Recent and Holocene dynamics of a rock glacier system: The example of Langtalkar (Central Alps, Austria)

Author： Avian Michael Kaufmann Viktor Lieb Gerhard

ISSN： 0029-1951

Source： Norwegian Journal of Geography, Vol.59, Iss.2, 2005-06, pp. : 149-156

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Abstract

The Hinteres Langtalkar rock glacier (Gössnitztal, Hohe Tauern, Austria) has been part of a complex transportation system of debris and ice since the beginning of the Holocene and shows the highest creep rates of all rock glaciers measured in the Hohe Tauern Range. Results of movement analysis show that the entire rock glacier behaves very differently at different zones and that sudden temporal and spatial changes of velocity rates are a typical feature. Zones with high rates occur close to rather inactive zones and zones with low rates have rapidly accelerated within recent years. The increase in movement rates over time is probably caused by topography. These studies – especially the measurement of surface velocities and elevational changes – allow a differentiation of the rock glacier and a first attempt of a morphogenetic interpretation. In this context, it is important that the innermost part of the cirque was covered by a small cirque glacier during the Little Ice Age advance. This cirque glacier created a moraine complex which contributes to the material supply of the rock glacier. A first estimation of transportation rates is possible with the help of the measurement results available, leading to an estimation of a probable age of at least 4000 years.