Suretta Sud Glacier - Servizio Glaciologico Lombardo
Suretta Sud Glacier - Servizio Glaciologico Lombardo
Suretta Sud Glacier - Servizio Glaciologico Lombardo
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Fig. 7: <strong>Suretta</strong> <strong>Sud</strong> <strong>Glacier</strong>: the annual net mass balance for the period 2001-2008.<br />
installed at the end of the 2003 glaciological central sector, where the transfer of ice<br />
year, which given the following results:<br />
from the upper portions is active;<br />
• stake number 2 is protruding 50 cm less; • The situation is virtually stable in the<br />
• stake number 1 is protruding 33 cm upper part of the glacier along the right<br />
more.<br />
edge, probably due to avalanche accu-<br />
It is evident that the traditional evaluation of mulations.<br />
the mass balance through a few points may be A summary of the net mass balance results<br />
ambiguous and prone to errors. In our case, for for the period 2001-2008, calculated with the<br />
example, a greater number of stakes would be above described method, is reported in Fig. 7.<br />
needed in order to obtain meaningful results. It is easy to see that the 2002-2003 season,<br />
The installation and maintenance of a network with a loss of 2800 mm w.e., was the worst of<br />
of ablation stakes, without any doubt, would be the period, followed by the 2006-2007 (-2670<br />
more onerous than the glacial survey through mm w.e.) and 2005-2006 (-2500 mm w.e.)<br />
topographic methods.<br />
ones.<br />
An examination of the Fig. 6 chart, represent- Both these periods were in fact charactering<br />
the distributions of thickness variations, ized by anomalous thermal trends: the 2006<br />
highlights that:<br />
ablation season, besides lasting until October,<br />
• The greatest losses were recorded at the was the warmest since 1971 while the month<br />
lower left side, where the altitude differen- of April 2007 was recorded as the hottest of<br />
tial sometimes exceeded 4 m;<br />
the last 150 years, thus starting an anticipated<br />
• The minimum losses happened in the ablation season. The 2007-2008 net balance<br />
- 55 -<br />
mass balance