Suretta Sud Glacier - Servizio Glaciologico Lombardo
Suretta Sud Glacier - Servizio Glaciologico Lombardo
Suretta Sud Glacier - Servizio Glaciologico Lombardo
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
2008 glaciological<br />
Survey<br />
moraine cover, the frequent dismemberments<br />
induced by the loss of mass (Passo<br />
di Chiareggio, Venerocolo, Porola), the formation<br />
and widening of proglacial lakes (particularly<br />
important is the widening of the Est<br />
Fellaria proglacial lake) and the lessening of<br />
break-up morphologies (crevasses, seracs).<br />
Hence, briefly, the negative trend for our<br />
The data of the 2008 Survey<br />
Year<br />
Total regional area covered<br />
by glaciers (ha)<br />
- 24 -<br />
glaciers continued in 2008 as well, though<br />
we could say something like “better than<br />
worse”. Coming from years that were anticipating<br />
the glaciological and climatic scenarios<br />
predicted for the end of XXI century,<br />
this might be of some satisfaction.<br />
During the 2008 Glaciological Survey, 96 glaciers were subjected to a complete glaciological<br />
survey 1 (36,5% of existing glaciers); their combined area was 9061,4 ha or 83,6% of Lombardy<br />
glacialized surface. Adding the photographic observations2 (103) the number of glacial apparatuses,<br />
inclusive of both glaciers and glacierettes, increases to 199 (75,7 % of all glacial bodies<br />
or 95,4 % of the entire regional glacial area).<br />
Tab. 1: total glacialized regional surface investigated during the 2008 Glaciological Survey and comparisons<br />
with the previous biennium (absolute values in ha and %) (* without photographic observations).<br />
Total area investigated<br />
(ha)<br />
Total area surveyed (%)<br />
2006 11.004,7 8.690,0 79*<br />
2007 10.967,7 10.242,8 93,3<br />
2008 10.838,6 10.344,1 95,4<br />
1 Complete glaciological survey means that a detailed on-site investigation was performed by the designated<br />
operators; where possible, their evaluation included: snow line altitude, minimum altitude of the front, front<br />
measurements. Operators also remarked the morphologies variations versus the previous survey.<br />
2 Photographic observation means that a glacier is investigated through one or more photos taken from<br />
selected photographic stations to allow meaningful comparisons over the years. Such observations do not<br />
provide dynamic indexes.