial Sciences, Environmental
SciencesDivision, U.S. Army ResearchOffice, North Carolina, USA
- Jean Martin, Directory of History and Heritage, National Defence Headquarters,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Eugene Palka, Colonel, Deputy Head, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, Unites States Military Academy (USMA), West Point, New
York, USA
- Edward P. F. Rose, Dr., Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Geology, Royal
Holloway, University of London, UK
- Walter Schmidt-Bleker, Brigadier General, Head Geoinformationsdienst der Bundeswehr, German armed forces, Euskirchen, Germany
The Vienna Conference 2009 was jointly organized'by the Institute for Military Geography (IMG) of the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Department of Environmental
Geosciencesof the University of Vienna. Central point of contact was our Conference
Secretary General, Mag. Helene Kautz,IMG. The conference, titled "8th International
1l
Conferenceon Military Geosciences",was held June 15 19, 2009 at the National
DefenceAcademv in the Vienna Stift Barracks.
As Austria is a landlockedcountry and as two thirds of Austria belongto mountainous
areas,the overarchingtopic chosenfor this conferencewas "War in Alpine Regions".
Military activities in history, but even up to the late days of the Cold War, were also
influencedby all kinds of alpine terrain features.This can be shown by numerous
examplesof the last two World Wars.Therefore,we emphasizedoral and posterpresentationsand excursionsdealingwith specialenvironmentalconditionsin alpine regions,
their impactson military actionsas well as lessonslearned.
Besidethis overarchingtopic,anotheraspectwas dealtwith in this conference.In 1989,
exactly 20 yearsbeforethe Vienna ICMG 2009,a world historic eventtook place- the
fall of the "Iron Curtain". It all began- not far away from Vienna * in late June 1989.
when the Iron Curtain was first openedbetweenAustria and Hungary on occasionof
the famous"Pan-EuropeanPicnic". Sincethen, the world has changedits face - former
enemiesturned out to becomepartners.Formerly strictly forbidden contactsbetween
military specialistshave becomeeverydayjobs. This was also true for the representatives of the Military GeographicServicesof the former two German countries.the
FederalRepublicof Germany,and the German DemocraticRepublic.For this reason.
we invitedCol (retired)Dr. Ulrich Barner (DeutscheBundeswehr,
Military Geographic
Service,FederalRepublicof Germany)and Col. (retired)Dr. WernerGilleßen (National
People'sArmy, Military TopographicService,former GermanDemocraticRepublic)as
keynotespeakersto give first hand information and impressionsof the time beforeand
after 1989- information never presentedso far by such absolutelycompetentpersons.
For this reasonwe also acceptedextendedcontributionsof their oral presentations.
From 1989to 1993Col. Dr. Ulrich Barner was Chief GeographicOfficer, Operations
Branch,Operational-LogisticsDivision, SupremeAllied Headquarters
Europe(SHAPE)
in Mons, Belgium.From 1995to 1991he was headof the BundeswehrMilitaryGeographic Office in Euskirchen,Germany.
From 1988to 1990Col. Dr. WernerGilleßen was headof the Military Topographic
(near Berlin).
Servicein the Ministry of National Defencein the city of Straussberg
After his transfer to the DeutscheBundeswehrin 1990,he supportedthe creation of
new military geographicstructures(comprisingpersonal,material and organisation)
in the new federal statesof reunited Germany including specialrelationsto the neu
surveying offices in the new federal counties.
Generally,the 2009 Vienna Conferenceaimed at:
.
Enhancing MilGeo-research and MilGeo-development
-
-
Promotingcommunicationbetweenvariousappliedgeosciences
suchas appliedgeology, appliedgeography,and other appliedgeosciences
for military decisionrnaking
En hanc ingappliedg e o s c i e n ti fi cc i v i l -m i l i ta ry re searchproj ectsat uni versi ti es.
academies,and other researchinstitutions
PromotingMilitary Geoscientificactivitiesand researchin Europeancountries
.
Supporting MilGeo-education and MilGeo-training
-
Defining core competencesand curricula for military geo-experts
-
t2
-
Disseminating information on methods and experiences in Military Geosciences
.
Promoting military use of MilGeo-products
,
Increasing the awarenessfor applied geoscientific problems for military decision-makers
Internationalnetworking
Strengthening regular Military Geoscientific meetings at national level
Discussing the introduction of an International Journal of Military Geoscieirces
Setting-up an Internet Platform for Applied Military Geosciences
Exchanging knowledge between Milgeo-organisations of armed forces
As stated by many contributors, ICMG 2009 was a great success. The conference
welcomed 55 official participants, coming from (in alphabetical order) Canada,Croatia,
France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Nigeria, South Africa, United States of
America, and last but not least - Austria.
-
Photo shooting of the participants of the 8th International Conference on Military Geosciences,
June 2009 (@ Heeres Bitd- und Filmstelle, HBtr'; Austrian Armed Forces photo and video
production-service).
Most of the participants contributed to the topics:
Military geoscientific aspects and case studies of world wide Alpine and High
Alpine war fare (terrain evaluation, implications on military activities, advantages,
disadvantages,regional aspects, operations)
' Teaching, practice and experimentation of military geosciences(research,development, textbooks, techniques; terrain analysis/terrain evaluation; theory of military
geosciences)
. Future challenges of worldwide operations
. Organisation of national military geoservices(offices, troops-support...)
. Open session (terrain evaluation relevant to military operations)
The basic slogan for the ICMG 2009 and thus for all presentations and papers was
"Medias in Res" - highlighting that Military Geography always is amidst all military
operations taking place in geospace.
In the following we give some short comments on the forty-five papers which then
are presented in alphabetical order.
