Vanished glaciers of the Swiss Alps: An inventory-based assessment from 1973 to 2016

This study presents the first nationwide assessment of vanished glaciers in Switzerland. By comparing the Swiss Glacier Inventories SGI1973 and SGI2016, we identify 1019 vanished glaciers, representing more than 40% of all glaciers inventoried in 1973 and accounting for 13% (47±3 km²) of total glacier area loss. Glacier disappearance was most widespread along the main Alpine divide, in regions with relatively low peak elevations. Most vanished glaciers were very small (<0.10 km ² ) and steep, south- or east-facing glaciers more often vanished with respect to the initial glacier distribution. In the 2300–2550 m elevation band, vanished glaciers contributed over 30% of total area loss. Regionally, the Rhine basin hosts the largest number of vanished glaciers (423), while the Po (39%) and Danube (55%) basins have the highest share of glaciers disappearing with respect to the initial number. These findings underscore the relevance of systematically including vanished glaciers in change assessments. With a new inventory underway and two extreme melt years in 2022 and 2023, this study provides a benchmark for tracking continued glacier extinction in the Swiss Alps.