Landsat 
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mm BiaBgy^ii 
Aletschgletscher B* 
щшжт 
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1 Gornergletscher J 
Fig. 1: Location of test sites in relation to climatic regions of Switzerland and 
Lands at-scene 
Climatic regions: 1 Southwestern part 
2 Valais 
3 Northwestern part 
4 Central and eastern plateau 
5 Northern Alps 
6 Grison 
7 Ticino 
chapter, leading to the establishment of a 
longterm monitoring project. 
STUDY AREA 
For the development of the methods, the 
Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier of the Alps, 
was selected, because of its size, its relative 
smoothness of the surface and its relativly easy 
access for surveillance and field investigation. 
anticipated to include as many different glaciers 
of the Swiss Alps as possible, representing the 
various climatic regions. The limits will be 
given by the size of the surface of the glacier 
and by the Landsat frame (path 195, row 28). 
Fig. 1 illustrates the study area regarding 
general setting, climatic zones, location of the 
glaciers presently under investigation, and the 
area covered by the referred Landsat scene. 
METHODOLOGY 
In the first test phase two additional examples, 
the Rhone Glacier and the Gorner Glacier, 
were also taken into account. Their features 
(relief, aspect, etc.) as well as the climatic 
characteristics are rather different. 
For the future longterm monitoring project it is 
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General aspects 
The first step comprises the development of a 
method for a careful location of the EL A. 
Using remote sensing data the most important 
task is to establish a solid relationship between