Hermann Häusler and Reinhard Mang (Austria) pose the question: "Why International Conference on Military Geosciences?"To contribute this discussion, Hermann
Häusler (Austria) presents arguments: "Towards a Pragmatic Definition of Military
Geosciences", and he also reviews previous conference events in his "Report on Na.
13
tional and InternationalConferenceson Military Geology and on Military Geography,
respectively,held from 1994- 2007". ReinhardMang (Austria) presentsa new insight
to the "Theory of Military Geography".
Five papersof the proceedingsreferto military actionsin the Alpine terrain. ln his
contribution on "War in Alpine Regions" ReinhardMang (Austria) does not describe
alpine regionsin terms of absolutealtitudesbut definesthem by a fundamentalchange
of specialrequirementsfor military training and equipment.ElizabethByers and Peter
Guth (United Statesof America) contributeexactlyto this discrepancywith the lecture
on "The Battle of Attu Island: Mountain Warfare at Sea Level". Philippe Boulanger
(France)reportson: "Military Geographyof MountainousZonesin the FrenchDoctrine".
RussellS. Harmon, W. Chris King, EugeneJ. Palka and William W. Doe III (United
Statesof America) give a "Characterizationof Extreme Environmentsfor U.S. Army
Materiel and Human PerformanceTesting",and William W. Doe III (United States
of America) focuseson: "Cold Regionsand Mountain Testing and Training Areas in
the United States".
Three papersreflect the presentdiscussion on climate change, sometimesalso referred to as climate variation,and its potential influence on military actions.Manfred
F. Buchroithner (Germany)answersthe question:"Glacier Changingin High-Alpine
Regions- Worldwide ObjectiveGlacier MeasurementsVersusConjectures".EugeneJ.
Palka (United Statesof America) stressesthe military relevanceof: "Climate Change
and PotentialEffects on Future U.S. Military Operations",and FrancisA. Galgano
'An Envi(United Statesof America) refersto security aspectsin his contributionon:
ronmental Security Analysis of Abrupt Climate ChangeScenarios".
Six
Global changeis currentlymonitoredby RemoteSensingand GIS technologies.
historical
models,
with
beginning
dissemination
of
cartographic
contributionsdealwith
aspects.FranzPeterDammerer (Austria)presentsa contributionon "Early Cartography
in Alpine Regionsand the Wall-Map of the Alps createdby the Austrian Cartographer
Yinzenz von Haardt in 1882". Michael Franzen (Austria) continues with his paper
"From Military Mapping to Civil-Military Cooperationin the Field of Geoinformation
in Austria". PeterGuth and Justin Jacks (United Statesof America) highlight: "Using
Keyhole Markup Language(KLM) to DisseminateMilitary Geography",and Carola
Braun (Germany) follows with an expertise:"Satellite Image Maps: How to Ensure
Quality?" Klaus Börger (Germany)presentsa very challengingpaper on: "Modern
Military Geodesy",and he showsthat relativity affects satellitegeodesyand thus GPS
is working properly only when the theory of relativity is considered.
Eight more articles deal with recent or ongoing MilGeo-activities on a regional
or international level. Beatrice Puyo (France)and Peter Dammerer (Austria) report
on: "Mapping in the Golan PeacemakingMissions:The Caseof UNDOF". Friedrich
Teichmann (Austria) presents:"Military Geo-Products:A New Focus for Application in InternationalPeaceSupport Mission". Mickaöl Aubout (France)reports on:
"The GeographicalInteractionsBetween an Airbase and its Environment" in Central
Asia. Gerald Duma, Edmund Moshammer and JohannesReisinger (Austria) analyse:
"Trends of Strong EarthquakeActivity and Military DisasterRelief', and Marc Andrö
Rapp and Helene Kautz (Austria) give a "Report on DisasterControl Operationsin
Styria, Austria". JosefMichael Schramm (Austria) presents"The Military Geological
t4
Outline Map of Austria I : 2 000 000". Henni A. P. Smit (SouthAfrica) summarizes:
"The Developmentof an EnvironmentalApproach in the South African Department
of Defence",and Marko Zeöevi( (Croatia)calculates:"The Geologicaland Geotechnical Aspects of Deeply Buried Military Targetsin the Perspectiveof Network Centric
Warfare Doctrine".
The majority of contributionsdealswith historical aspectsof terrain evaluation,basically representinga time span of 2000 years. Three papersgo back beyond the l9'h
century. Kurt A. Schroeder (USA) focuseson the "MountainousTerrain and Prussian Invasionsof Bohemiain 1757and 1866".William C. Mahaney (Canada),Pierre
Tricart (France)and PeterDoyle (United Kingdom) presenta joint paper on "Terrain
Evaluationof the HannibalicAlpine InvasionRoute",and Judy Ehlen (United States
of America) writes on: "Topographyand Fortification:400 Yearson The Garrison, St.
Mary's, Isles of Scilly, Southwestof England".
Three articlesdeal with the geographicand geologicenvironmentof EuropeanFirst
World War battlefields.Dierk Willig (Germany) reports on: "Mining Warfare in the
WytschaeteRidge 1914- 1917- Advantagesand Disadvantagesof High Ground Emplacements".Josef-MichaelSchramm (Austria)summarizes:"Geology and High Alpine
Warfare During World War I", and Michael B. Barrett (United Statesof America) and
Iulia Bädoi (Romania)presenta joint paperon: "Geographyand the Campaignin the
TransylvanianAlps, 1976".
F iv e m or e pape rsre fe r to Se c o n dW o rl d Wa r mi l i tary geol ogyand mi l i tary geography respectively.EdwardP. F. Rose(United Kingdom) gives"Credit Due to the Few:
British Field ForceGeologistsof World War II", HermannHäusler (Austria) introduces
"The <Forschungsstaffel
z.bN.>>,
a SpecialGeoscientificUnit of the German Counter
Military IntelligenceServiceDuring the SecondWorld War", and PeterDoyle (United
Kingdom) summarizes:"Geology of World War II Allied Prisonerof War EscapeTunnels".Finally ThomasF. Bullard (USA) presentsa joint paperwith six other U.S.
