Multitemporal characterisation of a proglacial system: a multidisciplinary approach

Abstract. The recession of Alpine glaciers causes an increase in the extent of proglacial areas that leads to changes in the water and sediment balance morphodynamics and sediment transport. Although the processes occurring in proglacial areas are relevant not only from a scientific point of view but also for the purpose of climate change adaptation, there is a lack of studies on the continuous monitoring and multitemporal characterization of these areas. This work offers a multidisciplinary approach that merges the contributions of different scientific disciplines such as hydrology, geophysics, geomatics and water engineering to characterise the Rutor glacier and its proglacial area. We surveyed the glacier and its proglacial area since 2020 with both uncrewed (drone) and crewed aerial photogrammetric flights; we determined the bathymetry of the most downstream proglacial lake and the thickness of the sediments deposited on its bottom. Water depth at four different locations within the hydrographic network of the proglacial area and the bedload at the glacier snout were continuously monitored. The synergy of our approach enables the characterisation, monitoring and understanding of a set of complex and interconnected processes occurring in a proglacial area.