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By: Simon Oberli, Photographer
   
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Before/after comparison of Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland)

Height: 2450 - 3250m
Location: Obergoms, Valais, Switzerland Show glacier on: Swiss map... GLAMOS...
The Gries Glacier (Griesgletscher) is situated in the eastern Valais Alps and stretches from the top of the Blinnenhorn (3374m) to almost into the Lake Gries (Griessee). The Lake Gries can be reached from the road to the Nufenen pass (2478m). In 2016, a wind farm with approx. 6 wind turbines was commissioned above Lake Griessee. The nearby Gries Pass (2458m) is a historical crossing point between Switzerland and Italy.
 C   Location 1       Inserted / Updated : 03.01.2017 / 01.07.2024
Height: 2500m   Viewing angle: 180°   Viewing direction center of photo: NNW
Compare the situation from with that from (<<< select date)  Period of time: 7297 days (= 19.99 years)
19.08.2003: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 1
11.08.2023: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 1
The terms of use for these repeat photos can be found here... Direct link...
The panoramic photo from 19.8.2003 is one of my first panoramic photos taken by hand with a simple digital camera. At that time I would not have thought that this picture would later become part of a glacier comparison and that the Gries Glacier would lose so much length and mass in the following years.
 C   Location 3       Inserted / Updated : 14.08.2017 / 10.05.2024
Height: 2426m   Viewing angle: 115°   Viewing direction center of photo: WSW
Compare the situation from with that from (<<< select date)  Period of time: 4018 days (= 11.01 years)
10.08.2012: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 3
11.08.2023: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 3
The terms of use for these repeat photos can be found here... Direct link...
 C   Location 3a       Inserted: 22.11.2020
Compare the situation from with that from (<<< select date)  Period of time: 2918 days (= 7.99 years)
11.08.2012: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 3a
07.08.2020: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 3a
The terms of use for these repeat photos can be found here... Direct link...
This before/after photo series shows how the glacier forefield changes after the glacier has melted. Little by little the dead ice covered with debris and sand melts (seen in the left part of the pictures). The terrain loses its undulating shape. The glacier stream is driving erosion, transporting a lot of sediment and shaping the landscape. The first pioneer plants thrive less than 10 years after the melting of the glacier ice.
 C   Location 4       Inserted / Updated : 05.11.2018 / 13.10.2020
Height: 2464m   Viewing angle: 190°   Viewing direction center of photo: SW
Compare the situation from with that from (<<< select date)  Period of time: 1408 days (= 3.86 years)
29.09.2016: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 4
07.08.2020: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 4
The terms of use for these repeat photos can be found here... Direct link...
07.08.2020: The location is not exactly the same as that of 2016 and 2018.
Location 4 is located at the western end of the rock spur, which was freed from the ice in the middle of the glacier in 2005. Location 4 was covered by ice until approx. 2010.
 C   Location 7      Inserted: 19.09.2023
Height: 2482m   Viewing angle: 180°   Viewing direction center of photo: WSW (256°)
Image comparison period: 07.08.2020 - 11.08.2023    Period of time: 1099 days (= 3.01 years)
07.08.2020: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 7
11.08.2023: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Location 7
The terms of use for these repeat photos can be found here... Direct link...
 C   Vegetation      Inserted: 18.08.2017
Height: 2426m
Image comparison period: 10.08.2012 - 29.09.2016    Period of time: 1511 days (= 4.14 years)
10.08.2012: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Vegetation
29.09.2016: Gries glacier (Griesgletscher, Valais alps, Switzerland), Vegetation
The terms of use for these repeat photos can be found here... Direct link...
The 2012 barren glacier foreland is gradually being populated by plants. In the present case: Saxifraga aizoides, Saxifragaceae.
 O   Overview Gries glacier
Overview photo of the Gries glacier. Location 3Location 1Location 4Location 7
Photo from 27.9.2018
Horizontal distance point 1 -> point 3: approx. 180m
 P   Interactive panoramic photos of the Gries glacier
After clicking on a preview photo, the panorama photo is displayed in a new window.
11.08.2023
Gries glacier: Glacier tongue and sand cone
FlatSphericalInfo
Inserted: 20.02.2024
Gries glacier: Ice stream, glacial stream and elongated proglacial lake
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Inserted: 20.02.2024
Gries glacier: Steeper part of the glacier and erosion on lateral moraine
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Inserted: 27.02.2024
Gries glacier: Glacier forefield and glacial stream
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Inserted: 27.02.2024
Gries glacier: Glacier tongue and glacier gate
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Inserted: 05.03.2024
Gries glacier: Glacier stream with meanders
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Inserted: 05.03.2024
27.09.2018
Gries glacier of WSW on 27.9.2018
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Inserted: 15.12.2018
Aerial photo of the Gries glacier from WSW
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Inserted: 15.12.2018
Aerial view of the Gries glacier from 27.9.2018
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Inserted: 15.12.2018
Forefield of the Gries glacier on 27.9.2018
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Inserted: 19.12.2018
Gravel deposit in front of the Gries glacier on 27.9.2018
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Inserted: 19.12.2018
Forefield and tongue of Griesgletscher on 27.9.2018
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Inserted: 27.12.2018
Zone between lake Gries and Gries glacier
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Inserted: 27.12.2018

 O   Our observations at the Gries glacier
Date:    11.8.2023
 M   Current meteo and climatic data for the Gries glacier.
The meteorological/climate data from the MeteoSwiss measuring stations closest to the Gries glacier have been available since December 2023. You can call up the daily and monthly values for temperature (incl. min/max values), precipitation and sunshine duration, a comparison with the climate standard values and exceptional weather events. Links to the nearest snow depth measuring stations on the Gries glacier round off the offer.
Show meteo and climate data for Gries glacier: Daily data  Show meteo and climate data for Gries glacier: Monthly data
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