American colleagueson "Geology, Geomorphologyand the Vertical Dimension of the
World War II Battlefield",and Hugh Hamilton (United Kingdom) introduces"Michael
Spender:a British Pioneerof Military Aerial PhotographicMapping in World War II".
Two contributionson the Cold War era refer to the Military GeographicServicesin
the two "Germanies" separatedby the Iron Curtain. As already statedabove,Werner
Gilleßen (Germany)briefs on the: "Military Geographyin the Cold War: The Military
TopographicServiceof the National People'sArmy of the former German Democratic
Republic".His counterpartatthat time was Ulrich Barner (Germany)presenting:"The
'War))".
German Military GeographicService during the period of the <Cold
One paper deals with the era after the Cold War. Jean Martin (Canada)presents
his considerations
on the "Nature-Military Alliance: Nature Protectionand Military
Control of Land in the Post-ColdWar Era" with examplesfrom Canada,the United
Statesof America and Europe.
Two half day excursionsto the Vienna Globe Museum and to the Museum of Military History, as well as the post-conferenceexcursionto Salzburgwere organizedand
guided by Helene Kautz (Austria).
Two full day excursionswere offered to First and SecondWorld War battle fields
in Austria, namely to the Carinthian town Kötschach-Mauthenand to the SemmerInternationalHandbook Military Geography,Vol. 2: ProceedingsICMG 2009
l5
ing region in Lower Austria. Two authorsrespectivelyintroduce the military aspects
and the geoscientificaspectsof these excursionsto Kötschach-Mauthenand to the
Semmering.ReinhardMang (Austria) presentsdetails on: "World War I at the actual
'A Flight
Austro-ItalianBorder"whereasJosefMichaelSchramm (Austria)reportson:
ExcursionCrossingthe EasternAlps and Along the FormerAustro-ltalianFront Line".
Accordingly for the Semmeringexcursion,Gerald Gnaser (Austria) briefs the: "End
of World War II in the SemmeringRegion", and Hermann Häusler (Austria) presents
the: "GeologicalOutline of the ICMG 2009 SemmeringExcursion".
In the final sessionof the Vienna 2009 Conference,the UK military geologistTed
Rose was honoured- the only personwho activelyhas contributedall eight national
and internationalconferenceson military geology,military geologyand geography,and
Dedicatedto him, HermannHäusler (Austria)wrote
respectively.
military geosciences
"Congratulations
to the 70'hanniversaryof the British
entitled:
anothercontribution
F.
Rose".
Dr.
Edward
P.
Military
Geologist
Senior
To closethis editorial:The benefitof the 2009 Vienna Conferenceon Military Geoand outcomeof oral lecturesand posterpressciencesexceededby far the expectations
printed
in theseproceedings.We are looking foru'ard
and
of
the
contributions
entations,
i n Las V egas,N evada(U S A ).
o
n
M
i
l
i
ta
ry
G e o s c i e nces
t
he
2011
Co
n
fe
re
n
c
e
a tte n ding
16
Table of Contents
Mickaöl AUBOUT (France)
The G eogr aphica lIn te ra c ti o n sb e tw e e na n Ai rb ase and i ts E nvi ronment ..........21
Ulrich BARNER (Germany)
The German Military Geographic Service during the Period
o f the " Cold W ar "
........
28
Michael B. BARRETT (United Statesof America);Iulia eAOOt (Romania)
Geogr aphyand t h e C a mp a i g ni n th e T ra n s y l v ani anA l ps, 1916........
.....41
Klaus BÖRGER (Germany)
Mo der n M ilit ar y Ge o d e s y
...........
58
PhilippeBOULANGER (France)
Military Geography of Mountainous Zones in the French Doctrine
.....65
Carola BRAUN (Germany)
Sa t ellit eI m age Ma p s : H o w to En s u re Q u a l i ty ?
.......74
Manfred F. BUCHROITHNER (Germany)
Glacier Changing in High-Alpine Regions - Worldwide Objective
Gl ac ier M eas ur e m e n tsv e rs u sC o n j e c tu re s..... ...
......85
ThomasF. BULLARD (United Statesof America);StevenN. BACON (USA);
Ph ilippeCA NO NN E (F ra n c e );J . N e i l SMIT H (US A ); C harl esR . QU E E N (U S A );
Lane RUEHLEN (USA); JosephORMOND (USA)
Geology,Geomorphologyand the Vertical Dimension of the
Wor ld W ar I I B attl e fi e l d
...........99
ElizabethBYERS; PeterGUTH (United Statesof America)
The B at t le of A t t u Is l a n d : Mo u n ta i n W a rfa re a t S eaLevel
..................
108
Franz PeterDAMMERER (Austria)
Early Cartography in Alpine Regions and the Wall-Map of the Alps
Created by the Austrian Cartographer Yinzenz von Haardt in 1882 ..................
l2l
William W. DOE III (United Statesof America)
Cold Regionsand Mountain Testing and Training Areas in the United States......132
PeterDOYLE (United Kingdom)
Geology of World War II Allied Prisoner of War EscapeTunnels
.....144
Gerald DUMA; Edmund MOSHAMMER; JohannesREISINGER(Austria)
Trends of Strong Earthquake Activity and Military DisasterRelief
.. 151
Judy EHLEN (United Kingdom)
Topography and Fortification: 400 Years on The Garrison,
St. M ar y ' s ols leso f Sc i l l y
...........
171
Michael FRANZEN (Austria)
From Military Mapping to Civil - Military Cooperation in the Field
o f G eoinf or m at io ni n A u s tri a ..............
