The Future of the Swiss Alps: Predictions for the Engadin

The Engadin: The Swiss Alps Geology

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100 million years ago, the African tectonic plate began to move to towards the more stable European and Asian plate and under that massive pressure the bottom of the Tethyan Sea began to rise to form mountains, which we know as the Swiss Alps (The Geography, 2017). The looks of the mountains where shaped on a smaller scale by glacial periods and glaciers in the area, which is shown in U-shaped valleys such as in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland (The Geography, 2017). The Engadin specifically lakes such as Lake Sils, the largest natural lake in Switzerland above 1000 meters, which is overlooked by multiple mountains above 3000 meters (Physical Geography). The Engadin has almost continental climate, with less precipitation and lower temperatures compared to the west of the Swiss Alps (Ambuehler, 2016).

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The Engadin: 10,000 Years from Now

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10,000 years from now, the Swiss Alps will be still growing, since they are a relatively young mountain range overall, recognizable, by its high and sharp tops (The Geography, 2017). Even though by then, they will already have been subject to erosion, starting to round out, making famous peaks such as the Matterhorn appear rounder and flatter. Considering the climate change the world is facing, the Swiss Alps will experience hot summers and little to no snow coverage in the winter, based on current the hypothesis of the temperature increasing by 0.25 degree Celsius every decade in the first half of the 21^st century alone and then and even higher increase per decade (Gobiet, Kotlarski, Beniston, Heinrich, Rajczak, Stoffel).  

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The Engadin: 1,000,000 Years from Now

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1,000,000 years from now, the Swiss Alps possibly just have gone through another Ice Age, which as suggested by many scientists, is delayed through CO2 emission, but on its way (Climate change, 2016). Scientific research indicates, that we will experience another Ice Age in around 100,000 years. This would mean that, as we learned in the lectures, more glacial valleys would have been formed due to glaciers expanding over the mountains and are now exposed after the Ice Age ending and on top of that would come the ongoing erosion of the mountain tops making them rounder.

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The Engadin: 10,000,000 Years from Now

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Lastly, 10,000,000 years from now, the Swiss Alps will have its sharp mountain tops carved down to soft, round tops (The Geography, 2017). This means that by this time around, the Swiss Alps are on the way to being eroded down, and it’s now over 3000 meter high mountain tops will shrink down a sizeable number of meters, caused by erosion of weathering, but also from the glacial coverage during the before coming Ice Age. An example of what it might look like the Sierra Nevada mountains look today, considering that they are about 150,000,000 years old, so 50 million more than the Swiss Alps, and assuming that the upcoming Ice Age and global warming will speed up the erosion.

Conclusion

Overall, the Swiss Alps, known for its sharp peaks and U-shaped valleys, can predictably go through another Ice Age, which many scientists are suspecting in the future, which will lead to an increase in weathering and erosion through glacier building and retreating across the mountains. This will cause an increase in valleys in the area and a rounding of the sharp mountain tips to softer tops. The climate also will change drastically, to first a hotter climate to an Ice Age and then lastly to a more moderate climate.

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References

Ambuehler, R. (2016, April 24). Climate. Retrieved May 03, 2017, from http://www.about.ch/geography/index.html

Climate change could delay next ice age by 100,000 years. (2016, January 15). Kirriemuir Herald [Forfar, Scotland]. Retrieved from http://0-go.galegroup.com.skyline.ucdenver.edu/ps/i.do?p=STND&sw=w&u=auraria_main&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA440042599&sid=summon&asid=91f0b7cb4a8351d0d83f7418a050f32d

Gobiet, A., Kotlarski, S., Beniston, M., Heinrich, G., Rajczak, J., & Stoffel, M. (n.d.). 21st century climate change in the European Alps—A review ☆. Retrieved May 03, 2017, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969713008188

Physical Geography - Simply Swiss. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2017, from https://sites.google.com/a/middleschoolkcd.org/switzerland-europe-project/physical-geography

The geography of Switzerland and the Swiss Alps. (2017, April 30). Retrieved May 03, 2017, from http://www.myswissalps.com/aboutswitzerland/nature/geography

The Threat of Avalanches in the Engadin

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In the last 76 years, an average of 25 people, which totals to 1884, have died in avalanche incidents in Switzerland (Techel, Zweifel, 2013). The numbers of tourism have been increasing in the last couple of years, which has led to the expansion of settlements, also in the Engadin.

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The main cause of these avalanches is permafrost, which has been closely monitored and safety measurements have been built in its terrain (Phillips, 2005). But new structures are being developed to ensure the safety of the tourists in the region.  Improved snow supporting structures are being tested and one of their test sites is Pontresina, Engadin, a tourist attraction (Phillips, 2005).  Test site is the Laviner Giandains avalanche gully, 36 degree steep, west oriented blocky slope, not only an avalanche risk zone but also a potential release for large debris flows in summers (Phillips, 2005).

(http://www.monosar.org/safety_article_avalanche/swiss_avalanche_danger_chart_w600hq.jpg)

The results of these studies conducted in, to build at the end of the gully an avalanche/ debris flow retention dam, that now will protect the city of Pontresina and its tourism from the dangerous threat and it also helped other regions around the world that suffer from dangers caused by permafrost (Philipps, 2005).

