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Monitoring of the periglacial environment is relevant for many disciplines including glaciology, natural hazard management, geomorphology, and geodesy. Since October 2022, Rock Glacier Velocity (RGV) is a new Essential Climate Variable (ECV) product within the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). However, geodetic surveys at high elevation remain very challenging due to environmental and logistical reasons. During the past decades, the introduction of low-cost global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technologies has allowed us to increase the accuracy and frequency of the observations. Today, permanent GNSS instruments enable continuous surface displacement observations at millimetre accuracy with a sub-daily resolution. In this paper, we describe decennial time series of GNSS observables as well as accompanying meteorological data. The observations comprise 54 positions located on different periglacial landforms (rock glaciers, landslides, and steep rock walls) at altitudes ranging from 2304 to 4003 ma.s.l. and spread across the Swiss Alps. The primary data products consist of raw GNSS observables in RINEX format, inclinometers, and weather station data. Additionally, cleaned and aggregated time series of the primary data products are provided, including daily GNSS positions derived through two independent processing tool chains. The observations documented here extend beyond the dataset presented in the paper and are currently continued with the intention of long-term monitoring. An annual update of the dataset, available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.948334 (Beutel et al., 2022),​​​​​​​ is planned. With its future continuation, the dataset holds potential for advancing fundamental process understanding and for the development of applied methods in support of e.g. natural hazard management.

Permafrost warming is coinciding with accelerated mass movements, talking place especially in steep, mountainous topography. While this observation is backed up by evidence and analysis of both remote sensing as well as repeat terrestrial surveys undertaken since decades much knowledge is to be gained about the specific details, the variability and the processes governing these mass movements in the mountain cryosphere. This dataset collates data of continuously acquired kinematic observations obtained through in-situ Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) instruments that have been designed and implemented in a large-scale multi field-site monitoring campaign across the whole Swiss Alps. The landforms covered include rock glaciers, high-alpine steep bedrock bedrock as well as landslide sites, most of which are situated in permafrost areas. The dataset was acquired at 54 different stations situated at locations from 2304 to 4003 m a.s.l and comprises 209’948 daily positions derived through double-differential GNSS post-processing. Apart from these, the dataset contains down-sampled and cleaned time series of weather station and inclinometer data as well as the full set of GNSS observables in RINEX format. Furthermore the dataset is accompanied by tools for processing and data management in order to facilitate reuse, open alternate usage opportunities and support the life-long living data process with updates. To date this dataset has seen numerous use cases in research as well as natural-hazard mitigation and adaptation due to climate change., Earth System Science Data Discussions, ISSN:1866-3591

The PermaSense project is an ongoing interdisciplinary effort between geo-science and engineering disciplines started in 2006 with the goals to make observations possible that previously have not been possible. Specifically the aims are to obtain measurements data in unprecedented quantity and quality based on technological advances. This paper describes a unique ten+ year data record obtained from in-situ measurements in steep bedrock permafrost in an Alpine environment on the Matterhorn Hörnligrat, Zermatt Switzerland at 3500 m a.s.l. Through the utilization of state-of-the-art wireless sensor technology it was possible to obtain more data of higher quality, make this data available in near real-time and tightly monitor and control the running experiments. This data set (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.897640, Weber et al., 2019a) constitutes the longest, densest and most diverse data record in the history of mountain permafrost research worldwide with 17 different sensor types used at 29 distinct sensor locations consisting of over 114.5 million data points captured over a period of ten+ years. By documenting and sharing this data in this form we contribute to making our past research reproducible and facilitate future research based on this data e.g. in the area of analysis methodology, comparative studies, assessment of change in the environment, natural hazard warning and the development of process models.

We present a review of the changing state of European permafrost within a spatial zone that includes the continuous high latitude arctic permafrost of Svalbard and the discontinuous high altitude mountain permafrost of Iceland, Fennoscandia and the Alps. The paper focuses on methodological developments and data collection over the last decade or so, including research associated with the continent-scale network of instrumented permafrost boreholes established between 1998 and 2001 under the European Union PACE project. Data indicate recent warming trends, with greatest warming at higher latitudes. Equally important are the impacts of shorter-term extreme climatic events, most immediately reflected in changes in active layer thickness. A large number of complex variables, including altitude, topography, insolation and snow distribution, determine permafrost temperatures. The development of regionally calibrated empirical-statistical models, and physically based process-oriented models, is described, and it is shown that, though more complex and data dependent, process-oriented approaches are better suited to estimating transient effects of climate change in complex mountain topography. Mapping and characterisation of permafrost depth and distribution requires integrated multiple geophysical approaches and recent advances are discussed. We report on recent research into ground ice formation, including ice segregation within bedrock and vein ice formation within ice wedge systems. The potential impacts of climate change on rock weathering, permafrost creep, landslides, rock falls, debris flows and slow mass movements are also discussed. Recent engineering responses to the potentially damaging effects of climate warming are outlined, and risk assessment strategies to minimise geological hazards are described. We conclude that forecasting changes in hazard occurrence, magnitude and frequency is likely to depend on process-based modelling, demanding improved understanding of geomorphological process-response systems and their impacts on human activity.

