Fig. 5: Landsat-TM scene band 5 of Oct. 14th, 1985, with Aletsch Glacier (bottom 
at left) and Rhone Glacier (top at right) 
Regional comparison of the position of ELA 
for different years 
Correlation between the melting process of 
the snowcover on the glacier and its run-off 
regime 
Development of a useful method to measure 
the areal extent of the glacier and to 
calculate the AAR for operational purposes 
Correlation between AAR and mass balance 
and ultimately with the alterations of the 
climate 
290 
- Comparison of the dynamics of the 
transient snowlines on the glacier with its 
course in the immediate vicinity. 
So far the changes of the course of the annual 
snowline and of the position of the ELA could 
be monitored for four successive years on the 
three mentioned glaciers Aletsch, Rhone and 
Gorner (Fig. 1). The situation in late fall 1985 
as recorded by Landsat TM is reproduced in 
Fig. 4. The results of the variation of the 
annual snowline as mapped for the Rhone 
Glacier are presented in Fig. 5, whilst the shift