Abstract
CR Climate Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials CR 43:251-262 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00941 The impact of climate change on ski season length and snowmaking requirements in Tyrol, Austria Robert Steiger* Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria *Email: robert.steiger@uibk.ac.at ABSTRACT: In this paper, the development and validation of a ski season simulation model (SkiSim 2.0) is described and results of the climate change assessment for 3 ski areas in Tyrol, Austria, are presented. The results of the validation process suggest that SkiSim 2.0 is an appropriate tool to simulate ski season lengths and snowmaking requirements at different altitudes and in different climatic subregions of the study area. Climate change impacts on ski season length are considerably less when incorporating snowmaking. All 3 modelled ski areas remain snow reliable until the 2040s (A1B) to the 2050s (B1). By then, current snowmaking technology has reached its technological limits. The required snow volume until the end of the century is projected to increase by up to 330%. Although snowmaking is a suitable adaptation strategy for the next decades, it is unlikely to be a sustainable adaptation strategy beyond the middle of the century. Besides altitude, local climate characteristics clearly influence ski season length, requiring the use of localized climate data. A comprehensive study of the research area, modelling all ski areas, is needed to assess the vulnerability of the ski marketplace in Tyrol. KEY WORDS: Climate change impacts · Ski season length · Snowmaking · Tyrol · Austria Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Steiger R (2010) The impact of climate change on ski season length and snowmaking requirements in Tyrol, Austria. Clim Res 43:251-262. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00941 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in CR Vol. 43, No. 3. Online publication date: November 24, 2010 Print ISSN: 0936-577X; Online ISSN: 1616-1572 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.
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