Analyses of the geothermal gradient in permafrost areas constitute a key signal of the ground-surface temperature history. Permafrost temperatures in selected areas are particularly well suited to reconstructing past surface-temperature changes, mainly because there is no thermal disturbance due to circulating groundwater. One year of temperature data from an instrumented 102 m deep borehole in permafrost on Janssonhaugen, Svalbard, is presented. Ground thermal properties are calculated. The average value for the thermal conductivity is 1.85 ±0.05 W m–1 K–1 , and the average value for the thermal diffusivity is 1.1m2 s–1, which gives a phase speed for the annual wave of 5.65 × KT2 m d–1. The depth of zero annual amplitude is 18 m The permafrost thickness is estimated as approximately 220 m. Analysis of the temperatures reveals an increasing temperature gradient with depth. Using a heat-conduction inversion model, a palaeoclimatic reconstruction is presented, showing a warming of the surface temperature over the last 60–80 years. The temperature profile represents a regional signal on Svalbard, which shows an inflection associated with near-surface warming of 1.5 ± 0.5°C in the 20th century.

At two permafrost sites in the Swiss Alps a range of geophysical methods were applied to model the structure of the subsurface. At both sites, borehole information was used to verify the quality of the model results. On the Murtèl-Corvatsch rock glacier (2700 m a.s.L; upper Engadine) a 58 m deep core drilling was performed in 1987. D. c resistivity measurements, refraction seismics, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and gravimetric surveys allowed the shape of the permafrost table beneath the marked surface microtopography to be determined and the lateral extent of a deeper shear horizon to be established The validity of each method was verified by the borehole information (cores, density log and temperature). A coherent model of the rock-glacier structure was developed. At the Schilthorn (2970 m a.s.L; Bernese Oberland), it was not clear whether permafrost is in fact present. Various geophysical surveys (d.c. resistivity tomography, refraction seismics, GPR and EM-31) gave results that were not typical of permafrost environments. A 14 m percussion drilling revealed warm permafrost and a very low ice content. These geotechnical and geothermal data allowed reinterpretation of the geophysical results, improving modelling of ground conditions. The paper demonstrates that in the difficult terrain of Alpine permafrost, boreholes may be critical in calibration and verification of the results of geophysical methods. The most useful combinations of geophysical techniques proved to be (a) seismics with d.c. resistivity, and (b) gravimetry with GPR.

Within the framework of core-drilling through the permafrost of the active rock glacier Murtèl–Corvatsch in the Swiss Alps, subfossil stem remains of seven different bryophyte species were found at a depth of 6 m below surface and about 3 m below the permafrost table in samples from massive ice. The composition of the moss species points to the former growth of the recovered mosses in the nearest surroundings of the drill site. A total of 127 pollen and spores captured by the mosses and representing 23 taxa were determined. The local vegetation during deposition time must be characterized as a moss-rich alpine grassland meadow rich in Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Asteraceae, comparable to today’s flora present around the study site. For l4C analysis, accelerator mass spectrometry had to be used due to the small sample mass (about 0.5 mg Carbon content). The mean conventional 14C age of 2250 ± 100 years (1σ variability) corresponds to ranges in the calibrated calendar age of 470–170 BC and 800 BC to AD 0 at statistical probabilities of 68% and 95%, respectively. This result is compared with the present-day flow field as determined by high-precision photogrammetry and with information about the thickness, vertical structure and flow of the permafrost from borehole measurements. Total age of the rock glacier as a landform is on the order of 104 years; the development of the rock glacier most probably started around the onset of the Holocene, when the area it now occupies became definitely deglaciated. The bulk of the ice/rock mixture within the creeping permafrost must be several thousand years old. Characteristic average values are estimated for (1) surface velocities through time (cm a-1), (2) long-term ice and sediment accretion rates (mm a-1) on the debris cone from which the rock glacier develops, (3) retreat rates (1–2 mm a-1) of the cliff which supplies the debris to the debris cone and rock glacier, and (4) ice content of the creeping ice/rock mixture (50–90% by volume). The pronounced supersaturation of the permafrost explains the steady-state creep mode of the rock glacier.

Temperatures from a bore hole through an active rock glacier in the eastern Swiss Alps are presented and thermal conditions within the slowly creeping permafrost are analyzed. Present mean annual temperature in the uppermost part of the permafrost is −3°C. Permafrost is 52 m thick and reaches heavily fissured bedrock. Thermal conductivity as determined in situ from seasonal temperature variations and measured in a cold laboratory using frozen samples is close to 2.5–3.0 W m−1 °C−1. Vertical heat flow is anomalously high (around 150 mW m-2), probably due to heat advection from circulating ground water or air within the fissured bedrock zone. Beneath this zone, which could in fact represent a non-frozen intra-permafrost layer or “talik”, relic permafrost from past centuries may possibly exist as indicated by a corresponding heat-flow inversion. Given the current temperature condition at the surface of the rock glacier and the fact that the twentieth century is among the warmest in post-glacial time, permafrost conditions may be assumed to have existed during the whole of the Holocene and, hence, during the entire time of rock-glacier formation.

Flood and debris-flow hazards at Grubengletscher near Saas Balen in the Saas Valley, Valais, Swiss Alps, result from the formation and growth of several lakes at the glacier margin and within the surrounding permafrost. In order to prevent damage related to such hazards, systematic investigations were carried out and practical measures taken. The evolution of the polythermal glacier, the creeping permafrost within the large adjacent rock glacier and the development of the various periglacial lakes were monitored and documented for the last 25 years by photogrammetric analysis of annually flown high-resolution aerial photographs. Seismic refraction, d.c. resistivity and gravimetry soundings were performed together with hydrological tracer experiments to determine the structure and stability of a moraine dam at a proglacial lake. The results indicate a maximum moraine thickness of > 100 m; extremely high porosity and even ground caverns near the surface may have resulted from degradation of sub- and periglacial permafrost following 19th/20th-century retreat of the partially cold glacier tongue. The safety and retention capacity of the proglacial lake were enhanced by deepening and reinforcing the outlet structure on top of the moraine complex. The water level of an ice-dammed lake was lowered and a thermokarst lake artficially drained.