.......185
FrancisA. GALGANO (United Statesof America)
An Environmental Security Analysis of Abrupt Climate ChangeScenarios........196
l a n d b o o kM i l i t a r y G e o g r a p h y V
17
Werner GILLESSEN (Germany)
Military Geography in the Cold War: The Military Topographic Service
209
of the National People'sArmy of the Former German Democratic Republic ...........
Gerald GNASER (Austria)
Warfare in Mountainous Regions: The Last Days of the Second World War
i n t h e S e m m e r i n gA r e a
..............226
PeterGUTH; JustinJACKS (United Statesof America)
.....236
U si n g K M L t o Dis s e mi n a teMi l i ta ry G e o g ra p h y.. ............
Hugh HAMILTON (United Kingdom)
Michael Spender: a British Pioneer of Military Aerial Photographic
Ma p ping in W or ld Wa r II
........249
PALKA;
RussellS. HARMON; W. Chris KING; EugeneJ.
William W. DOE lll (United Statesof America)
Characterization of Extreme Environments for U.S. Armv Materiel
258
..........:.......
............
a n d Hum an P er f or m a n c e ' I-e s ti n g
Hermann HÄUSLER (Austria)
The ooForschungsstaffel
2.b.V.",a SpecialGeoscientificUnit of the German
Counter Military IntelligenceServiceDuring the SecondWorld War ......................276
HermannHAUSLER (Austria)
Celebrating the 70thBirthday of the Senior British Military Geologist
D r. Edwar d P . F . Rose
................287
Hermann HAUSLER (Austria)
.....298
GeologicalOutline of the ICMG 2009 Semmering Excursion .........
Report on National and International Conferenceson Military Geology
312
and on Military Geography,held from 1994- 2007
...............
327
Towards a Pragmatic Definition of Military Geosciences...........
..........
HermannHAUSLER; ReinhardMANG (Austria)
.................
339
Why International Conferenceon "Military Geosciences"?
William C. MAHANEY (Canada);PierreTRICART (France);
PeterDOYLE (United Kingdom)
344
Terrain Evaluation of the Hannibalic Alpine Invasion Route
..............
Reinhard MANG (Austria)
356
...............
Wa r i n A lpine Regio n s
Reinhard MANG (Austria)
World War I Positions at the Actual Austro-Italian Border:
............
369
Background Information on an Airborne Excursion
ReinhardMANG (Austria)
Th e o r y of M ilit ar y G e o g ra p h y :E n h a n c e me n tsa n d E xperi ences...........
...............319
JeanMARTIN (Canada)
The Nature-Military Alliance: Nature Protection and
.................
388
Military Control of Land in the Post-ColdWar Era
EugeneJ. PALKA (United Statesof America)
Climate Changeand PotentialEffects on Future U.S. Military Operations ........391
l8
BeatricePUYO (France);PeterDAMMERER (Austria)
Mapping in t he G o l a n Pe a c e m a k i n gM i s s i o n s :The C aseof U N D OF ..................
409
Marc Andrö RAPP; HeleneKAUTZ (Austria)
Report on Civil-Military Disaster Control Operationsin Styria, Austria ..........
418
Edward P. F. ROSE (UK)
Credit Due to the Few: British Field Force Geologistsof World War ll ............
429
Josef-MichaelSCHRAMM (Austria)
Geofogyand High Alpine Warfare During World War I
.....443
Th e M ilit ar y G eo l o g i c a Ou
l tl i n e M a p o f A u s tri a | : 2 000 000
457
...........
A Flight Excursion Crossing the Eastern Alps and Along the
Fo r m er A us t r o- I t a l i a nF ro n t L i n e ........
....410
Kurt A. SCHROEDER(United Statesof America)
MountainousTerrain and PrussianInvasionsof BohemiainlT5T and 1866........484
Hennie A. P. SMIT (South Africa)
The Developmentof an Environmental Approach in the
South African Department of Defence
....494
FriedrichTEICHMANN (Austria)
Military Geo-Products:A New Focusfor Application in International
Pe ac eS uppor t M i s s i o n
................
503
Dierk Willig (Germany)
Mining Warfare in the Wytschaete Ridge l9l4 - l9l7 - Advantages and
D is adv ant ages
of H i g h G ro u n d E m p l a c e m e n ts.........
...............
510
Marko ZEÖEV IC (Croatia)
Geologicaland GeotechnicalAspects of Deeply Buried Military Targets
in the Perspectiveof Network-CentricWarfare Doctrine
.,.,...525
Globus:
The globe portrayed on the cover side was originally made by the famous European
cartographerGerhard Mercator (1512- 1594).It is displayedat the Globe Museum of
the NationalLibrarv in Vienna.Austria.
19
Manfred F. BUCHROITHNER (Germany)
Glacier Changing in High-Alpine Regions Worldwide Objective Glacier Measurements versus
Conjectures
Keywords
Climate change, glacier change, glacier retreat, down-wasting
Abstract
Using examples from different high mountain ranges of the world, objective environmental showcases concerning the shrinkage rates of glaciers are given. Since glaciers
also reflect the annual snow- and, hence, water household, they are well-established
climate indicators in high-alpine terrain. Dating back to the middle of the 19th century,
sufficiently accurate maps displaying the actual extension and thickness of glaciers are
for instance not only available from the Alps but also from the Himalaya. The given
examples from the research activities of the author and his team in the Chilean Atacama Andes, the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Western (Bernina Massif) and the
Eastern Alps (Dachstein Massif), the Northern Tian Shan, and the Nepalese Himalaya
(Mt. Everest Massif) are mainly based on historical air- and multisensoral spaceborne
remote sensing data and in some cases also comprehend figures about the downwasting rates. The latter ones represent the truly interesting facts, since they are based on
multi-temporal glacier morphology indicating the volumetric changes. An example of
stereo-restitution of the previously classified U.S. Corona (KH-4) intelligence imagery
from 1962 applied to Mt. Everest’s Khumbu Glacier is also given. All these data can
serve as an objective short-time database for long-term modelling. If for definite statements regarding the future of the regional cryospheric and climatic developments these
time-series are sufficient has still to be questioned. In any case, today data acquired
by (very) high-resolution passive (e.g. WorldView) and active spaceborne sensors (e.g.
