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Snow of tomorrow | Glaciers as ecosystems: ecologist Klemens Weisleitner in an interview

"Glaciers are not a dead habitat, but an active ecosystem."

by Lisa Amenda • 02/07/2022
Long-term monitoring at Lake Gossenköllesee (2400m) in Kühtai. Water samples have been taken here every month for decades. Slow changes in physical and chemical parameters can thus be documented.

Long-term monitoring at Lake Gossenköllesee (2400m) in Kühtai. Water samples have been taken here every month for decades. Slow changes in physical and chemical parameters can thus be documented.

Klemens Weisleitner

Long-term monitoring at Lake Gossenköllesee (2400m) in Kühtai. Water samples have been taken here every month for decades. Slow changes in physical and chemical parameters can thus be documented.

Klemens Weisleitner
In search of new perspectives on the snow of tomorrow, PowderGuide author Lisa spoke to Klemens Weisleitner. He is an ecologist at the University of Innsbruck and studies glaciers all over the world. He talks to Lisa about the special features of the glacier ecosystem and why microplastics are not only found in washing machines, but also under the covers of glacier ice.

LA: As an ecologist, you deal with the interrelationships in nature. Can you briefly explain what exactly ecology involves?

KW: Ecology is a broad field and is basically the science of the balance of nature. It encompasses the exchange of different substances and systems, such as nutrients, living organisms or the exchange of energy. The best example here is a lake: it can be spatially delimited, but it is always in exchange with the surrounding environment. As ecologists, we study how the processes, the material flows and the exchange with the environment function in such ecosystems.

Your focus is on lakes and glaciers. How can readers imagine your work?

Exactly, I work in aquatic ecology and deal with freshwater in any form and in any aggregate state. In my opinion, a glacier is also a body of flowing water, it just flows slowly. We mainly deal with microbial ecology, i.e. primarily with the exchange processes of microorganisms. We observe a lot, especially over the long term, as life in the glacier happens in slow motion. We spend a lot of time in high mountain regions, on glaciers, but also in ice caves and in alpine and polar regions. The starting point is always a scientific question, so we take samples on the glaciers and then analyze them in the laboratory.

Climate change is putting a lot of pressure on our local glaciers. In your opinion, what can be done to prevent the glaciers from melting?

The right experts for precisely this type of question would actually be glaciologists, as we are biologists. But of course we also follow the issue very closely. We recently reported on the Weißseespitze between North and South Tyrol at 3,500 meters and that an average of 0.6 meters of ice is melting there every year. To prevent or reduce this, only long-term measures such as reducing greenhouse gases or minimizing CO2 emissions will actually help. This will certainly have the most sustainable effect. However, we also know today that even if we take measures now, many glaciers will already be lost. The larger glaciers could survive if we reduce our emissions. The most sustainable way is therefore not to fight the symptoms, but to tackle the root of the problem and curb climate change.

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Klemens in the Antarctic (2015)

Klemens in the Antarctic (2015)

Klemens Weisleitner

Klemens in the Antarctic (2015)

Klemens Weisleitner

Can biology also play a role here as a specialist field?

Glacial melt is defined, among other things, by how dark a surface is. More energy can be absorbed on dark surfaces. Biology plays a key role here, which has been researched far too little to date. It is about the so-called bio-albedo. This means that organisms on the surface of the ice can actively darken it. This leads to an increase in glacier melting and this additional melting leads to increased nutrient input. This allows the organisms that cause the darkening to reproduce even better. We know from Greenland, for example, that these so-called ice algae cause 10-13 percent of the total melt. The warmer it is and the shorter the snow cover is, the more these algae can develop. This makes you realize once again that a glacier is not a dead habitat, but an active ecosystem.

One symptom to curb glacier melt, which many of us are already familiar with, is covering the glaciers with tarpaulins in summer. However, together with other scientists, you have discovered that this is probably not the best solution after all. Why not?

The glaciers are only covered in ski resorts or regions used by tourists, and these measures have major local benefits as they can save up to two meters of ice per year. If we add that up over ten years, that's quite a difference in height of snow and ice that can be saved. Tourists like to call it glacier protection, but it's actually a method of deriving economic benefit from the glacier. In our opinion, it is not glacier protection as such, because these covers have negative effects.

