In Trentino, on the Presena, geotextile sheets that save the ice from melting during the summer

The latest alarm, in chronological order, is the one that, in these hours, comes from the Aosta Valley where the special surveillance is the Planpincieux Glacier, in the Val Ferret, on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif. The risk is that, due to the increase in temperatures, a mass of well 500 thousand cubic metersThe emergency was caused by a thermal shock: a significant rise in temperatures after a period of cold. Approximately 30 homes were evacuated (80 people, including residents and tourists), and traffic was completely banned along the Val Ferret municipal road.

GEOTEXTILE SHEETS

There is no sign of it abating melting glaciers but it is proceeding at an increasingly rapid pace. As noted a recent study from the British University of Leeds published in the magazine Nature, the ice at the poles is melting at a rate six times higher than in the 1990sWhile 81 billion tons of ice ended up in the sea every year, over the last decade we have gone up to 475 billion tons per year. In particular, Antarctica and Greenland, from 1992 to 2017, have lost approximately 6.400 trillion tons of ice resulting in a global sea level rise of nearly 18 millimeters. And, in 2100, according to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) initiated by the member countries of the Arctic Council, ocean levels could rise by 25 cm due to the melting of the North Pole ice. This means that if we fail to halt or at least control climate change, the impact on the planet could be devastating.

ALSO READ: In Iceland, a plaque commemorates the Okjökull glacier, which disappeared due to climate change.

GEOTEXTILE SHEETS TO SAVE GLACIERS

In addition to the Planpincieux, among the glaciers in our country that are affected by climate change there is also the Presena glacier In Trentino-Alto Adige, on the border with Lombardy. Located between Val di Sole and Valle Camonica, the Presena Glacier is part of the Presanella mountain range and has been protected since 2008 through the installation of geotextile sheets able to protect the surface from the sun's rays, reducing the temperature of the snow. The enormous geotextile blankets placed between June and September therefore prevent the constantly rising summer temperatures from melting the snow. ice.

A technique that, in the last 12 years, allowed to reduce ablation by 52% that is, the loss of mass from a glacier.

GEOTEXTILE SHEETS PRESENA GLACIER

The project, developed by the Autonomous Province of Trento with the Carosello-Tonale company, which owns the ski lifts to the glacier, involves the installation of geotextile sheets measuring 70 meters long and 5 meters wide. Over 100 thousand square meters of glacier coveredGiven the satisfactory results, from 2008 to today, the area covered by the tarps has been progressively expanded. On average, the geotextile sheets cover an ice thickness of 2-3 meters.

While the surface covered by the sheets has a solar energy absorption rate of 36%, the part of the glacier without sheets absorbs on average 57% of the solar energy.

It is estimated that, from 1993 to today, the Presena glacier, due to rising temperatures, has lost over a third of its volume.

TO KNOW MORE: Coastal erosion: 35 million square meters lost in 50 years. Damages estimated at €45 billion.

HOW TO PROTECT THE PRESENA GLACIER

Starting from October, to continue to protect the ice, the second phase of the program will be started which sees the increase in snow surface Using state-of-the-art snow cannons, water is drawn from an adjacent natural reservoir. The process typically continues until March.

GEOTEXTILE SHEETS RHONE GLACIER

A solution, that of geotextile sheets, which has been implemented for nine years also to preserve the Rhone glacier (Glacier du Rhone), the oldest glacier in the Alps, lies at the northeastern tip of the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. Approximately 10 kilometers long and 1000 meters wide, the Rhone Glacier covers an area of ​​17 square kilometers, which this year was once again covered with special sheets to prevent its melting.

THE RISKS OF CLIMATE CHANGE:

• Global warming, temperatures rising despite coronavirus
• Two young people invented an app to monitor climate change with beehives. And save the bees.
• Global warming: Brindisi is the city where temperatures have increased the most.
• Microplastics found in even the most pristine seas. Found in Arctic shrimp.
• Beach erosion: Half at risk due to illegal construction and global warming.
• A snow-covered desert in Saudi Arabia: an unusual sight, while roses have already bloomed in London.