ALOS PalSAR or TerraSAR-X) allow to determine the current state of the glaciers by
means of remote sensing with a comparatively high degree of accuracy.
1 Introduction
Glaciers are important to be studied for several reasons:
In high-alpine regions glaciers are more important than permafrost or snow coverage. Their size changes rapidly. They are crucial water sources for dry areas, they are
sources of hydro-power, and they serve as tourist attractions. However: Glaciers are
mostly difficult to study. They are frequently located in remote mountain areas which
are often hard to access. Hence, spaceborne remote sensing data are the means of
choice for their exploration.
Basically, remote sensing imagery can be used
- to extract the glacier outlines
- to identify glacier surface characteristics
International Handbook Military Geography
81
-
to determine volume losses (down-wasting), and
to calculate glacier velocities.
These characteristics can be obtained both manually and in automated ways. The first
approach is comparatively time-consuming but usually more accurate, computer-based
automated methods are faster but frequently more error-prone. Current developments
at the Institute for Cartography (IfC) of the Dresden University of Technology (TUD),
Germany, are aiming at an error reduction and thus an improvement of objectivity. In
order to embed the findings about recent glacier changes reported in this article into the
global development, Figure 1 summarises the cumulative mass balances calculated for
larger regions over the last 50 years based on the publication by M. B. DYURGEROV
& M. F. MEIER (2005).
Figure 1: Cumulative mass balance within the last 50 years calculated for larger areas (from M. B.
DYURGEROV & M. F. MEIER, 2005).
The spaceborne data listed in the Table 1 have so far been applied by the IfC at
TUD, partly in close cooperation with partner institutes. Since the IfC has been highly
acclaimed for its research regarding glacier changes worldwide, these data sets may be
considered sort of representative.
Sensor
Organisation
Operation
Spatial Resolution
Stereo
Corona KH-4/-4A/-4B
CIA Dir. Technol. Sci.
1962 – 1972
4–8m
Yes
Landsat MSS
NASA
1972 – 1983
80 m
No
KFA 1000 (Resurs-F1)
Russian Space Agency
1979 – 1987
5-7 m
Yes
82
Sensor
Organisation
Operation
Spatial Resolution
Stereo
Landsat TM
NASA
since 1982
30 m
No
Metric Camera System (MC)
ESA
1983
40 lp/mm
Yes
Large Format Camera (LFC)
NASA/ESA
1984
70 lp/mm
Yes
MK4 (Resurs-F2)
Russian Space Agency
1987 – 1995
8m
Yes
IRS-1C
ISRO
1995 – 1996
5.8 m
Yes
Landsat ETM+
NASA
since 1999
30 m (15 m panchrom)
No
ASTER
NASA
since 1999
15 m
Yes
SRTM (STS-99)
NASA/DLR
1999
30 m / 90 m
Yes
IKONOS
GeoEye
since 1999
3.2 m (0.8 m panchrom)
No
Quickbird 2
DigitalGlobe
since 2001
2.4 m (0.6 m panchrom)
No
Spot 5
CNES
since 2002
10 m (2.5 m panchrom)
Yes
Cartosat 1 (IRS P5)
ISRO
since 2005
2.5 m
Yes
ALOS PRISM
JAXA
since 2006
2.5 m
Yes
RapidEye
RapidEye Germany
since 2008
6.5 m
Yes
Table 1: Spaceborne remote sensing data used in glacier monitoring activities of the Institute for
Cartography at the Dresden University of Technology in both Americas, Europe and Asia. Note:
The exact operation periods of KFA1000 and MK4 sensors cannot be retrieved from literature in an
unambiguous way.
Examples from the research activities of the author and his team in the Chilean Atacama Andes (S. EYDAM, 2009; M. F. BUCHROITHNER, 2010), the Canadian Rocky
Mountains (T. BOLCH et al., 2009), the Western Alps (Bernina Massif, T. BOLCH,
2008) and the Eastern Alps (Dachstein Massif, K. BRUHM et al., 2010), the Northern
Tian Shan in Kazachstan (T. BOLCH, 2008), the Nepalese Himalaya (Mt. Everest
Massif, T. BOLCH et al. 2008 a, b) and the southwestern Nyainqentanglha Range in
Southern Tibet are mainly based on historical multisensoral (air- and mostly) spaceborne
remote sensing data and in some cases also comprehend figures about the down-wasting
rates. At the same time the different types of figures may demonstrate the variety of
illustrations which can be used to depict the dynamics of the glaciers both in the form
of indicative graphs and in a more photorealistic way.
Figure 2 shows the global distribution of the aforementioned remote sensing-based
change analyses in different mountain ranges of both Americas, Europe and high Asia.
In detail these areas of interest are the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, the High
Atacama-Andes of Chile, the Bernina Massif in the Swiss Alps, the Dachstein Massif
in the Austrian Alps, the Northern Tian Shan Range in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan,
the Nepalese side of the Mount Everest Massif in the Himalaya, and the south-western
Nyainqentanglha Range in Tibet.