They are made of polypropylene, for example, which is a plastic and consists of many fibers, similar to a fleece. The fibers are exposed on the glacier because there are extreme UV radiation, temperature differences and wind and the materials are not designed for this environment. When the fleeces are retrieved, or even when they are laid out, plastic fibers are emitted. These fibers can then spread in a sensitive ecosystem such as a glacier and ultimately reach neighboring ecosystems via the glacier streams.

Figuratively, you can imagine these fibers like a plate of spaghetti bolognese. The spaghetti is the individual plastic fibers and the sauce is the many chemical substances that are necessary for the production of the fibers. Sometimes there are hundreds to thousands of different chemicals in such plastic products. This leads to two problems with the covers: On the one hand the plastic emission itself and on the other hand the emission of chemicals.

After our first study in 2016, however, the manufacturer of the covers, for example, has already reacted and has been able to reduce the amount of lubricant required for the production of the nonwovens to ten percent. It was great to see that our work had a direct impact on the industry and that a big step had already been taken.

Most of us are familiar with the microplastic problem from microplastic particles in cosmetics or from the remnants of fleece sweaters in the washing machine, which can then accumulate in our food chain via the water cycle. Will we soon be finding the microplastics from the geotextiles of glacier tarpaulins on our plates too? To be honest, we don't yet know exactly how far the fibers spread. We have indeed identified fibers in a stream below a covered ski slope, sometimes quite a lot of them. However, this again depends on many variables, from the flow velocity to the morphology, i.e. the shape and structure of the stream bed, etc. However, we are only just starting our research to be able to really quantify how much is being introduced into the streams.

What other consequences can these particles have for the environment? For example, do they also have a direct negative impact on the glaciers themselves?

The glacier is a sensitive ecosystem and there are also specially adapted microorganisms that live in the glacier and on the glacier. The influence on the glacier is also due to the input of particles into the glacial stream. The glacial stream is also a very complex system, on the one hand there are microorganisms, but on the other hand there are also insects that live there. The presence of micro- or macroplastics, for example, can interfere with the food intake of these insects - either it prevents them from feeding or it is mistaken for food and ingested. Subsequently, this can mean that these insects are eaten by birds, etc. Our nature has so many different dials and if you tweak one, you don't know what it will do to the next one.

Long-term monitoring at Lake Gossenköllesee (2400m) in Kühtai. Water samples have been taken here every month for decades. Slow changes in physical and chemical parameters can thus be documented.

Long-term monitoring at Lake Gossenköllesee (2400m) in Kühtai. Water samples have been taken here every month for decades. Slow changes in physical and chemical parameters can thus be documented.

Klemens Weisleitner

Long-term monitoring at Lake Gossenköllesee (2400m) in Kühtai. Water samples have been taken here every month for decades. Slow changes in physical and chemical parameters can thus be documented.

Klemens Weisleitner

The so-called glacier protection films are usually applied in glacier ski areas to preserve the glacier as a source of income. Have we forgotten how to see the glacier as an ecosystem in its own right?

I don't think that's so easy to answer because we haven't known for very long that a glacier is an ecosystem. And I don't think the general public has yet realized that a glacier is a habitat. But we are trying to back this up with our science and, as I said above, a glacier is not a sterile landscape but a habitat. The impact of the covers and the ski areas is of course local, but it's always a trade-off: What is it worth to us to preserve the glacier or an area of the glacier because tourism and jobs are associated with it. You should never look at this issue in isolation.

The glacier foils are justified as a protective measure, but not for the glacier itself, but for many other areas, such as preventing the lift supports from aping out of the ice and tipping over. The task now is simply to find out whether alternatives to the current glacier sheeting can be developed so that the glacier ecosystem is perhaps better protected. In the long term, this must not be a conflict, but always a sustainable cooperation.

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Geotextiles in a glacier ski area

Geotextiles in a glacier ski resort

Klemens Weisleitner

Geotextiles in a glacier ski resort

Klemens Weisleitner

What makes this ecosystem so unique?

In my opinion, the unique thing about the glacier ecosystem is that there are still so many secrets that we haven't even discovered yet. We still don't understand everything that happens in a glacier. Except that it is a fragile ecosystem with microorganisms that photosynthesize, for example, and can therefore store CO2. As such, they also play a major role in the carbon cycle globally.

As mentioned above, the organisms are also important in terms of bio-albedo, and also with regard to biotechnology. These organisms are adapted to a cold habitat and could, for example, play a role in the development of enzymes for detergents to efficiently wash laundry in cold water. There are countless other potentials that have not yet been recognized. That's why it's important to understand these ecosystems in more detail.

