Forecasting the Effects of a Planned Reservoir which will Partially Flood the Tongue of Unteraargletscher in Switzerland

Abstract

In order to improve their hydro-electric power production in the Grimsel area, Kraftwerke Oberhasli (KWO) plan to construct a new reservoir with a storage level about 110 m higher than the existing Grimselsee. This paper deals with the expected changes of Unteraargletscher after periodical contact with the resulting water body. Upon initial flooding, the lowermost section of Unteraargletscher, about 800 m long, will float, drift away, and melt. A rough estimate of the heat balance shows that the energy input into the lake would be sufficient to melt this ice within 2–3 years, so that calving and melting will continue at a frontal ice cliff. The main effort of the study was aimed at forecasting this retreat. A pre-existing seismic survey was supplemented by new soundings by radar and seismic reflection, resulting in reliable cross-sections and information about the sub-bottom material. The forecast is based on the existing mass flux and an empirical calving rate relationship with water depth and predicts an equilibrium position of the terminus some 3–4 km further back than today, and a gain of water storage volume of 50 × 10⁶m³after 10 years.