Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Glacier du Dar

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. This glacier has no model run of its own; its future follows the typical path of glaciers its size.

Inventory 0.028km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20160.03km²1115th largest
Elevation2,641–2,864mmedian 2,707 m
Length0.2kmfaces north
1850 ice body0.9km²now 2 glaciers
Tongue since 189813m16 measurements

Glacier du Dar is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.03 km² in the canton of Vaud. Its ice spans 2,641 to 2,864 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 (−69%). Its tongue has been measured 16 times since 1898. In total it has advanced 13 m, about 0.6 m a year. No glacier model run exists for it; on the map it follows the typical path of glaciers its size.

Measured

The record

Length change since 1898

Position of the glacier tongue, measured in the field almost every year. Hover for each measurement.

−30 m−20 m−10 m0 m10 m20 m1900190519101915192013 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Length Change, release 2025.

Thinning since 2016

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

−5 m−4 m−3 m−2 m−1 m0 m2020−4 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

18500.940 km²19310.851 km²19730.690 km²20160.028 km²2050 · SSP2-4.50.000 km²2100 · SSP2-4.50.000 km²

Past areas are the ice body this glacier belonged to at the time. Projections: OGGM median, SSP2-4.5.

SGI id
B16-02
Canton
Vaud
River
Rhône → Mediterranean
Basin
Vaud Alps
Location
46.3286° N, 7.2095° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,641–2,864 m, median 2,707 m
Slope, aspect
36°, north
Debris cover
none mapped
Inventory image
2016
In 1850 joined with
Glacier du Sex Rouge
Sources

Sources

  1. Linsbauer et al. (2021). The new Swiss Glacier Inventory SGI2016. Frontiers in Earth Science 9. doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.704189
  2. 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
  3. GLAMOS – Glacier Monitoring Switzerland. www.glamos.ch

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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