Scientists race to read Austria's melting climate archive

FILE PHOTO: Plants grow near a lake in front of Jamtalferner glacier near Galtuer, Austria, September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

WEISSSEESPITZE, Austria (Reuters) - Scientists are racing to read a rapidly melting archive of climate data going back thousands of years - the inside of Austria's Alpine glaciers.

Mountain glaciers are receding the world over as average global temperatures rise - a phenomenon that will be described in detail in a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this week.

FILE PHOTO: A group of scientists from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research cross the Jamtalferner glacier near Galtuer, Austria, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Glaciers in Austria, on the eastern edge of the Alps, are particularly sensitive to climate change and have been shrinking even more rapidly than most, making it all the more urgent to examine their contents before they disappear, said Andrea Fischer, a scientist conducting the work.

"We are now roughly at 1920. The rest has already been lost - everything from 1920 until now," Fischer, of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research in Innsbruck, said of her work seeking Austria's oldest ice at the top of the Weissseespitze, a peak more than 3,500 meters high.

"In the next two years we will lose another 70 years (of ice and data)," she added, describing ice at the top of the glacier.

FILE PHOTO: The Jamtalferner glacier is seen near Galtuer, Austria, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

At the top of this mountain, Fischer and her colleagues have drilled to the bottom of the comparatively undisturbed glacier to extract samples of its ice, which is being analyzed for information on the local climate thousands of years ago.

Fischer, whose work has contributed to the IPCC report, believes the ice could be 3,000 to 5,000 years old. Her samples are going through lab testing to date them.

The lower layers are more densely packed than those at the top, meaning that one meter of ice could include thousands of years of data.

FILE PHOTO: Hikers cross the Jamtalferner glacier near Galtuer, Austria, July 16, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

"The ice is only a few meters thick. In a few years, this summit will be completely ice-free," she said.

While analysis of other materials, such as tree trunks, can provide information on the air temperature in summer, glaciers' ice is a rare source of information on precipitation, she said.

And much of it will soon be lost.

FILE PHOTO: The Pasterze Glacier, Austria's largest glacier, is seen below Johannisberg summit located in the Hohe Tauern mountain range, in the Austrian province of Carinthia, August 14, 2011. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

The challenge is to take current data on how the climate is changing and compare it with the information we have on the climate in previous centuries and millennia.

"The question is, how exceptional is this process? That is what we are determining with this drilling of the ice."

FILE PHOTO: Environmental physicist Pascal Bohleber from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, uses a chainsaw to cut out a sample of ice inside an artificial ice tunnel of Schaufelferner glacier at Stubaier glacier ski resort near Neustift im Stubaital, Austria, October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

(Reporting by Lisi Niesner; Additional reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Mike Collett-White)

