Atlas Of Switzerland Research Articles

Archiving Printed and Digital Atlases – How to keep the «Atlas of Switzerland» available for future generations

Archiving Printed and Digital Atlases – How to keep the «Atlas of Switzerland» available for future generations

Climate Change-Induced Changes in the Chemistry of a High-Altitude Mountain Lake in the Central Alps

Mountains are among the most sensitive ecosystems to climate change, and one of the most evident signs of climate-related effect is the continuous net loss of ice from the cryosphere. Several studies showed that meltwater from glaciated and perennially frozen areas can profoundly affect alpine aquatic ecosystems. Here, we present the impressive temporal increase in solutes in Lake Leit, a mountain lake in the Central Alps that is impacted by an active rock glacier. During the last 30 years, concentrations of sulfate and base cations increased by factors of 4 and 3, respectively. Atmospheric deposition, the only catchment external source, could be excluded as possible cause. The inlets have sulfate and base cations concentrations that were up to double the concentrations of the lake outlet confirming the presence of catchment internal sources. The highest concentrations were measured in the springs at the bottom of the rock glacier. Ground surface temperatures of the rock glacier indicated a high probability of permafrost occurrence, while the annual mean air temperature after the mid-1980s showed continuously positive deviations from the long-term average values (period 1961–1990) with increasing values after 2010. δ34S of sulfate in the inlets and the outflow indicated that sulfate in Lake Leit mainly derived from dissolution of gypsum/anhydrite even if its presence is not confirmed by the Geologic Atlas of Switzerland. Because of these results, we postulate the presence of subsurface traces of sulfate-bearing evaporites, probably associated with Triassic metasediments. These deposits are very common in the closer surroundings. We further hypothesize that the thawing of permafrost affects the flow path of water enabling its contact with fresh highly weatherable minerals increasing the overall weathering rate and shifting the relative ionic composition in the discharge toward the ions that originate from the most soluble minerals. This study shows that increased permafrost thawing in the future can influence water quality in high-alpine settings.

Topic Selection and Structure in the National Atlas of Switzerland

Topic Selection and Structure in the National Atlas of Switzerland

Atlas Information Systems — Current Developments at ETH Zurich

The Institute of Cartography and Geoinformation at ETH Zurich has a long tradition in the design of classic printed atlases. These experiences enabled the Institute to successfully develop and implement various projects of interactive Atlas Information Systems in the last two decades. The Atlas of Switzerland, the national multimedia atlas, the Web-based Swiss World Atlas interactive as the Swiss school atlas, and the interdisciplinary Literary Atlas of Europe are proofs of successful technical innovations and high-level cartographic design.

Raster data in multimedia atlases: benefits and challenges. Examples from the "Atlas of Switzerland – interactive"

Raster data in multimedia atlases: benefits and challenges. Examples from the "Atlas of Switzerland – interactive"

Raster data in multimedia atlases: benefits and challenges. Examples from the "Atlas of Switzerland – interactive"

Raster data in multimedia atlases: benefits and challenges. Examples from the "Atlas of Switzerland – interactive"

Some Thoughts on the Origin of the Open Field System in Switzerland and Its Development in the Middle Ages

This paper is concerned with one of the central questions of open-field research, namely whether the original forms of the subsequent open field systems in Switzerland can be identified and how the process evolved into its mature form. Another related question is that of the maximum territorial distribution, which remains as much unanswered for Switzerland as, according to Hildebrand (1980, p. 13), it does for the rest of Central Europe. The origins of the open-field phenomenon in Switzerland have never yet been systematically investigated or demonstrated with the exception of Grosjean's field map in the Atlas of Switzerland and the following postulates are therefore, at least in part, necessarily hypothetical and provisional.