2 Results of Multitemporal Remote Sensing Studies
2.1 Rocky Mountains of British Columbia
Within a recent GLIMS project (GLIMS: Global Land Ice Measurements from Space)
carried out at the University of British Columbia in Prince George, the following quesInternational Handbook Military Geography
83
tions have been tackled: How has the glacier extent changed in Alberta and British
Columbia within the last 20 years? Have the rates of loss (or gain) varied over this
period? And, if so: Are there regional differences in the Canadian Cordillera? What
impact has the glacier change on water resources and aquatic ecosystems? Figure 3 gives
an impressive view of what trend could be expected regarding the answers. Within the
years 2008 and 2009 for the first time a complete glacier inventory was generated for
Western Canada, i.e. the Canadian Rockies south of 60° North (T. BOLCH et al., 2009).
Figure 2: Global distribution of the studied glacierised mountain ranges. For further explanations
see text.
Figure 3: The change of the distal part of Robson Glacier at the British Columbia-Alberta boundary
in the Canadian Rockies over roughly a century (From R. D. MOORE et al., 2009).
Figure 4 displays the annual glacier retreat rates over a period of 20 years before 2005.
Basically, no real supra-regional trend can be derived. It can however, be noted that the
three most north-western regions of the studied Canadian Rockies, i.e. the Northern
84
Coast Mountains, show the lowest values, a fact which certainly has to be attributed
to the closeness to the Pacific Ocean and the resulting comparatively higher precipitation. The retreat rates are highest in the Northern Interior Ranges and the Central
Coast Mountains. The trends derivable form the longer-period studies given in Table
2 principally corroborate the values given in the 2-decades representation of Figure 4.
The total area loss of the glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains over the period
1985 – 2005 amounts to the impressive figure of 3.335 km² (Table 3).
Logically - and this statement applies to all the regions presented in this paper – the
glacier recession alters the run-off of the glacier-fed rivers. This has a strong impact
on the water resources in particular and on the eco-systems in general.
Figure 4: Annual areal glacier retreat rates in the Canadian Rocky Mountains 1985 – 2005 (From
T. BOLCH et al., 2009).
Area Loss (%) Rate (% a-1)
Region
Time period
W. Canada
1986 – 2005
11.1
0.55
Bolch et al. (2009)
Southern Rockies 1952 – 2001
15
0.31
DeBeer & Sharp (2007)
1965 – 2002
7
0.13
DeBeer & Sharp (2007)
S. Coast Icefields 1991 – 2000
1.6
0.17
VanLooy & Forster (2008)
Upper Bow River 1951 – 1993
25
0.60
Luckman & Kavanagh (2000)
Up. Saskat. River 1975 – 1998
26
1.13
Demuth et al. (2008)
Southern Coast
Reference
Table 2: Area loss of glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains over periods between 50 and 20 years
(From T. BOLCH et al., 2009).
85
Figure 5: Total area loss of the glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains over the period 1985 – 2005
(From T. BOLCH et al., 2009).
Region
Ice cov. Area (1985)
St. Elias
3615.6 (1987)
Northern Coast Mountains
10863.2 (1983)
Ice cov. Area (2005)
3330.4
10029.1 (2005)
No. of glaciers (1985)
510
3131
Central Coast Mountains
2077.9 (1987)
1625.1 (2005)
2293
Southern Coast Mountains
7911.7 (1987)
7097.3 (2004)
3620
Vancouver Island
18.2 (1987)
14.5 (2005)
61
Northern Interior Ranges
696.9 (1985)
529.9 (2005)
729
Southern Interior Ranges
2252.6 (1985)
1910.4 (2006)
1855
496.8 (1986)
418.0 (2006)
464
Northern Rocky Mountains
Central Rocky Mountains
Southern Rocky Mountains
Whole Inventory
509.1 (1986)
420.0 (2006)
361
1587.0 (1984)
1351.7 (2006)
1089
30063.0
26728.0
14329
Table 3: Total areas covered by the ice of 14 329 glaciers in the Canadian Rockies in 1985 and in 2005
(Based on a more comprehensive table by T. BOLCH et al., 2009).
2.2 Alps
Principally, in the Alps the glaciers are situated much lower than those of the Andes or
those of High Asia. On the other side the climate is also much more continental than in
the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Thus, the conditions in the mightiest mountain range of
Europe cannot be compared in a simple way with the other ranges treated in this paper.
86
In any case, no other mountain chain or massif in the world can boast a surveying
and mapping record which goes as far back as the one of the Alps (cf. K. BRUNNER,
1987). In accordance with the studies carried out by the staff of the IfC at the TU
Dresden I shall pick out the Bernina Massif as an example for the Western, and the
Dachstein Massif as an example for the Eastern Alps.
2.2.1 Bernina Massif
The glaciers of the Bernina Massif in the western Swiss Alps may serve as typical
examples for the Western Alps. The studies of the glacier extent go back to the years
around 1850 when, during the “Little Ice Age”, the glaciers of the Alps showed their
last maximum. Due to the pronounced moraines their extension can be mapped very
clearly. Hence, for many glaciers in the Alps there exist estimations – or rather relatively
accurate determinations – of the area loss over a period of 150 years and more. As for
the Bernina the total loss in area of the studies three glaciers Morteratsch, Roseg and
Tschierva amounts to 14.92 km, which corresponds to 30.63 % of initially 48.72 km² of
the area glacierised in 1850 (Table 4). It is interesting and indicative that the area loss
between 1973 and 1999 is many times over that of the preceding 123 years assuming
a non-linear development (Table 4).
The following Figures 6 through 7 are taken from the monograph by T. BOLCH
(2008). They demonstrate impressively the significant retreat of some of the north-eastexposed major the glaciers in the Bernina Group. In Figure 6 the various coloured lines
indicate the outlines of these glaciers in the years ~1850, 1976, 1992 and 2004. The
small graph shows the area loss of Roseg and Tschierva Glacier. Figure 7 visualises
the glacier retreat stages in the Bernina Massif during the period 1850 – 1999 taking
the example of the Morteratsch Galacier, again in a rather photorealistic way, using
Landsat TM data draped over an SRTM/ASTER-derived optimized DTM. These figures
do not need further explication; they speak for themselves and show also very nicely
the unsteadiness of the glacier retreat. As already stated above, Table 4 summarises the
glacier dynamics in the Bernina Massif during the period 1850 – 1999.
