Quality of feedback to e-mail requests - an explorative study in alpine tourism destinations

The central aim of our project is to explore the handling of e-mail request from customers by tourist organisations and to explain the perceived behaviour. For this purpose, we designed a qualitative empirical study which consists basically of two stages. The first stage consists of a black-box test where we employ the setting of a qualitative experiment to measure the behaviour of the organisation to an e-mail request. The second stage comprises a with-box test where we want to look into the tourist organizations and analyse the relevant information processes. This study should give as some insight in the internal processing of e-mail requests and thus should help to explain the reactions that we registered.

Coprological analyses on apparently healthy Alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex) from two Swiss colonies

To provide baseline parasitological data for health surveillance in free-ranging Alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex), we assessed the endoparasite population and level of parasitism in apparently healthy ibex. Faecal samples from 148 ibex were collected between 2006 and 2008 in two different Swiss ibex colonies. They were analysed by coprology, including combined sedimentation/flotation method, sedimentation method, Baermann funnel technique and Ziehl-Neelsen staining. Gastrointestinal parasites and lungworms were identified in 100% and 81.8% of the examined animals, respectively. Highest prevalences were recorded for gastrointestinal strongylids other than Nematodirus/Marshallagia spp. (100%), Eimeria spp. (100%), Muellerius spp. (79.8%) and Nematodirus/Marshallagia spp. (79.0%). We report for the first time Cryptosporidium sp. in free-ranging Alpine ibex and Cystocaulus spp. in free-ranging ibex from Switzerland. On average, ibex were infected with 3.9 different parasites taxa (range: 1-8). Parasite prevalence and diversity varied significantly between sexes, study sites and seasons. Parasite egg output was low in 95.7% and moderate in 5.3% of the samples. Overall, the results indicate that Alpine ibex are widely infected with endoparasites and suggest that multiple infections are very common in apparently healthy populations. Furthermore, our data underline the potential influence of factors such as sex, study site and season on parasitological findings.

Pliocene Paleoenvironment and Antarctic Ice Sheet Behavior: Evidence from Wright Valley

Investigations in Wright Valley, adjacent to the Transantarctic Mountains in East Antarctica, shed light on the question of whether high-latitude Pliocene climate was warm enough to cause widespread deglaciation of the East Antarctic craton with a concurrent Magellanic moorland-like environment. If Pliocene age diatoms, presently in glaciogenic deposits high in the Transantarctic Mountains, had come from seaways on the East Antarctic craton, an expanding Late Pliocene ice sheet must have first eroded them from marine sediments and then deposited the diatoms at their present high-altitude locations. This hypothetical expanding glacier would have had to have come through Wright Valley. Glacial drift sediments from the central Wright Valley were mapped, sampled, analyzed, and Ar-40/Ar-39 whole rock dated. Our evidence indicates that an East Antarctic outlet glacier has not expanded through Wright Valley, and hence cannot have overridden the Dry Valleys sector of the Transantarctic Mountains, any time in the past 3.8 myr. Rather, there was only moderate Pliocene expansion of local cola-based alpine glaciers and continuous cold-desert conditions in Wright Valley. Persistence of a cold-desert paleoenvironment implies that the sector of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet adjacent to Wright Valley has remained relatively stable without melting ablation zones since at least 3.8 Ma, in Early Pliocene time. A further implication is that Antarctic Ice Sheet behavior in the Pliocene was much like that in the Quaternary, when the ice sheet consisted of a stable, terrestrial core in East Antarctica and a dynamic, marine-based appendage in West Antarctica.

Thermal Conditions at the Bed of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in Maine During Deglaciation: Implications for Esker Formation

The University of Maine Ice Sheet Model was used to study basal conditions during retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet in Maine. Within 150 km of the margin, basal melt rates average similar to 5 mm a(-1) during retreat. They decline over the next 100km, so areas of frozen bed develop in northern Maine during retreat. By integrating the melt rate over the drainage area typically subtended by an esker, we obtained a discharge at the margin of similar to 1.2 m(3) s(-1). While such a discharge could have moved the material in the Katahdin esker, it was likely too low to build the esker in the time available. Additional water from the glacier surface was required. Temperature gradients in the basal ice increase rapidly with distance from the margin. By conducting upward into the ice all of the additional viscous heat produced by any perturbation that increases the depth of flow in a flat conduit in a distributed drainage system, these gradients inhibit the formation of sharply arched conduits in which an esker can form. This may explain why eskers commonly seem to form near the margin and are typically segmented, with later segments overlapping onto earlier ones.

