PressRelease Lys 2 - Ev-K2-CNR

Alpine glaciers answer to climate change
Press Release
n. 6/2012 - June 22nd, 2012
ALAGNA VALSESIA, Italy - Two ice cores are being extracted 120 meters deep in the glacier
of Lys Col, in the Monte Rosa massif: it’s the first step towards building a global archive of
high altitude glaciers worldwide. This is the starting point of a project promoted by
EvK2Cnr, National Research Council (CNR) and University of Milan Bicocca that will help
scientists to analyze climate change occurred in the last century in mountain environment
and atmosphere, in order to build a framework within predicting future evolutions of
climate and glaciers.
The drilling campaign on the Lys glacier have started this week at an altitude of 4,153 meters, with
the goal of recovering two ice cores. This project is carried out within the EvK2Cnr research
programs on climatic and environmental changes and the NextData Project of National Research
Council. Operations are performed by a team composed by staff from Brasimone Enea, Antarctic
National Research Program, Alagna Valsesia Alpine Guides and EvK2Cnr, and led by Valter
Maggi, researcher of the Science, Environment and Territory Department of Milan Bicocca
University.
"High-altitude glaciers are formidable archives of climate changes in the European region - Valter
Maggi says -. The stratigraphic analysis of the ice cores extracted from the deeps of ice, where the
accumulation of snow allows seasonal measurements, will help to understand the evolution of
alpine atmosphere over the last century and to reconstruct the rainfall pattern. The glacier is
moreover situated in one of the highly industrialized areas of Europe, allowing scientist to evaluate
also the impact of human activities on high mountain areas".
The drilling at the Lys Col, which is making the best despite the bad weather of the last three days
and the complicated logistic of such an operation, has been praised by Luigi Nicolais, President of
CNR. "With this project National Research Council confirms its commitment in environmental and
climatic research – Nicolais said –. This research combines monitoring and time series analysis
with development of predictive models on possible climate changes. Expected results will support
international policies and actions for ecosystems protection: all these issues are under discussion
just now in Rio de Janeiro at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development ".
The sampling of non-polar glaciers is an activity of NextData, a strategic project of the Italian
Ministry for Education, University and Research, coordinated by the CNR Department of Earth and
Environment, and aimed at the measurement, interpretation and provision of environmental and
climatic data of high altitude areas. It is designed to obtain information on natural climate variability
over the last thousand years, to quantify changes underway and to develop future scenarios for
mountain regions. The drilling on the Lys Col is the first step towards building a global archive of
ice cores coming from mountain glaciers.
"Creating a permanent archive with ice cores taken from glaciers all over the world - Agostino Da
Polenza, President of EvK2Cnr Committee says - is a very important investment for the study of
past ages, in a paleoclimatic view. Studying the depths of high altitude glaciers allows the
reconstruction of atmosphere changes, the analysis of pollutant transport and deposition which
could have influenced climate, helping finally to determine when the major processes have
happened and what was their impact. Glaciology covers all continents and latitudes, and find
useful applications in the projects like Share and NextData: it’s a research activity that combines
alpine skills to scientific skills”.
Ice cores extracted on the Lys Col will be 8cm in diameter. They will be conveniently sealed and
insulated to be transferred, and then the will be subjected to stratigraphy and sampled to be
analyzed in the EuroCold laboratories of Environmental Sciences and and Territory Department of
Milan Bicocca University.
The new perforation systems in use at the Lys Col will be applied both in Antarctica and in other
high altitude areas worldwide. Indeed, the drilling on the Lys Col was attended also by Sarki
Dorjee Tamang (a Nepali technician of the staff working at the Pyramid EvK2Cnr Laboratory
placed at 5,050 m.a.s.l. in the Khumbu Valley) and by Muhammad Amin Noord Baksh, (a Pakistani
glaciologist of the Glaciers Monitoring and Snow Research Unit of Pakistan Meteorological
Department). For them, this expedition is a preparatory experience for the drilling activities that will
be carried out in Himalaya- Karakoram whit the same procedure used on the Lys Col.
Video and photo available here:
ftp.montagna.tv
user: montagnatv_lys2012
password: lys2012
Ref.
Valter Maggi - Dip. Scienze Ambiente e Territorio, Università di Milano Bicocca, Piazza della
Scienza, 1, Milano. [email protected]; tel: 026448287
Francesca Steffanoni - Communications & External Relations Manager
Comitato EvK2Cnr - High Altitude Scientific and Technological Research
Via San Bernardino 145 - 24126 Bergamo
email: [email protected]
Tel. dir . + 39 035 32.30.519
Cell. + 39 335 7320069
Fax. + 39 035 32.30.551
Skype francyste73
Dai ghiacciai alpini le risposte sul clima che
cambia
Alpine glaciers answer to climate change
Press release
Comunicato Stampa
N. 6/2012 June 22nd, 2012
n. 8/2012 del 22/06/2012
ALAGNA VALSESIA, Vercelli – Due lunghe
carote di ghiaccio, in corso di estrazione a 120
metri di profondità alla base del ghiacciaio del
Colle del Lys, nel Gruppo del Monte Rosa,
saranno il primo passo verso la costruzione di
un archivio globale dei ghiacciai d’alta quota.
