The first Alpine Glaciology Meeting (AGM) was held in Zurich in 1997 with the aim of offering an informal platform for scientists working on snow and ice to discuss their methods, problems and results. The working language is English, and young scientists in particular are encouraged to present their work in progress. The AGM concept is similar to that of the “Northwest Glaciology Meeting” which has been held annually in Seattle (USA) for many years with a minimal amount of logistic overhead.

Some 60 persons from 9 different countries participated at this meeting, 34 oral presentations were given, and 5 posters were presented. The topics discussed included photogrammetry applications in glaciology and permafrost studies, ice sheets, energy balance over snow and ice, glacier mass balance, glacial hydrology and various others. Most of these represent work-in-progress, and lively discussions ensued

on the use of new satellite images in glaciology,

on the application of various geophysical methods in permafrost detection,

and on the continuous search for evidence of the effects of climate change, e.g., glacier mass balance investigations, ice core analyses, etc.

A wide disparity of views exists with regards to this third point; the scientific community is cautioned to avoid making the same mistake as many public media which equate "climate" with "mean annual air temperature".

The technical problems associated with "simple" measurements such as air temperature (ventilated vs. unventilated), and the rather sophisticated analyses of eddy correlation data and profile measurements to determine the turbulent fluxes over snow and ice, were focused on in particular.

Certain questions remain open in areas such as:

the impact of spatial scale in modelling snow- and ice-melt runoff,

and the mechanics of ice flow, including the processes at the glacier bed.

In connection with the fate of the "Ötztal Ice Man", it was found that so-called permanent snow patches are much less affected by climatic change than extended glacier areas, as snow patches keep their extent much more constant due to a negative feedback between ablation and accumulation.

In summary, this meeting fostered the lively exchange of experience in current glaciological studies, and proved to be useful to put in closer contact experienced senior scientists with young, innovative researchers. The next Alpine Glaciology Meeting will take place at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW-ETH) in Zurich (www.glaciology.ch ) on

Some speakers provided abstracts of their presentations, which are downloadable from the following list of all contributions.

1. Session Photogrammetry

2. Session Icesheets

3. Session Energy Balance

4. Session Glacier Mass Balance

5. Session Hydrology

6. Session Various

7. Posters

During the sessions... Images kindly submitted by Katharina Schulz

Coffee break... Images kindly submitted by Katharina Schulz

Thursday evening at Munich Hofbräuhaus... Images kindly submitted by Frank Paul

Lunch at the Academy of Sciences... Images by L. Braun and M. Weber

Visiting the Alpine Museum of the DAV... Images kindly submitted by Frank Paul

At Spöckmeier on Saturday morning... Image kindly delivered by Gleb Glazirin