astronomy

Wilfried Haeberli

Wilfried Haeberli is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wilfried Haeberli rather than just read about it. In short: Wilfried Haeberli (born 19 January 1947) is a Swiss glaciologist and geomorphologist. He is professor emeritus of Physical Geography at the University of Zurich.

Key takeaways

Wilfried Haeberli belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wilfried Haeberli to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wilfried Haeberli from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wilfried Haeberli (born 19 January 1947) is a Swiss glaciologist and geomorphologist. He is professor emeritus of Physical Geography at the University of Zurich. He is also former director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service. His research focus on glaciers, mountain permafrost, cryosphere monitoring, and the impacts of climate change on high-mountain environments.

Early life and education Haeberli was born in Basel, Switzerland. He studied geography at the University of Basel. He completed his doctorate in 1974 with research on alpine permafrost. In 1985, he received his habilitation in glaciology and geomorphology from ETH Zurich.

Career Haeberli joined the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology at ETH Zurich. Between 1989 and 1995, he headed the Glaciology Division at VAW. In 1983, Haeberli assumed responsibility for coordinating international glacier observations. In 1986 he became the first director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service. He held this position until 2010. In 1995, Haeberli was appointed Full Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Zurich. He led the Glaciology, Geomorphodynamics and Geochronology Unit until his retirement in 2012. Following his retirement, he was named professor emeritus.

Research Haeberli is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern mountain permafrost research. His studies introduced process-based models linking frost weathering, rock glaciers, talus slopes, and permafrost creep, providing a framework for understanding landscape evolution in cold mountain regions. He contributed to the development of long-term monitoring techniques, including borehole temperature measurements and geophysical investigations that documented the effects of atmospheric warming on alpine permafrost. Haeberli pioneered methods for reconstructing glacier-bed overdeepenings and predicting the formation of new glacial lakes following glacier retreat, providing tools for hazard assessment and climate adaptation in mountain regions. His research has been applied in the Alps as well as in the Andes, Himalayas, and other high-mountain environments.

Selected publications Haeberli, W. (1985). Creep of mountain permafrost: internal structure and flow of Alpine rock glaciers. Mitteilung VAW/ETHZ, 74. Haeberli, W., & Hoelzle, M. (1995). "Application of inventory data for estimating characteristics of and regional climate-change effects on mountain glaciers". Zeitschrift für Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie. Haeberli, W., Barry, R. & Cihlar, J. (2000). "Glacier monitoring within the Global Climate Observing System". Annals of Glaciology, 31, 241–246. Haeberli, W., Kääb, A., Vonder Mühll, D. & Teysseire, Ph. (2001). "Prevention of outburst floods from periglacial lakes at Grubengletscher, Valais, Swiss Alps". Journal of Glaciology, 47(156), 111–122. Haeberli, W., Huggel, C., Kääb, A., Zgraggen-Oswald, S., Polkvoj, A., Galushkin, I., Zotikov, I. & Osokin, N. (2004). "The Kolka-Karmadon rock/ice slide of 20 September 2002: an extraordinary event of historical dimensions in North Ossetia, Russian Caucasus". Journal of Glaciology, 50(171), 533–546.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wilfried Haeberli

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wilfried Haeberli claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wilfried Haeberli before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wilfried Haeberli ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wilfried Haeberli

In research: Wilfried Haeberli appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wilfried Haeberli in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wilfried Haeberli is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1947 births, Academic staff of the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wilfried Haeberli outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wilfried Haeberli in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wilfried Haeberli means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wilfried Haeberli out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wilfried Haeberli in simple terms?

Wilfried Haeberli (born 19 January 1947) is a Swiss glaciologist and geomorphologist. He is professor emeritus of Physical Geography at the University of Zurich.

Why does Wilfried Haeberli matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wilfried Haeberli?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wilfried Haeberli.