Processes in Ice Caves

The presence of subsurface ice is documented in numerous alpine karst regions even though the mean annual air temperature sometimes greatly exceeds 0 degrees C. Despite the historical interest raised by these "ice caves", few data are available to predict their evolution in a changing climate context. This doctoral research project approaches the issue from a thermodynamics perspective. Data from a case study of Monlesi ice cave in Switzerland emphasizes the major role of subsurface air circulations in the formation and the conservation of cave ice. Results lead to the conclusion that the cave ice mass balance reflects mainly the external winter atmospheric conditions. The existence of thousand-year-old ice deposits predicts interesting paleoclimatological contributions.

Book includes 52-page dissertation, ten of the author's journal papers on the same subject, and a bibliography on ice caves.

Marc Luetscher
2005
ISBN 3-908495-19-9
54+ pages, softbound