What glaciers know

Ötzi was hot too: why this is risky for us

Glaciologist Andrea Fischer explains what glaciers can do and what the difference is between Ötzi's heat and ours.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/tock.adobe.com/Neulandfilm & Medien GmbH ,)

Magnificent to look at, respectful to walk on, exciting to read about: our glaciers. But yes, they are melting away. Why is that so wild? How much do we have left? And what does Ötzi the ice mummy have to do with it? As part of the new ÖAW science education project FÄKT! we asked THE glacier researcher Andrea Fischer!

Dr. Andrea Fischer is a glaciologist, and as magical as the word sounds, the profession itself is multifaceted: "The first glaciologists were historians who reconstructed glacier advances," says Fischer. This was soon followed by on-site research: "We now really use 'magic tools' here: georadar to measure ice thickness, drones to record volume changes, satellite data and aerial photographs to record glacier and snow areas," says the scientist: "The researchers from 1900 would be amazed."