Articles | Volume 13, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-365-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-365-2025
Research article
 | 
15 May 2025
Research article |  | 15 May 2025

Sub-surface processes and heat fluxes at coarse blocky Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps): seasonal ice and convective cooling render rock glaciers climate-robust

Dominik Amschwand, Jonas Wicky, Martin Scherler, Martin Hoelzle, Bernhard Krummenacher, Anna Haberkorn, Christian Kienholz, and Hansueli Gubler

Related authors

Seasonal ice storage changes and meltwater generation at Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps): estimates from measurements and energy budgets in the coarse blocky active layer
Dominik Amschwand, Seraina Tschan, Martin Scherler, Martin Hoelzle, Bernhard Krummenacher, Anna Haberkorn, Christian Kienholz, Lukas Aschwanden, and Hansueli Gubler
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2219–2253, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2219-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2219-2025, 2025
Short summary
Investigating seasonal and multi-decadal water/ice storage changes in the Murtèl rock glacier using time-lapse gravimetry
Landon J. S. Halloran and Dominik Amschwand
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3933,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3933, 2025
Short summary
Surface heat fluxes at coarse blocky Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps)
Dominik Amschwand, Martin Scherler, Martin Hoelzle, Bernhard Krummenacher, Anna Haberkorn, Christian Kienholz, and Hansueli Gubler
The Cryosphere, 18, 2103–2139, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2103-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2103-2024, 2024
Short summary
Deciphering the evolution of the Bleis Marscha rock glacier (Val d'Err, eastern Switzerland) with cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating, aerial image correlation, and finite element modeling
Dominik Amschwand, Susan Ivy-Ochs, Marcel Frehner, Olivia Steinemann, Marcus Christl, and Christof Vockenhuber
The Cryosphere, 15, 2057–2081, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2057-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2057-2021, 2021
Short summary

Related subject area

Physical: Geomorphology (including all aspects of fluvial, coastal, aeolian, hillslope and glacial geomorphology)
AI-based tracking of fast-moving alpine landforms using high-frequency monoscopic time-lapse imagery
Hanne Hendrickx, Melanie Elias, Xabier Blanch, Reynald Delaloye, and Anette Eltner
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 705–721, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-705-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-705-2025, 2025
Short summary
Use of simple analytical solutions in the calibration of shallow water equation debris flow models
Riccardo Bonomelli, Marco Pilotti, and Gabriele Farina
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 665–681, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-665-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-665-2025, 2025
Short summary
Localised geomorphic response to channel-spanning leaky wooden dams
Joshua M. Wolstenholme, Christopher J. Skinner, David Milan, Robert E. Thomas, and Daniel R. Parsons
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 647–663, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-647-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-647-2025, 2025
Short summary
Surface grain-size mapping of braided channels from SfM photogrammetry
Loïs Ribet, Frédéric Liébault, Laurent Borgniet, Michaël Deschâtres, and Gabriel Melun
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 607–627, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-607-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-607-2025, 2025
Short summary
Spatiotemporal denudation rates of the Swabian Alb escarpment (southwestern Germany) dominated by anthropogenic impact, lithology, and base-level lowering
Mirjam Schaller, Daniel Peifer, Alexander B. Neely, Thomas Bernard, Christoph Glotzbach, Alexander R. Beer, and Todd A. Ehlers
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 571–591, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-571-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-571-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Aldrich, H. P. and Paynter, H. M.: First Interim Report: Analytical Studies of Freezing and Thawing of Soils (ACFEL Technical Report No. 42), Tech. rep., US Corps of Engineers, Boston (MA), Arctic Construction and Frost Effects Laboratory (ACFEL), http://hdl.handle.net/11681/6526 (last access: 8 April 2025), 1953. a
Amschwand, D., Scherler, M., Hoelzle, M., Krummenacher, B., Tschan, S., Aschwanden, L., and Gubler, H.: Murtèl rock glacier PERMA-XT data set (2020–2023), University of Fribourg/GEOTEST Zollikofen [data set], https://doi.org/10.13093/permos-spec-2023-01, 2023. a
Amschwand, D., Scherler, M., Hoelzle, M., Krummenacher, B., Haberkorn, A., Kienholz, C., and Gubler, H.: Surface heat fluxes at coarse blocky Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps), The Cryosphere, 18, 2103–2139, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2103-2024, 2024. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z, aa, ab, ac
Amschwand, D., Tschan, S., Scherler, M., Hoelzle, M., Krummenacher, B., Haberkorn, A., Kienholz, C., Aschwanden, L., and Gubler, H.: Seasonal ice storage changes and meltwater generation at Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps): estimates from measurements and energy budgets in the coarse blocky active layer, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2219–2253, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2219-2025, 2025. a
Arenson, L., Hoelzle, M., and Springman, S.: Borehole deformation measurements and internal structure of some rock glaciers in Switzerland, Permafrost Periglac., 13, 117–135, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.414, 2002. a
Download
Short summary
Rock glaciers are comparatively climate-robust permafrost landforms. We estimated the energy budget of the seasonally thawing active layer (AL) of Murtèl rock glacier (Swiss Alps) based on a novel sub-surface sensor array. In the coarse blocky AL, heat is transferred by thermal radiation and air convection. The ground heat flux is largely spent on melting seasonal ice in the AL. Convective cooling and the seasonal ice turnover make rock glaciers climate-robust and shield the permafrost beneath.
Share