La perforazione dà il via ad un progetto
promosso da EvK2Cnr, Cnr Università di
Milano Bicocca che aiuterà gli scienziati ad
analizzare i cambiamenti climatici intervenuti
nell'ultimo secolo su ambiente montano e
atmosfera, nonché ad avere un quadro di
riferimento per prevedere le possibili variazioni
future di clima e ghiacciai.
The drilling campaign on the Lys glacier have
started this week at an altitude of 4,153 meters,
with the goal of recovering two ice cores. This
project is carried out within the EvK2Cnr
research programs on climatic and
environmental changes and the NextData
Project of National Research Council.
Operations are performed by a team
composed by staff from Brasimone Enea,
Antarctic National Research Program, Alagna
Valsesia Alpine Guides and EvK2Cnr, and led
by Valter Maggi, researcher of the Science,
Environment and Territory Department of Milan
Bicocca University..
"High-altitude glaciers are formidable archives
of climate changes in the European region Valter Maggi says -. The stratigraphic analysis
of the ice cores extracted from the deeps of ice,
where the accumulation of snow allows
seasonal measurements, will help to
understand the evolution of alpine atmosphere
over the last century and to reconstruct the
"I ghiacciai alpini di alta quota sono degli archivi rainfall pattern. The glacier is moreover situated
in one of the highly industrialized areas of
formidabili dei cambiamenti climatici ed
Europe, allowing scientist to evaluate also the
ambientali nella regione europea - spiega
impact of human activities on high mountain
Valter Maggi -. L'analisi stratigrafica delle due
areas".
carote di ghiaccio raccolte in profondità,
laddove l'elevato accumulo di neve permette
The drilling at the Lys Col, which is making the
una risoluzione stagionale delle misurazioni,
best despite the bad weather of the last three
contribuirà a comprendere in dettaglio
days and the complicated logistic of such an
l'evoluzione del sistema atmosferico dell’area
operation, has been praised by Luigi Nicolais,
alpina e ricostruire l’andamento delle
President of CNR. "National Research Council
precipitazioni nei cent’anni precedenti. La
confirms its commitment in environmental and
presenza del ghiacciaio in una delle aree
caratterizzate da un elevato sviluppo industriale climatic research – Nicolais said – with this
project that combines monitoring and time
permette inoltre di valutare l’impatto delle
attività antropiche sulle aree di alta montagna". series analysis with development of predictive
models on possible climate changes. Expected
La campagna di perforazione del ghiacciaio del results will support policies and interventions
for ecosystems protection: all these issues are
Colle del Lys, che sta procedendo al meglio
under discussion just now in Rio de Janeiro at
nonostante le pessime condizioni meteo degli
the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
ultimi tre giorni e le innumerevoli difficoltà
logistiche che una tale operazione comporta, è Development ".
stata commentata con grande soddisfazione
The sampling of non-polar glaciers is an activity
dal presidente del CNR, Luigi Nicolais. “Con
of NextData, a strategic project of the Italian
questo progetto, che associa analisi e
La campagna di perforazione del ghiacciaio
alpino, orientata al recupero dei due preziosi
reperti, si sta svolgendo questa settimana sul
ghiacciaio del Lys, a quota di 4.153 metri,
nell'ambito dei programmi di ricerca sui
cambiamenti climatici e ambientali del Comitato
di Alagna Valsesia (VC) e EvK2Cnr.
monitoraggio di serie storiche con lo sviluppo di
modelli predittivi sulle possibili variazioni del
clima, il Cnr conferma il suo impegno nella
ricerca climatica e ambientale. I risultati attesi
andranno a valorizzare politiche e interventi in
materia di prevenzione e tutela degli ecosistemi
ambientali, tematiche di cui si sta discutendo
proprio in questi giorni a Rio nell'ambito della
Conferenza delle Nazioni Unite sullo Sviluppo
Sostenibile”.
L’attività di ricerca basata sul carotaggio dei
ghiacci non polari rientra nei programmi di
attività di NextData, progetto di Interesse
Strategico del MIUR, coordinato dal
Dipartimento Terra e Ambiente del CNR,
dedicato alla misura, interpretazione e messa
a disposizione dei dati ambientali e climatici in
regioni d'alta quota e che ha lo scopo di
ottenere informazioni sulla variabilità climatica
naturale negli ultimi mille anni, di quantificare i
cambiamenti in corso e di sviluppare scenari
per i cambiamenti attesi nelle regioni montane
nei prossimi decenni. In questo contesto, il
carotaggio del Lys rappresenta il primo passo
verso la costruzione di un archivio globale di
carote di ghiaccio.
