The artificial reduction of glacier melt is gaining increased attention due to accelerated ice wastage with atmospheric warming. In Switzerland, active coverage of glaciers using geotextiles is performed at currently nine sites and since up to 15 years. The measures represent an efficient method to locally safeguard the operability of ski slopes or other touristic attractions. Here, we present an assessment of the evolution of geotextile-covered areas and the correspondingly avoided ice melt across the Swiss Alps. Presently, about 0.18 km², or 0.02% of the total Swiss glacier area, is covered by geotextiles, with a doubling of the covered area since 2012. Up to 350,000 m³ of ice melt per year have been mitigated by this technique. We estimate the overall costs of active glacier melt reduction, and compute the price of 1 m³ of saved glacier ice, a number relevant for planning such measures. Average costs over the last decade range from 0.6 to 7.9 CHF m⁻³ yr⁻¹ depending on the type of installation and its location on the glacier. These relatively high costs are an indication for the considerable economic value attributed to glacier ice. We also show that artificial melt reduction is not scalable. Whilst local interventions can be efficient and profitable, a hypothetical application to the larger scale shows that saving Alpine glaciers by technological solutions is neither achievable nor affordable.

由于大气变暖加速了冰的浪费，人为减少冰川融化越来越受到关注。在瑞士，自15年以来，目前在九个地点使用土工布对冰川进行了主动覆盖。这些措施代表了一种有效的方法，可以在当地保护滑雪场或其他旅游景点的可操作性。在这里，我们对覆盖瑞士阿尔卑斯山的土工布覆盖区域的演变以及相应避免的冰融化进行了评估。目前，土工布覆盖了约0.18 km ²或瑞士冰川总面积的0.02％，自2012年以来覆盖面积增加了一倍。高达350,000 m ³这项技术可以减轻每年冰融化的数量。我们估算了主动减少冰川融化的总成本，并计算了保存的1 m ³冰川冰的价格，这与计划此类措施有关。根据安装类型及其在冰川上的位置，过去十年的平均成本在0.6到7.9 CHF m ^-3 yr ^-1之间。这些相对较高的成本表明冰川冰具有可观的经济价值。我们还表明，人工熔体还原是不可扩展的。尽管当地的干预措施既有效又有利可图，但在更大范围内进行的假设应用表明，通过技术解决方案来拯救高山冰川既无法实现，也无法负担。