Appendix 9
How to get data from the WGMS
There are 5 possibilities to get data from the WGMS:
1. If you prefer getting your data in a written form on paper we can either send you copies of our written publications (see 'Available data from the WGMS') or print-outs of the requested data. Please use the latter proceeding to be sure to get the latest data as the database is regularly updated. For addresses see below.
2. You can get data in plain ASCII code on a diskette. Tell us what data you need and send us a diskette. For addresses see below.
3. You can get data in plain ASCII code via FTP. Tell us what data you need, the address of your computer (e.g. apache.ethz.ch or 129.132.2.75), the name and - if necessary - the password of your account and the directory where you would like to have your data. For addresses see below.
4. If you have a connection to the INTERNET and if you have access to an ORACLE database on a UNIX system you can directly login to the WGMS database via SQL*NET. Use the following statement: sqlplus wgmsuser/wgms@rz where 'rz' is an alias for:
rz = (DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = tcp) (HOST = apache.ethz.ch)
(PORT = 1521)) (CONNECT_DATA = (SID = rz)))
and has to be defined on your machine within a'tnsnames.ora' file. A 'wgmsuser' has all 'select' rights to the WGMS database and therefore to the tables (see: 'Available data from the WGMS') via SQL statements.
Here are some query examples:
WGI
This example shows a query on the World Glacier Inventory (WGI) database. It selects the sum of total area of all glaciers, which are presently stored in the database grouped by country:
select political_unit, sum(total_area) from wgms.wgi_var group by political_unit
Result:
| Political_Unit | Sum (Total_Area) |
|---|
| A | 542.23 |
| CD | 38,859.63 |
| CH | 1,341.69 |
| CN | 11,470.18 |
| D | 1.15 |
| E | 5.27 |
| F | 424.01 |
| GL | 1,070.20 |
| I | 754.29 |
| N | 35,865.51 |
| NP | 1,641.55 |
| NZ | 1,159.10 |
| PE | 1,131.07 |
| PK | 301.26 |
| RA | 3,795.16 |
| RB | 509.50 |
| RC | 1,978.50 |
| S | 313.07 |
| SU (CIS) | 82,127.52 |
| US | 1,087.26 |
FoG
The last example shows a query on the Fluctuations of Glaciers (FoG) database. The following query allows one to obtain mass balance-, equilibrium line altitude- and accumulation area ratio data:
select a.name, b.year, b.equilibr_ln_alt, b.aar, c.net_balance from wgms.glacier a, wgms.mass_balance_overview b, wgms.mass_balance c
where a.name like 'STORGLACIAEREN'
and a.internal_key = b.glacier
and a.internal_key = c.glacier
and c.year = b. Year
and c.lower_bound = 9999
and b.year = 1983
order by a.name,b.year;
Result:
| Name | Year | Equilibr_Ln_Alt | AAR | Net_Balance |
|---|
| Storglaciaeren | 1983 | 1,402 | 54 | 280 |
A 'wgmsuser' has the ability to print the selected data on a ASCII-File. With the following commands at the beginning of a question, a file will be written to the host computer:
spool test:dat
set pagesize 2000
select ... from ... where ...
spool off
5. By the end of 1997 it will be possible to directly access the WGMS database via World Wide Web. As soon as this will be possible there will be an anouncement on the WGMS Homepage or via the list server of IGS. The WGMS Homepage is reachable via:
http://www.geo.unizh.ch/wgms/
Addresses of the WGMS:
World Glacier Monitoring Service
Prof. Dr. W. Haebedi, Director
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Phone:+41/(O)1/635 51 20/21
Fax:+41/(O)1/635 68 48
e-mail:haebedi@geo.unizh.ch
World Glacier Monitoring Service
Dr. M. Hoelzle
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zentrum, CH-8092 Zurich Switzerland
Phone:+41/(O)1/632 40 94
Fax:+41/(O)1/632 11 92
e-mail:hoelzle@vaw.baum.ethz.ch
or
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Phone:+41/(O)1/635 51 39
Fax: +41/(O)1/635 68 48
World Glacier Monitoring Service
S. Suter
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zentrum, CH-8092 Zurich Switzerland
Phone:+41/(O)1/632 41 23
Fax:+41/(O)1/632 11 92
e-maii:stephan.suter@vaw.baum.ethz.ch
or
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzeriand
Phone:+41/(O)1/635 51 39
Fax:+41/(O)1/635 68 48
e-mail:stsuter@geo.unizh.ch
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