What other options are there to protect the glaciers from melting and at the same time not endanger the glacier ecosystem?

There are indeed options, it's always a question of will on the part of business and politics. For example, there are biodegradable materials that could be considered, but biodegradable also means that nutrients are introduced into an ecosystem that is actually low in nutrients. This is not the case with plastic. And so we are faced with a trade-off: Do we accept a certain level of plastic emissions or do we rather accept that we are changing a nutrient-poor ecosystem in such a way because we are introducing more nutrients? I don't think there is a perfect solution. What science can offer is to point out and test solutions, but I think the task of politics is to translate new findings into measures.

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The glaciers are getting greener and greener. Even on the inside. Here you can see algae growing from an ice cave accessible to tourists at 3200m and 30m below the surface of the glacier.

The glaciers are getting greener. Even on the inside. Here you can see algae thriving from a tourist-accessible ice cave at 3200m and 30m below the glacier surface.

Klemens Weisleitner

The glaciers are getting greener. Even on the inside. Here you can see algae thriving from a tourist-accessible ice cave at 3200m and 30m below the glacier surface.

Klemens Weisleitner

Do you think that the ski resort operators and politicians have a duty to act here?

At the moment, I think that the issue of microplastics is leading to a debate about whether this is necessary. From the ski resorts' point of view, I fully understand that they need covers from an economic and safety point of view. Whether other types of cover can be developed and used depends very much on whether our newly acquired knowledge about the current situation continues to be accepted by the public and politicians.

Do you also think that winter sports enthusiasts have a duty to question their consumption of nature more closely?

I believe that before winter sports enthusiasts can question their own actions in this context, they first need to be informed. I think you also have to differentiate between a ski guest who goes skiing for one week a year and a ski tourer who spends a lot of time in the area and has a personal connection to the local nature. Our goal for the next project is to involve the local population with a citizen science app. There are already countless apps on the market, such as waste tracking apps, but so far these have hardly been used in high mountain regions.

In cooperation with the ÖAV and other partners, we want to distribute this app widely and not only address users who are already aware of the issue, but also guests who are there on a ski vacation. We also want to do the same with school classes, because we think it is very important to involve children, as they will later be in management positions and will therefore be involved in important decision-making processes. You simply have to start early enough to create an awareness of high mountain regions, how to deal with them and the effects of our actions.

Ice drilling in a glacier ski area

Ice drilling in a glacier ski area

Klemens Weisleitner

Ice drilling in a glacier ski area

Klemens Weisleitner

The glacier protection sheets are also used elsewhere as geotextiles, for example on many construction sites. Should we also think about this?

The covers have actually been developed precisely for this use in civil engineering. There they are not subject to extreme temperature fluctuations, there is no UV exposure or other weather influences like on glaciers. They have been tested for this application. There have been studies where the covers were dug up again after 70 years and the result was that they are actually very durable and suitable for the purpose. At least from a material technology perspective.

In comparison, all the covers on the glacier have to be replaced every two to three years. That's 50 hectares in Tyrol alone. In my opinion, they are more justified on construction sites, but you also have to ask yourself whether it doesn't make sense to produce variants that contain little or no lubricant. From an ecological point of view, it would of course be desirable if material development were to move towards sustainability.

In your work, you are directly confronted with the consequences of winter tourism. Do you think that winter sports as they are practiced today are still in keeping with the times?

I think winter sports are extremely important and they should take place. You can't simply answer yes or no to exactly how it takes place and whether it is in keeping with the times. I think we need to move more towards high-quality winter sports and not towards mass tourism. And we simply have to make sure that tourism, which is undoubtedly extremely important for the Alps as a business location, is sustainable. To do this, we need to work together on solutions and first define the points that may not be up to date.

What do you wish for the snow of tomorrow?

As an ecologist, I see snow as an ecosystem for which I hope that it is handled very carefully and that it is preserved. On the other hand, I believe that skiing and ski tourism are a cultural asset in Tyrol and Austria. I identify with it myself and hope that my children and their children can still experience this cultural asset.

Thank you very much for the interview, Klemens.

Take a look at the picture gallery below for more insights into Klemens' work:

For the general enjoyment of the scientists, sometimes official ski tours have to be made.

To the general delight of the scientists, sometimes official ski tours have to be made.

Klemens Weisleitner

To the general delight of the scientists, sometimes official ski tours have to be made.

Klemens Weisleitner

Photo gallery

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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