Subproject 3 - Spatial and temporal changes in the geomorphic process dynamics on slopes in the Central Alps since the Little Ice Age

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High mountain geosystems are very sensitive to climate warming and the associated changes in precipitation conditions. This includes the rapid melting of glaciers, changes in permafrost and alpine vegetation. These changes, in turn, affect the discharge regimes of mountain rivers and sediment delivery from the slopes. However, the response of geosystems to climatic changes is very complex and varies greatly in space and time because of the heterogeneity of natural conditions. Therefore, during the first funding period of the project, the SEHAG research group has intensively studied the responses of geosystems and geomorphological process dynamics to climate changes since the LIA in order to increase the knowledge of the changes that occurred in the past and thus better prospect future developments. The main hypothesis of the research group is that past and ongoing climate change has influenced, and continues to influence, the activity and interrelationships between geomorphological processes since the LIA. These changes can be divided into four time slices (based on measured climate changes in the Alps): time slice I (1850-1920), time slice II (1920-1980), time slice III (1980-present/end of project phase I), and future time slice IV (present-2050/project phase II). The studies are carried out in three differently glaciated valleys of the Central Alps. Within the research group, subproject 3 focuses on dominant geomorphological processes on the slopes. Historical and current photographs, historical maps, as well as existing and newly collected LiDAR data are used to record the current and historical process dynamics in the three different time slices since 1850. By combining the results of these investigations with the results of the other subprojects of the research group, the identified changes in geomorphological dynamics is analyzed in the context of climate change and change in geosystems. The results already obtained in the first funding period will be deepened in the second funding period by further measurements and analyses. Then they will be used to calibrate and validate models of the slope processes in the selected working areas. For modeling future development, SP3 will use existing models from debris flow and soil erosion research. Phase II will analyze and forecast future development through 2050 based on existing past process modeling. The calculations will incorporate the data of the most important changes in the geosystems (e.g. climate, hydrology, vegetation), which will be elaborated in the other subprojects.