Alarming melts of glacier: Dolomites lose 56 % of their area!

Alarming melts of glacier: Dolomites lose 56 % of their area!

The glaciers of the Dolomites in Italy are facing a dramatic decline. According to a recent study by the University of Ca ’Foscari in Venice and the Institute for Polar Sciences of the Italian Research Council, which was published in the journal“ The Cryosphere ”, the total area of the last twelve glacier has decreased by remarkable 56 % since the 1980s. This area shrank from over 4 square kilometers to almost 2 square kilometers. It is particularly alarming that a third of the glacier area has already been lost since 2010 and that the melting glacier has increased significantly in recent years. Study leader Andrea Securo noted that the glaciers could have completely disappeared in a few decades. The record -breaking loss of ice can be observed, especially on the glacier on the north side of the Marmolata, the highest mountain of the Dolomites.

The Fradusta glacier now only has a tenth of its original area. This comprehensive survey, which is based on older aerial photographs by 2010 and current high -resolution drone shots, has clearly shown the alarming effects of climate change on the glaciers. The increase in temperatures has been identified as the main cause of the glacier loss, which is not only a regional but also a global challenge. Climate change significantly influences the glaciers worldwide.

ice loss of global scope

Another overview of the global glacier melting is supported by a study by the European Space Organization (ESA), in which the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) was also involved. This study published in the Nature research magazine shows that the glaciers have lost an average of 273 billion tons of ice a year since 2000. This corresponds to the five and a half times the volume of Lake Constance per year. In the past ten years, the situation has further intensified, with an increase in the melted ice by 36 %: from 231 billion tons annually (2000-2011) to 314 billion tons (2012-2023).

The glaciers outside of Greenland and Antarctic, an estimated 121,728 billion tons of ice. They have lost about 5 % of their total volume in the past two decades. Regional differences show that only 2 % loss suffered a loss of 39 % since 2000 while antarctic and subantarctic islands suffered only 2 % loss. The increasing temperatures have also led to glaciers lost more mass than the Greenland ice shield and more than twice as much as the antarctic ice shield.

episodes for sea levels and the environment

The melted 6542 billion tons of glacier ice between 2000 and 2023 led to a global sea level increase of 18 mm, which corresponds to an average of 0.75 mm per year. After octrying, glaciers contribute to the global sea level increase as the second largest cause. The study (Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise, Glambie) comprised 35 teams and around 450 scientists worldwide that brought together data from field measurements and satellite missions and analyzed regional glacier changes.

The worrying developments of the glaciers in the Dolomites and in the global context illustrate the urgent need to combat climate change. Glaciers are crucial for water supply, drinking water, agriculture and hydropower and their progressive melt has far -reaching consequences for humans and nature.

While the glaciers of the Dolomites continue to melt and their snow blankets disappear, it is to be hoped that measures against climate change will be taken to stop this tragic process and to protect the next generation.