Bavarian Academy of Sciences

short description of the commission for glaciology, bavarian academy of sciences, munich, germany this commission was established in 1962 with the aim of investigating the link between climate and glacier behaviour. this interdisciplinary endeavour applies methods in meteorology/climatology, geodesy/cartography and hydrology. research is focused on the vernagtferner in the ötztal alps, austria, where the annual glacier mass balance is determined along with the climatological conditions and discharge. parallel to this long-term monitoring including frequent geodetic surveys, concentrated process studies in the determination of the energy balance over snow and ice as well as runoff formation in high alpine regions under the current conditions of drastic glacier retreat are conducted. this project-oriented research is supported by the german research foundation and other research institutions, the results being of primary interest to water resource management. apart from research on alpin