Genetic diversity, phenotypic variation and local adaptation in the alpine landscape: case studies with alpine plant species

Plant survival in alpine landscapes is constantly challenged by the harsh and often unpredictable environmental conditions. Steep environmental gradients and patchy distribution of habitats lead to small size and spatial isolation of populations and restrict gene flow. Agricultural land use has further increased the diversity of habitats below and above the treeline. We studied the consequences of the highly structured alpine landscape for evolutionary processes in four study plants: Epilobium fleischeri, Geum reptans, Campanula thyrsoides and Poa alpina. The main questions were: (1) How is genetic diversity distributed within and among populations and is it affected by altitude, population size or land use? (2) Do reproductive traits such as allocation to sexual or vegetative reproduction vary with altitude or land use? Furthermore, we studied if seed weight increases with altitude. Within-population genetic diversity of the four species was high and mostly not related to altitude and population size. Nevertheless, genetic differentiation among populations was pronounced and strongly increasing with distance. In Poa alpina genetic diversity was affected by land use. Results suggest considerable genetic drift among populations of alpine plants. Reproductive allocation was affected by altitude and land use in Poa alpina and by succession in Geum reptans. Seed weight was usually higher in alpine species than in related lowland species. We conclude that the evolutionary potential to respond to global change is mostly intact in alpine plants, even at high altitude. Phenotypic variability is shaped by adaptive as well as by random evolutionary processes; moreover plastic responses to growth conditions seem to be crucial for survival of plants in the alpine landscape.

The contribution of glacial archaeology to our knowledge of alpine passages - L'apport de l'archéologie des glaciers dans la connaissance des voies de passage alpins

Die europäischen Alpen sind in den Hochlagen trotz einem immensen Rückgang in den letzten Jahrzehnten immer noch stark vergletschert. Früher dachte man, dass die alpine Zone über rund 2000 m über Meer vom prähistorischen Menschen nicht begangen wurde. 1991 zeigte die Entdeckung des Mannes aus dem Eis beim Tisenjoch („Ötzi“) in über 3000 m Höhe, dass schon im Neolithikum Vorstösse bis in die vergletscherten Gebiete der Alpen stattgefunden haben. Die ältesten Spuren am Schnidejoch, einem Pass in den Berner Alpen der Schweiz, reichen bis in die Zeit zwischen 4800 und 4500 v.Chr. zurück. Der Pass wurde auch in der Frühen Bronzezeit benutzt, wie zahlreiche Objekte aus der Zeit zwischen etwa 2200 und 1600 v.Chr. belegen. Frühbronzezeitliche Funde liegen auch vom Lötschenpass, einem zweiten Passübergang in den Berner Alpen vor. Nördlich dieser Übergänge befinden sich die bekannten frühbronzezeitlichen Gräber des Berner Oberlandes (Region des unteren Thunersees), südlich davon stammen zahlreiche frühbronzezeitliche Funde aus Gräbern und Nekropolen im Rhonetal. Dank der Erhaltung von organischem Material bieten die Eisfundstellen wertvolle Einblicke zur Frequentierung der Hochalpen. Neben Bohlenwegen, Strassen und Brücken bilden Pässe wichtige Elemente des prähistorischen terrestrischen Transportsystems.

New results and new ice-borne finds from high-alpine passes in the Bernese Alps (Switzerland)

Archaeological finds from Schnidejoch (2756 m a.s.l.) and Lötschenpass (2690 m a.s.l.) cover the periods from the Early Neolithic to the Middle Ages (4800 BC - 1000 AD). The numerous finds from Schnidejoch discovered since 2003 can now be seen in relationship with Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in the Rhone valley and together with the early use of alpine meadows and early transhumance. Finds of Early Bronze Age bows from Lötschenpass go back to the 1930ies. New finds of wooden objects and objects made from birch bark melted out from the ice in the summer of 2011. The lecture presents these new finds and an actualized view of Schnidejoch finds.

