Zmutt Glacier
Zmutt glacier, called Zmuttgletscher in Swiss, is situated at the base of the famous Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps at a latitude of 45.96° N and a longitude of 7.62° E. It is currently approximately 6.5 km (4 miles) long and is considered an alpine glacier since it is located at an altitude of 2,235 meters (7,333 feet).
Zmutt glacier has receded approximately 2 km since measurements were first recorded in 1850. Many glaciers in Switzerland are melting. "Research using satellite images by the University of Zürich indicates that Switzerland's glaciers lost 18 percent of their surface between 1985 and 2000, at a rate seven times faster than between 1850 and 1973." (IPS news).
Monitoring
"Of the 91 [Swiss] glaciers being tracked, 84 had retreated in 2005 compared to a year earlier."—Swiss Academy of Science (2005)
The mission of the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (SGMN) is to track long-term changes in glaciers in the Swiss Alps. They have data going back more than one hundred years for over 120 glaciers in the Swiss Alps. SGWN scientists take annual measurements of many of the glaciers. Their web site provides measurements for Zmutt glacier from 1892 to 1997 as well as for many other Swiss glaciers.
