Steilimigletscher
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.
Steilimigletscher is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 1.47 km² in the canton of Bern. Its ice spans 2,104 to 3,322 m and faces north. Its meltwater drains to the Rhine and on to the North Sea. In 1850 it was part of a larger ice body of 11.3 km², which has since split into 2 glaciers covering 7.0 km² in 2016 (−38%). Its tongue has been measured 56 times since 1961. In total it has retreated 1,566 m, about 27.0 m a year. Between 1980 and 2024 its surface dropped by 26 m on average. No glacier model run exists for it; on the map it follows the typical path of glaciers its size.
The record
Length change since 1961
Position of the glacier tongue, measured in the field almost every year. Hover for each measurement.
Thinning since 1980
Average change in surface height, from comparing elevation models made from maps, aerial images and laser scans.
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
- A54e-13
- Canton
- Bern
- River
- Rhine → North Sea
- Basin
- Upper Aare
- Location
- 46.7036° N, 8.3930° E · swisstopo map
- Elevation
- 2,104–3,322 m, median 2,832 m
- Slope, aspect
- 29°, north
- Debris cover
- 0.07 km² (4% of the area)
- Inventory image
- 2016
- In 1850 joined with
- Steigletscher
More in the Upper Aare basin
- Unteraargletscher22.70 km²
- Triftgletscher14.56 km²
- Gauligletscher10.83 km²
- Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher9.17 km²
- Oberer Grindelwaldgletscher8.33 km²
- Obers Ischmeer E7.34 km²
- Steigletscher5.56 km²
- Rosenlouwigletscher5.39 km²
- Tschingelfirn S (Kandersteg)5.05 km²
- Oberaargletscher3.95 km²
- Rottalgletscher (Lauterbrunnen)3.62 km²
- Breithorngletscher (Lauterbrunnen)2.53 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
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.