FILE PHOTO: A halo, an optical phenomena from sunlight and ice crystals, rises above Goldberg group mountains, seen from Sonnblick summit at 3,106 meters above sea level, in the Hohe Tauern mountain range near Rauris, Austria, November 23, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: A ski slope with snow cannons makes its way downhill to a station of a cablecar on a sunny autumn day near the alpine village of Neustift im Stubaital, Austria, October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Glaciologist Andrea Fischer from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, poses beneath icicles at the entrance of the artificial ice tunnel of Schaufelferner glacier at Stubaier glacier ski resort near Neustift im Stubaital, Austria, October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: A view down at snowcapped mountains of Kaunertal valley near Feichten im Kaunertal, Austria, March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: The Jamtal hut glows at night in a snow-covered valley near Galtuer, Austria, February 17, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Glaciologist Andrea Fischer from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, walks at the entrance of an ice cave of Jamtalferner glacier near Galtuer, Austria, February 18, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Glaciologist Andrea Fischer and environmental physicist Pascal Bohleber from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, inspect the thickness difference of the part of Schaufelferner glacier that is covered with a special fleece fabric protecting ice from sun and heat and the part that is not covered, near Neustift im Stubaital, Austria, October 22, 2018. The ablation of the unprotected part is up to 4 meters per year, three times faster than the ice loss of the protected part. The scientists stand directly on unprotected parts of the glacier in front of the protected ice shield of Schaufelferner glacier. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: The cabin of a cable car makes its way uphill to the Sonnblick Observatory at 3,106 meters above sea level, in the Hohe Tauern mountain range near Rauris, Austria, November 23, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Hikers cross the Jamtalferner glacier near Galtuer, Austria, September 4, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Visitors from Scotland sit on the terrace of the Jamtal hut near Galtuer, Austria, September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Visitors sit on the terrace of the Jamtal hut near Galtuer, Austria, September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: A group of ski tourers make their way across the snow-covered Jamtalferner glacier near Galtuer, Austria, February 18, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: People walk on Pasterze Glacier, Austria's largest glacier, located in the Hohe Tauern mountain range, in the Austrian province of Carinthia, August 14, 2011. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Meteorologist Elke Ludewig from the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics ZAMG, looks up an ice load scale at the Sonnblick Observatory at 3,106 meters above sea level, located in the Hohe Tauern mountain range near Rauris, Austria, November 23, 2018. The ice load scale measures the load of ice starting to freeze on the stick. The ZAMG is operating the instrument to get statistics of the possible ice load at such altitudes. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Observatory technician Matthias Daxbacher from the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics ZAMG, and his dog Samy make their way downhill to reset the snow level poles around Sonnblick summit located in the Hohe Tauern mountain range near Rauris, Austria, November 23, 2018. The poles are set up to measure the distribution and change of the snowpack as a part of the Global Cryosphere Watch. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: A landslide is seen in the Jamtal valley near Galtuer, Austria, July 9, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: PhD students of Physics Julian Robertz, Maximilian Schmidt and Lisa Ringena discuss results of the Atom Trap Trace Analysis system at the ArTTA laboratory at the Kirchhoff-Institute for Physics in Heidelberg, Germany, December 7, 2018. Atom Trap Trace Analysis for 39Ar is an ultra-sensitive detection method based on principles of quantum mechanics. Scientists extract Argon, a Noble Gas, from the air bubbles trapped in the ice. After the extraction, scientists catch and count the rare Ar39 atoms to determine the age of the air and in result the age of the ice. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Glaciologist Andrea Fischer from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, walks along the artificial ice tunnel of Schaufelferner glacier at Stubaier glacier ski resort near Neustift im Stubaital, Austria, October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Meteorologist Elke Ludewig from the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics ZAMG, looks up an ice load scale at the Sonnblick Observatory at 3,106 meters above sea level, located in the Hohe Tauern mountain range near Rauris, Austria, November 23, 2018. The ice load scale measures the load of ice starting to freeze on the stick. The ZAMG is operating the instrument to get statistics of the possible ice load at such altitudes. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Scientists work next to the drilling tent at Gepatschferner glacier at Weissseespitze summit at over 3,500 meters above sea level, near Feichten im Kaunertal, Austria, March 21, 2019. Scientists from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research are seeking Austria's oldest ice at the top of the Weissseespitze summit. They have drilled to the bottom of the comparatively undisturbed glacier to extract samples of its ice, which is being analysed for information on the local climate thousands of years ago. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Ice layers are seen inside the artificial ice tunnel of Schaufelferner glacier at Stubaier glacier ski resort near Neustift im Stubaital, Austria, October 22, 2018. Glaciologist Andrea Fischer from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research can determine weather conditions, the amount of precipitation and ice ablation of past years in these layers. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: A copilot controls helicopter transportation of gear after an ice drilling run at Gepatschferner glacier at Weissseespitze summit at over 3,500 meters above sea level, near Feichten im Kaunertal, Austria, March 21, 2019. Scientists from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research are seeking Austria's oldest ice at the top of the Weissseespitze summit. They have drilled to the bottom of the comparatively undisturbed glacier to extract samples of its ice, which is being analysed for information on the local climate thousands of years ago. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Werner Aeschbach, head of the ArTTA Atom Trap Trace Analysis working group, wheels a container with ice sample inside, towards a laboratory of the Argon-Preparation-System at the Institute of Environmental Physics in Heidelberg, Germany, December 6, 2018. Atom Trap Trace Analysis for 39Ar is an ultra-sensitive detection method based on principles of quantum mechanics. Scientists extract Argon, a Noble Gas, from the air bubbles trapped in the ice. After the extraction, scientists catch and count the rare Ar39 atoms to determine the age of the air and in result the age of the ice. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: A person walks next to covered depots of snow to outlast the summer in a glacier ski resort near the village of St. Leonhard im Pitztal, Austria, July 6, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Icicles hang on a bog where 12,000 years ago was the Schaufelferner glacier at 2,280 meters above sea level, at Stubaier glacier ski resort near Neustift im Stubaital, Austria, October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: An ice core of Gepatschferner glacier waits to be numbered and wrapped at Weissseespitze summit at over 3,500 meters above sea level, near Feichten im Kaunertal, Austria, March 21, 2019. Scientists from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research are seeking Austria's oldest ice at the top of the Weissseespitze summit. They have drilled to the bottom of the comparatively undisturbed glacier to extract samples of its ice, which is being analysed for information on the local climate thousands of years ago. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Environmental physicist Pascal Bohleber from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, carries a box with samples of ice from Schaufelferner glacier as he walks past skiers at Stubaier glacier ski resort near Neustift im Stubaital, Austria, October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Mathematical formulas and a photo of an atom (R top) are on display at a laboratory at the Kirchhoff-Institute for Physics in Heidelberg, Germany, December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: An infrared laser, made visible by vapour, is split by a birefringent crystal into one vertical and one horizontal beam, demonstrated with an ArTTA Atom Trap Trace Analysis system at the Kirchhoff-Institute for Physics in Heidelberg, Germany, December 7, 2018. Atom Trap Trace Analysis for 39Ar is an ultra-sensitive detection method based on principles of quantum mechanics. Scientists extract Argon, a Noble Gas, from the air bubbles trapped in the ice. After the extraction, scientists catch and count the rare Ar39 atoms to determine the age of the air and in result the age of the ice. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

FILE PHOTO: Glaciologist Andrea Fischer from the Austrian Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research, examines an ice core of Gepatschferner glacier at Weissseespitze summit at over 3,500 meters above sea level, near Feichten im Kaunertal, Austria, March 21, 2019. "We are now roughly at 1920. The rest has already been lost - everything from 1920 until now," Fischer said of her work seeking Austria's oldest ice at the top of the Weissseespitze, a peak more than 3,500 metres high. "In the next two years we will lose another 70 years (of ice and data)," Fischer said, describing ice at the top of the glacier. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner