Selection of results

Here a selection of the results is given, focusing on the conditions at the glacier surface and on the phenomenology of the glacier microclimate.

A 11-year record of measurements from the sonic ranger on the glacier snout, revealing snow depth and ice melt.	Ablation and snow accumulation measured with a sonic ranger at three sites.	Summer snowfall has a significant effect on the mass balance. The strongest recorded event of this kind was on 10/11 July 2000.	In winter, when the snowpack has reached an appreciable depth, thermistors are placed to measure snow temperature.
An example of the relation between snow depth and daily albedo. A typical value for the snow albedo is 0.75, for the ice albedo 0.35.	Scatter plot of 30-min values of incoming and outgoing solar radiation (one year).	Close-up of measurements for a few days, illustrating the difference between cloudy and clear days.	Daily mean values of solar radiation and temperature for the Year 2000.
Glacier wind dominates the wind climatology. The wind blows down-glacier during 90% of the time, in summer and winter.	On clear days there is a pronounced daily cycle in the strength of the glacier wind, peaking in the afternoon.	A comparison of measurements on the glacier with those at the Swiss Meteo stations of Samedan (1704 m) and Corvatsch (3297 m).	An evaluation of the components of the surface energy budget for the year 2000.
Matching the observed and calculated ablation curve by adjusting the turbulent exchange coefficient.	In summary, it is a complicated business, and we need some modelling work to tie it all together.