SUCCESS FOR THE THIRD EXPEDITION OF THE “ON THE TRAIL OF THE GLACIERS – ALASKA 2013′ PROJECT”

15 November 2013

The third photographic-scientific mission of the “On the Trail of the Glaciers” project in Alaska ended on 22 July.
Once again, the project brought home another success. Thanks also to extraordinary weather conditions (4 weeks of good weather, an event that had not been repeated for 26 years), the expedition to Alaska ended on 27 August with a rich ‘booty’: 28 photographic comparisons, 6 panoramic views, georeferencing of all the images, a documentary in the making and a trailer already ready, prestigious partnerships and collaborations and, above all, significant scientific results: the documentation of the incredible retreat of the glaciers. In fact, as the shots taken by Fabiano Ventura, leader of the project, show, the fronts of the two most important glaciers, the Johns Hopkins and the Gran Pacific glaciers, have receded by more than 15 km, while the Read has receded by about 3.5 km in just over 100 years.
According to Prof. Motyka and his colleagues, the impressive break-up of the Glacier Bay ice sheet from the Little Ice Age to the present has resulted in a volume loss of 3450 km3, which is eherevalent to a rise in the oceans of the entire planet of 1 cm.
All studies aimed at understanding the cause of this enormous retreat are therefore of great importance.
“The recent scientific discoveries,” Scotti continues, “help us understand how such a rapid and violent retreat was possible, which is also why the story of Glacier Bay can teach us a lot about what could happen in enormously larger glaciated areas such as Greenland and Antarctica.
The research team, coordinated by Claudio Smiraglia, an expert glaciologist from the State University of Milan, brought together the most experienced researchers in the field of glaciology from all over the world: Riccardo Scotti, (University of Milan Bicocca); Roman Mokitya (University Alaska Fairbanks); Jamie N. Womble, (Ph.D. Wildlife Biologist National Park Service); Bruce F. Molnia, (Ph.D. U.S. Geological Survey); Alessio Gusmeroli – (University Alaska Fairbanks); Eyal Saiet – (University Alaska Fairbanks).