Combin de Corbassière

IceIce lost since 1850This glacier

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.

Inventory 0.443km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016

Area 20160.44km²276th largest

Elevation2,859–3,437mmedian 3,164 m

Length1.3kmfaces north-east

1850 ice body20.7km²now 4 glaciers

Thinning 1983–2023−26maverage surface lowering

Ice left in 21000%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Combin de Corbassière is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.44 km² in the canton of Valais. Its ice spans 2,859 to 3,437 m and faces north-east. Its meltwater drains to the Rhône and on to the Mediterranean. In 1850 it was part of a larger ice body of 20.7 km², which has since split into 4 glaciers covering 16.7 km² in 2016 (−19%). Between 1983 and 2023 its surface dropped by 26 m on average. 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 2051. Its meltwater peaked around 2020.

Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissionsGoneIce gone around 2064

SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissionsGoneIce gone around 2058

SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2057

SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2051

SSP1-2.6SSP2-4.5SSP3-7.0SSP5-8.5

Ice volume as a share of 2020, median of 14 climate models; shaded: middle two-thirds of models. OGGM v1.6.

Meltwater

Million m³ of water per year, 11-year mean

Water leaving the glacier area each year: ice melt, snowmelt and rain. It rises while the glacier melts faster, then falls as the ice runs out: “peak water”.

Measured

The record

Thinning since 1983

Average change in surface height, from comparing elevation models made from maps, aerial images and laser scans.

GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.

Profile

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: B83-04
Canton: Valais
River: Rhône → Mediterranean
Basin: Dranse
Location: 45.9740° N, 7.2850° E · swisstopo map
Elevation: 2,859–3,437 m, median 3,164 m
Slope, aspect: 26°, north-east
Debris cover: 0.00 km² (1% of the area)
Inventory image: 2016
Ice volume (model): ≈ 0.008 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids: RGI60-11.02813
In 1850 joined with: Glacier de Corbassière, Glacier des Follâts, Plateau des Maisons Blanches

Nearby

More in the Dranse basin

All glaciers in this basin →

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.

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