Precipitation isoscape of high reliefs: interpolation scheme designed and tested for monthly resolved precipitation oxygen isotope records of an Alpine domain

Stable oxygen isotope composition of atmospheric precipitation (δ18Op) was scrutinized from 39 stations distributed over Switzerland and its border zone. Monthly amount-weighted δ18Op values averaged over the 1995–2000 period showed the expected strong linear altitude dependence (−0.15 to −0.22‰ per 100 m) only during the summer season (May–September). Steeper gradients (~ −0.56 to −0.60‰ per 100 m) were observed for winter months over a low elevation belt, while hardly any altitudinal difference was seen for high elevation stations. This dichotomous pattern could be explained by the characteristically shallower vertical atmospheric mixing height during winter season and provides empirical evidence for recently simulated effects of stratified atmospheric flow on orographic precipitation isotopic ratios. This helps explain "anomalous" deflected altitudinal water isotope profiles reported from many other high relief regions. Grids and isotope distribution maps of the monthly δ18Op have been calculated over the study region for 1995–1996. The adopted interpolation method took into account both the variable mixing heights and the seasonal difference in the isotopic lapse rate and combined them with residual kriging. The presented data set allows a point estimation of δ18Op with monthly resolution. According to the test calculations executed on subsets, this biannual data set can be extended back to 1992 with maintained fidelity and, with a reduced station subset, even back to 1983 at the expense of faded reliability of the derived δ18Op estimates, mainly in the eastern part of Switzerland. Before 1983, reliable results can only be expected for the Swiss Plateau since important stations representing eastern and south-western Switzerland were not yet in operation.

Ocean (De)oxygenation Across the Last Deglaciation: Insights for the Future

Anthropogenic warming is expected to drive oxygen out of the ocean as the water temperature rises and the rate of exchange between subsurface waters and the atmosphere slows due to enhanced upper ocean density stratification. Observations from recent decades are tantalizingly consistent with this prediction, though these changes remain subtle in the face of natural variability. Earth system model projections unanimously predict a long-term decrease in the global ocean oxygen inventory, but show regional discrepancies, particularly in the most oxygen-depleted waters, owing to the complex interplay between oxygen supply pathways and oxygen consumption. The geological record provides an orthogonal perspective, showing how the oceanic oxygen content varied in response to prior episodes of climate change. These past changes were much slower than the current, anthropogenic change, but can help to appraise sensitivities, and point toward potentially dominant mechanisms of change. Consistent with the model projections, marine sediments recorded an overall expansion of low-oxygen waters in the upper ocean as it warmed at the end of the last ice age. This expansion was not linearly related with temperature, though, but reached a deoxygenation extreme midway through the warming. Meanwhile, the deep ocean became better oxygenated, opposite the general expectation. These observations require that significant changes in apparent oxygen utilization occurred, suggesting that they will also be important in the future.

Temperature and precipitation signal in two Alpine ice cores over the period 1961-2001

Water stable isotope ratios and net snow accumulation in ice cores are commonly interpreted as temperature or precipitation proxies. However, only in a few cases has a direct calibration with instrumental data been attempted. In this study we took advantage of the dense network of observations in the European Alpine region to rigorously test the relationship of the annual and seasonal resolved proxy data from two highly resolved ice cores with local temperature and precipitation. We focused on the time period 1961–2001 with the highest amount and quality of meteorological data and the minimal uncertainty in ice core dating (±1 year). The two ice cores were retrieved from the Fiescherhorn glacier (northern Alps, 3900 m a.s.l.), and Grenzgletscher (southern Alps, 4200 m a.s.l.). A parallel core from the Fiescherhorn glacier allowed assessing the reproducibility of the ice core proxy data. Due to the orographic barrier, the two flanks of the Alpine chain are affected by distinct patterns of precipitation. The different location of the two glaciers therefore offers a unique opportunity to test whether such a specific setting is reflected in the proxy data. On a seasonal scale a high fraction of δ18O variability was explained by the seasonal cycle of temperature (~60% for the ice cores, ~70% for the nearby stations of the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation – GNIP). When the seasonality is removed, the correlations decrease for all sites, indicating that factors other than temperature such as changing moisture sources and/or precipitation regimes affect the isotopic signal on this timescale. Post-depositional phenomena may additionally modify the ice core data. On an annual scale, the δ18O/temperature relationship was significant at the Fiescherhorn, whereas for Grenzgletscher this was the case only when weighting the temperature with precipitation. In both cases the fraction of interannual temperature variability explained was ~20%, comparable to the values obtained from the GNIP stations data. Consistently with previous studies, we found an altitude effect for the δ18O of −0.17‰/100 m for an extended elevation range combining data of the two ice core sites and four GNIP stations. Significant correlations between net accumulation and precipitation were observed for Grenzgletscher during the entire period of investigation, whereas for Fiescherhorn this was the case only for the less recent period (1961–1977). Local phenomena, probably related to wind, seem to partly disturb the Fiescherhorn accumulation record. Spatial correlation analysis shows the two glaciers to be influenced by different precipitation regimes, with the Grenzgletscher reflecting the characteristic precipitation regime south of the Alps and the Fiescherhorn accumulation showing a pattern more closely linked to northern Alpine stations.