“Creare un archivio permanente con carote di
ghiaccio prelevate dai maggiori ghiacciai del
globo –- dichiara Agostino Da Polenza,
presidente del Comitato EvK2Cnr - rappresenta
il più importante investimento per lo studio delle
ere passate in chiave paleoclimatica. Andare a
fondo dei ghiacciai in alta quota permette di
ricostruire anche i periodi più recenti delle
trasformazioni avvenute in atmosfera e
comprendere la graduale deposizione dei
carichi inquinanti che hanno influenzato il clima,
contribuendo a stabilire da quando e con quale
incidenza i processi più impattanti hanno avuto
luogo. La glaciologia riguarda tutti i continenti e
latitudini, e trova valida applicazione nei
progetti Share e NextData: un’attività di ricerca
delicata che combina le competenze
alpinistiche a quelle di scienziati e ricercatori”.
Le carote di ghiaccio del diametro indicativo di
8 cm che sono in corso di estrazione al Colle
del Lys, saranno sigillate e coibentate in quota
per il trasporto e sottoposte a stratigrafia e
campionatura per essere analizzate nei
laboratori EuroCold del Dipartimento di Scienze
dell’Ambiente e del Territorio dell'Università di
Milano-Bicocca.
Ministry for Education, University and
Research, coordinated by the CNR Department
of Earth and Environment, and aimed at the
measurement, interpretation and provision of
environmental and climatic data of high altitude
areas. It is designed to obtain information on
natural climate variability over the last thousand
years, to quantify changes underway and to
develop future scenarios for mountain regions.
The drilling on the Lys Col is the first step
towards building a global archive of ice cores
coming from mountain glaciers.
"Creating a permanent archive with ice cores
taken from glaciers all over the world - Agostino
Da Polenza, President of EvK2Cnr Committee
says - is a very important investment for the
study of past ages, in a paleoclimatic view.
Studying the depths of high altitude glaciers
allows the reconstruction of atmosphere
changes, the analysis of pollutant transport and
deposition which could have influenced climate,
helping finally to determine when the major
processes have happened and what was their
impact. Glaciology covers all continents and
latitudes, and find useful applications in the
projects like Share and NextData: it’s a
research activity that combines alpine skills to
scientific skills”.
Ice cores extracted on the Lys Col will be 8cm
in diameter. They will be conveniently sealed
and insulated to be transferred, and then the
will be subjected to stratigraphy and sampled to
be analyzed in the EuroCold laboratories of
Environmental Sciences and and Territory
Department of Milan Bicocca University.
The new perforation systems in use at the Lys Col
will be applied both in Antarctica and in other high
altitude areas worldwide. Indeed, the drilling on
the Lys Col was attended also by Sarki Dorjee
Tamang (a Nepali technician of the staff
working at the Pyramid EvK2Cnr Laboratory
placed at 5,050 m.a.s.l. in the Khumbu Valley)
and by Muhammad Amin Noord Baksh, (a
Pakistani glaciologist of the Glaciers Monitoring
and Snow Research Unit of Pakistan
Meteorological Department). For them, this
expedition is a preparatory experience for the
drilling activities that will be carried out in
Himalaya- Karakoram whit the same procedure
used on the Lys Col.
Video and Photo available here:
Le operazioni di carotaggio che si stanno
svolgendo sul Colle del Lys permettono anche
di testare nuovi sistemi di perforazione che
presto potranno trovare applicazione sia in
Antartide che in altre regioni di alta quota del
pianeta. A tale riguardo della spedizione sul
Colle del Lys hanno fatto parte Sarki Dorjee
Tamang, tecnico nepalese membro del gruppo
di ricerca EvK2Cnr presso il Laboratorio
Piramide posto a 5.050 metri di quota nella
Valle del Khumbu, ai piedi del versante
nepalese dell' Everest, e il glaciologo pakistano
Muhammad Amin Noord Baksh che fa parte
della Glaciers Monitoring and Snow Research
Unit del Pakistan Meteorological Department.
La loro presenza ha valore di esperienza
propedeutica alle attività di carotaggio previste
in Himalaya e Karakorum, nel corso delle quali
si intendono replicare le tecniche impiegate per
la prima volta sul Colle del Lys.
ftp.montagna.tv
user: montagnatv_lys2012
password: lys2012
Ref.
Valter Maggi - Dip. Scienze Ambiente e
Territorio, Università di Milano Bicocca, Piazza
della Scienza, 1, Milano.
[email protected]; tel: 026448287