Abstract
About 7% of Austria's currently known 16,300 caves host accumulations of perennial snow, firn, and/or ice. This high percentage is mainly due to the presence of large uplifted and heavily karstified plateaus in particular in the central and eastern part of the Northern Calcareous Alps. The highest abundance of ice-bearing caves can be found between about 1800 and 2100ma.s.l. Most of the about 1200 ice caves in this country are small pits which act as cold traps. Almost all large ice caves, however, show more than one entrance and are characterized by strong seasonal air flow, giving rise to strong winter cooling and ice deposition close to the lower-elevation entrance.
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