Figure 6: Bernina Massif, Swiss
Alps: Landsat TM data draped
over an SRTM/ASTER-derived
optimized DTM. The various
coloured lines indicate the outlines of the in the years 1850 (approx.), 1976, 1992 and 2004. The
small graph shows the area loss
of Roseg and Tschierva Glacier
after T. BOLCH (2007).
87
Figure 7: Glacier retreat stages
in the Bernina Massif, Switzerland, during the period1850 –
1999, shown for the Morteratsch
Galacier. Landsat TM data
draped over an SRTM/ASTERderived optimized DTM (From
T. BOLCH, 2008).
Period 1850 - 1973 Period 1973 - 1999
Absolute area loss [km²]
10.62
4.30
Relative area loss [%]
21.80
11.20
0.18
0.43
Absolute increase of mean glacier elevation [m]
103.00
36.00
Relative increase of mean glacier elevation [%]
3.50
1.20
Mean annual increase of mean glacier elevation [m]
0.83
1.39
Mean annual area loss [%]
Table 4: Glacier retreat in the Bernina Massif, Switzerland, during the period 1850 – 1999 (From
T. BOLCH, 2008).
2.3.2 Dachstein Massif
For almost than 150 years the Dachstein Massif south-east of the City of Salzburg
in Austria has been both intensively studied regarding its glaciers and topographically
mapped in detail. Thus it seems very well suited for the visualization of glacier changes.
In a project aiming at the cross-media presentation of the glacier retreat in the Eastern
Alps K. BRUHM et al. (2010) visualised both the areal reduction of the various Dachstein
glaciers and their down-wasting rates for the time period between 1850 and 2002. The
results comprise overflights, film animation of ice thicknesses, lenticular displays and
stereo-overflights for back-projection facilities (Figure 8).
Glaciers
1850
1915
2002
Hallstatt / Schladming Glacier
7568460
6114510
3983797
Great Gosau Glacier
2559852
2007971
1312897
Little Gosau Glacier
472440
160530
95882
88288
25750
Northern Torstein Glacier
88
Glaciers
Southern Torstein Glacier
Schneeloch Glacier
Total [m²]
Area loss since 1850 [%]
1850
1915
2002
101605
82581
4668
678195
458242
169478
11380552
8912122
5592472
23.8
49.3
Table 5: Glacier surface and glacier retreat in the Dachstein Massif, Austria, during the period
1850 – 2002 (From K. BRUHM et al., 2010).
Glacier level 1850
Glacier level 2002
Figure 8: Screenshots of film animations regarding ice area and thickness alterations in the Dachstein
Massif (From K. BRUHM et al., 2010).
2.4 High Asia
Three study regions shall serve as examples for the vast mountain ranges of High
Asia which, due to their geographic distribution in the Northern Tian Shan, at the
backbone of the Himalaya, i.e. at the Nepalese side of the Mount Everest Massif, and
on the Tibet Plateau, i.e. in the Nyainqentanglha Range north-west of Lhasa. The curves
in Figure 9 display the cumulative glacier net balances over the last decades in the
Northern Tian Shan and the Everest Massif. Despite regional changes their significant
downward trend is clearly visible.
Figure 9: Glacier net mass
balances within
the last decades
in the Tian Shan
Ranges and the
Nepalese Everest
Massif (From T.
BOLCH , 20 07
and T. BOLCH
et al., 2008 a).
89
2.4.1 Northern Tian Shan
The major study area in the Tian Shan Ranges which is covered in this article is
located north of the second-largest high-mountain lake of the world after Lake Titicaca,
Issyk Kul (i.e. Issyk Lake).
One of the best studied glacierised areas in High Asia are the mountains around the
famous Tuyksu Glacier near the Kazakh capital Almati. Its location is shown in Figure
10. Table 6 shows the area loss of the glaciers of the Northern Tian Shan within the
periods 1850 – 1999 to 1990 – 1999. While during the whole period of 150 years the
average annual loss amounts to 0.13 %, from 1955 – 1999 it is 0.85 %, form 1979 –
1999 even reaches up to the high rate of 1.42 %, and from 1990 – 1999 it drops again
to 0.77 %. This clearly shows the discontinuous, climate-dependent development of the
glacier extents. According to M. B. DYURGEROV et al. (1994) within the ranges of
the Tian Shan the importance of the annual pattern of snow accumulation rises with
creasing continentality. This implies that the glaciers at northern slopes are mostly
maritime, whereas glaciers in the south are more continental.
Figure 10: Glacier states of the
Tuyuksu Glacier
and surroundings in the
Northern Tian
Shan from the
17th/18th century
on until present.
Landsat TM
data draped
over an SRTM/
ASTER-derived
optimized DTM
(From T. BOLCH, 2007).
Absolute area loss [km²]
Relative area loss [%]
Mean annual rel. area loss [%]
Period
Period
Period
Period
Period
1850 - 1955
1955 - 1999
1955 - 1979
1979 - 1990
1990 - 1999
-1.40
-3.40
-1.20
-1.80
-0.40
-13.30
-37.60
-13.20
-22.80
-6.90
-0.13
-0.85
-0.69
-1.42
-0.77
Table 6: Area loss of the glaciers of the Northern Tian Shan within the periods 1850 – 1999 to 1990
– 1999 (From T. BOLCH, 2007).
