Mass balance and meteorology on a cold Eastern Alpine ice cap as a potential link to past climate

Alpine cold ice caps are sensitive, but so far rarely studied indicators of present and past local climate. The interpretation of this archive needs detailed in situ glaciological and meteorological records. On the Weißseespitze summit ice cap (3499 m) in Austria we compared past and present climate and mass balance. The ice cap shows limited ice flow.  First ice-cores have been drilled close to Weißseespitze peak. The current ice cover has a thickness of about 10 meter and has locked nearly 6000 years of climate history. First-ever meteorological observations using an automatic weather station at the ice dome in combination with a camera setup on rocks near the summit showed that most of the accumulation took place between October and December and from April to June. In the colder winter months wind erosion prevents accumulation. Melt occurred between June and September, with ice melt taking place during a few days only, mainly in August. The melt caused ice losses of up to 0.6 m, i.e. ~ 5% of the total ice thickness. Historical maps show a loss of 34.9 ± 10.0 m between 1893 and 2018 and almost balanced conditions between 1893 and 1914. The measurement of the meteorological conditions of present ice loss lays the basis for the interpretation of past gaps in the ice core records as past warm/melt events. As glacier melt continues with increasing rates even in the highest elevations of the Eastern Alps, this significant archives trapped in the cold ice of glaciers should be lifted before they disappear as an impact of climate change.