Migrating boulders project

Findelgletscher

Continuous ablation measurements near the terminus of Findelgletscher near Zermatt, Switzerland, were conducted by Johannes Landmann et.al., ETH Zürich, in summer 2020 using an automatic camera on an ablation pole. By chance, a boulder was visible in the field of view of the camera (cf. still photos below). The camera was looking east or slightly south of east.

Still images recorded by the camera were assembled into a time-lapse movie starting on 16.6.2020 till 14.9.2020. In order to record ablation rates, the camera was loosely attached to the ablation pole. Therefore, the pole appears to grow out of the ice whereas, in reality, the camera is sinking along with the glacier surface. Since the camera rotates somewhat around the pole, movement of the boulder must be observed in relation to the landscape in the background (S marks Strahlchnubel, a rocky ridge leading up to Adlerhorn), rather than the pole. Clearly the boulder is moving towards the right, i.e. south. At one stage, it even seems to cross a meltwater channel. This time-lapse movie inspired work on Oberaargletscher, where another automatic camera was installed in 2021 in order to document migration of several boulders.

Time-lapse movie courtesy Johannes Landmann, ETH Zürich.