90
2.4.2 Himalaya - Mount Everest Massif
Until recent years not too much has been known about the temporal behaviour of the
Himalayan glaciers within the 50 last years, not to talk about earlier periods. A recent
study by R. BHAMBRI & T. BOLCH (2009) dealt with a critical review of ancient
maps and recent spaceborne imagery. A comprehensive multi-year project dealt with
the investigation of the glacier changes on the southern, Nepalese side of the Himalayan
Mount Everest Massif. Within this study for the first time declassified U.S. American
spaceborne intelligence imagery has been stereoscopically exploited for the exact quantification of not only retreat but also down-waste rates.
Figure 11 illustrates the significant changes of the Khumbu Glacier over a period of
40 years from 1962 – 2003 in nadir view by confronting of 1962 black-and-white Corona
and 2003 ASTER data. In particular, a view at the colour ASTER image demonstrates
the retreat of the snout and the increase of superglacial lakes. Even more impressive and
more indicative is the alteration of the surface which allows to quantify the loss of ice.
Locally the downwaste rate reaches 25 meters and more (for more detailed information
see T. BOLCH et al., 2008 a).
Figure 11: Surface changes of the Khumbu Glacier at Mount Everest over a period of 40 years from
1962 – 2003.
3 Conclusions
In times of increasing awareness towards environmental issues in various scientific
communities and in the public the global climate change is an issue of special interest.
Glaciers are considered to be particularly indicative, and much has been written about
“models” predicting their future development in both highly scientific papers as well as
in newspapers. Frequently, wild conjectures are replacing the objective description of
facts. Hence, in this article concrete measurement results are to be reported. As can be
91
seen from the reported case studies, the annual retreat rates in all regions world-wide
where measurements of periods of approx. 25 years and more exist amount to values
between 0.11 (Central Tibet) to 0.75 % (Northern Tian Shan) per annum (Figure 12).
Only in the Swiss Alps and in the catchment of the Saskatchwan River in the Canadian
Rocky Mountains there occur rates of 0.81 % and 1.13 % respectively (T. BOLCH et
al., 2009) (Table 7).
Figure 12: Annual retreat rate of glaciers in Central Asia (Figure courtesy Tobias
Bolch, Dresden/Zurich).
Table 7: Annual retreat rate of glaciers in Western Canada compared to those in the Alps
and in Central Asia (Table courtesy Tobias Bolch, Dresden/Zurich).
92
Moreover, it has to be stated that the retreat processes are by no means linear and
continuous. Nevertheless, over the last 50 years, a trend of glacier reduction can be
noticed. This trend shows a global increase within the last 10 to 15 years. Above all,
to the author’s opinion today’s data bases of measurements are by far too small to
make sound extrapolations regarding future scenarios. The present paper is meant to
emphasize this and to bring the sometimes rather risky predictions back to the reality
of concrete data derived from objective remote sensing measurements.
The inferences made on the basis of the presented studies suggest that today's data
bases are still by far too small to draw sound conclusions regarding the behaviour of
the glaciers at a worldwide scale. The fact that only glaciers in the range of one tenth
of a percent have currently been studied with respect to their mass loss goes along the
line that regional and local trends have not yet been investigated sufficiently. Hence,
we are still far from a situation where solid temporal extrapolations and/or spatial
interpolations can be made. Remote sensing, however, provides means to accurately
determine the volume changes of the glaciers.
4 Acknowledgements
Publications of results of the project “Monitoring of Glaciers and Glacial Lakes using
ASTER data” and “Dynamic response of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau to climate
change (DynRG-TiP)” were funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Furthermore, I am grateful to the valuable contributions of Tino Pieczonka (TU Dresden).
Bibliography
BHAMBRI, Rakesh; BOLCH, Tobias (2009)
Glacier mapping: A review with special reference to the Indian Himalayas. In: Progress in Physical Geography, vol. 33, no. 5, p. 672 - 704. London, United Kingdom.
BOLCH, Tobias (2007)
GIS- und fernerkundungsgestützte Analyse und Visualisierung von Klima- und Gletscheränderungen im nördlichen Tien Shan
(Kasachstan/Kyrgyzstan) mit einem Vergleich zur Bernina-Gruppe/Alpen. Saarbrücken, Germany: Vdm Verlag Dr. Müller.
BOLCH, T. (2008)
Klima- und Gletscheränderungen im nördlichen Tien Shan (Kasachstan/Kyrgyzstan) mit einem Vergleich
zur Bernina-Gruppe/Alpen (in German with English and Russian abstract and captions). VDM Verlag Dr.
Müller, pp. 264, ISBN: 3-639-03742-1. (=Bolch, T. (2006): Dissertation, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, pp.
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Planimetric and volumetric glacier changes in the Khumbu Himal, Nepal, since 1962 using Corona, Landsat
TM and ASTER data. In: Journal of Glaciology, vol. 54, no. 187, p. 592 - 600. Cambridge, United Kingdom.
BOLCH, Tobias; BUCHROITHNER, Manfred; PETERS, Juliane; BAESSLER, Michael; BAJRACHARYA, S. (2008 b)
Identification of glacier motion and potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Mt. Everest region/Nepal using
spaceborn imagery. In: Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, vol. 8, p. 1329 - 1340. Göttingen, Germany.
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Author
Eur.-Ing. Dipl.-Geol. Dr. Univ.-Prof.
Manfred F. BUCHROITHNER
1950:
1970:
1979:
1980:
1985:
1992:
94
Born in Linz, Austria.
Studies in Geology and Palaeontology as a Major and in Mineralogy and Petrology as a Minor at the University of Graz, Austria.
Post-doctoral studies in "Geological Survey Using Aerial Photography and Other
Remote Sensing Techniques" and in cartography at the International Institute
for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC) in Enschede, The Netherlands.
Department for Satellite Cartography, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
Director of the Institute for Image Processing and Computer Graphics of the
Graz Research Center (now Joanneum Research).
Professor and Chair of Cartography at the Dresden University of Technology, Germany.

1 Introduction - Institut für Kartographie

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