Unnamed glacier B46-47
Past extents come from the Swiss Glacier Inventories of 1850, 1931, 1973 and 2016. Future extents are illustrative: each glacier’s projected area (OGGM, median of CMIP6 climate models) is removed from its lowest ice upward. About the scenarios.
Unnamed glacier B46-47 is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.12 km² in the canton of Valais. Its ice spans 2,473 to 2,737 m and faces north. Its meltwater drains to the Rhône and on to the Mediterranean. In 1850 it was part of a larger ice body of 0.9 km², which has since split into 2 glaciers covering 0.3 km² in 2016 (−72%). With strong climate protection (SSP1-2.6), about 0% of its 2020 ice would remain in 2100. With very high emissions (SSP5-8.5) it would be gone around 2039. Its meltwater peaked around 2010.
What remains in 2100
Meltwater
Million m³ of water per year, 11-year mean
Facts
Area over time
Past areas are the ice body this glacier belonged to at the time. Projections: OGGM median, SSP2-4.5.
- SGI id
- B46-47
- Canton
- Valais
- River
- Rhône → Mediterranean
- Basin
- Goms
- Location
- 46.3105° N, 8.1412° E · swisstopo map
- Elevation
- 2,473–2,737 m, median 2,579 m
- Slope, aspect
- 31°, north
- Debris cover
- 0.09 km² (75% of the area)
- Inventory image
- 2017
- Ice volume (model)
- ≈ 0.001 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
- RGI ids
- RGI60-11.02287
- In 1850 joined with
- Mättitalgletscher
More in the Goms basin
- Fieschergletscher E29.75 km²
- Rhonegletscher14.64 km²
- Griesgletscher4.60 km²
- Minstigergletscher2.19 km²
- Triftgletscher W (Fieschertal)1.94 km²
- Chaltwassergletscher1.56 km²
- Finsteraahorn S1.08 km²
- Bächigletscher1.00 km²
- Unnamed glacier B43-120.96 km²
- Gerengletscher0.67 km²
- Steinugletscher0.58 km²
- Im Sumpf0.50 km²
Sources
- Linsbauer et al. (2021). The new Swiss Glacier Inventory SGI2016. Frontiers in Earth Science 9. doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.704189
- Mannerfelt et al. (2022). Halving of Swiss glacier volume since 1931 observed from terrestrial image photogrammetry. The Cryosphere 16. doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3249-2022
- GLAMOS – Glacier Monitoring Switzerland. www.glamos.ch
- Zekollari et al. (2024). Twenty-first century global glacier evolution under CMIP6 scenarios and the role of glacier-specific observations. The Cryosphere 18 (OGGM v1.6 projections). tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/5045/2024/
Relief: swisstopo swissALTIRegio. 1850 and 1973 outlines: Maisch et al. (2000), Müller et al. (1976), Paul (2004). Length, mass balance and volume change: GLAMOS releases 2025. All sources and methods.