(http://www.gletscherarchiv.de/die_folgen/pontresina-geschiebemauer-engadin-graubuenden-schweiz-22-9-2/)

Nevertheless, avalanche/debris flow retention dams, snow-supporting structures, and others are no excuse to take your ski off course, because avalanches still kill 25 people a year in Switzerland, on average, alone. So, check the “Lawinenbulletin” website for Switzerland to ensure you won’t become a victim to mass wasting (SLF, 2017). On this website, a useful resource for every tourist coming to the Engadin, it is possible to check the risk level for dry and wet avalanches in your area (SLF, 2017).  It’s always better to be safe than sorry, when it comes to the dangers of mass wasting, especially in areas where permafrost causes them, since there is ways to contain them, but not to completely stop them.

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References:

Phillips, M. (2005, December 05). Avalanche Defence Strategies and Monitoring of Two Sites in Mountain Permafrost Terrain, Pontresina, Eastern Swiss Alps. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/ninas/Downloads/Avalanche_Defence_Strategies_and_Monitoring_of_Two.pdf

SLF, W. (n.d.). SLF > Avalanche bulletins > Avalanche danger. Retrieved March 30, 2017, from http://www.slf.ch/lawinenbulletin/lawinengefahr/index_EN

Techel, F., & Weifel, B. (2013). Recreational avalanche accidents in Switzerland: Trends and patterns with an emphasis on burial, rescue methods and avalanche danger. Retrieved March 27, 2017, from http://www.slf.ch/praevention/lawinenunfaelle/Publikationen/Techel_Zweifel_Unfaelle_ISSW_2013_Paper.pdf

The Future of the Engadin

The Engadin is one of many tourist attractions Switzerland has to offer. Every year, tourists visit the Engadin for its beautiful landscape to hike in during the summers and to ski in the winter. But, with a continuing loss of glaciers and increase in temperatures in the Swiss Alps due to Global warming, many in the region are concerned for the future of the tourism in the Engadin.

The view of the Engadin mountains during a good snow coverage winter. Picture from https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=9Wc04PKT&id=7F2C6DF3E388DEEF23C623506AD5BB0188FAE5F9&q=engadin&simid=608022398176265077&selectedindex=56&mode=overlay&first=1&thid=OIP.9Wc04PKTEAXQrScvPzU2agEsB1

Background of the Swiss Alps

The Swiss Alps were created as a result of the collision between the European and the African tectonic plate, occurring between the Mesozoic and Miocene epochs (1). The shape of the Alps has been determined by especially ice erosion, since masses of ice have advanced and retreated numerous times through these mountains as the climate cooled and warmed over the years (1).

Current situation of the Swiss Alps

In the recent decades’ temperatures, have substantially risen in the region, with significant warming occurring since the 1990s. Global warming and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) play a major role in negative snow accumulation in the Swiss Alps in the recent years (2). Due to this development, the snow season now starts 12 days later and ends 26 days earlier than in the 1970’(2).          

Recession of the Morteratsch glacier in the Engadin. On the left, a picture from the glacier in 1900 and on the right a picture from 2012. Picture from http://www.swisseduc.ch/glaciers/morteratsch/repeat_photos_1972_2012/morteratsch_chuenetta/index-en.html

Future Predictions for the Engadin

Global warming is not only causing the glaciers in the Alps to recess, but it also has a great effect on the snow coverage, which is crucial for the tourism flow to the Engadin. Climate change calculations expect an air temperature increase between 2.7-4.1°C by 2085 for the region, and they calculate a decrease in snow cover duration by 30 days for every 1°C increase in temperature (2). This will cause winter tourism to greatly decrease.

The later snowfall is already affecting the winter tourist areas of the Swiss alps. More and more days during the winters could look like this is the future Picture from https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=jqLIOErM&id=5DB519E47C0408396714BB3929A7EE0FEBE6C6B8&q=swiss+alps+sno+coverage+decrease&simid=607999067901726180&selectedIndex=75&ajaxhist=0

Conclusion

Even though the Swiss Alps have seen many retreating and growing of their glaciers before, the outlook for the Engadin’s winter tourism is dull. Global warming is a major player in temperature increase and snow decrease, which will lead to a decline in tourism during the winter.

1.      Burns, S. F. (n.d.). Alps. Retrieved March 04, 2017, from http://salempress.com/store/pdfs/earth_surface.pdf

2.      Climate change in Switzerland. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2017, from http://www.climatechangepost.com/switzerland/climate-change/

Engadin, Switzerland

Hello Everyone,

My Nina Aglaia Schopferer and I'm a Junior at CU Denver.
My major is Communication and my minor is Business. I hope to graduate next year in May and after that I would love to get a job in the field of marketing or public relations. An interesting fact to know about me is, that I'm originally from Germany and moved out here to Colorado about three years ago to be with my now fiancé, who is American and originally from Colorado Springs.

In my free time I enjoy activities such as yoga, basketball and recently I've gotten into playing some touch football, too. But I also quite enjoy travelling, especially around the US, since it's so different from where I come from in Europe. Also, I like to spend my time exploring Denver's bars, coffee shops and restaurants.

As a location I selected the Engadin in Switzerland. All through my childhood, my family and I travelled there twice a year to go skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. The region is like a second home to me. Since not many people, especially in the United States have ever heard of it, I thought it would be a great choice since the region is absolutely gorgeous.

I'm greatly excited to learn more about physical geography in general but also can't wait to look deeper into the geography of the Engadin. Even though I've spend so much time in this place, I know there is much to explore in how it took shape and how it got to look as beautiful as it does today.