The Brenva Glacier (Mt. Blanc, Alps) has lost its valley tongue

Abstract

The Brenva Glacier, one of the largest and most well known glaciers of Italy, has lost its valley tongue. In September 2004 there was the complete depletion of the flow of seracs which had joined the upper basin to the valley tongue, which was longer than 3 km. On the valley bottom of the Val Veny there now remains a large mass of ice, whilst the active front of the Glacier has settled at 2350 m a.s.l., about 1000 m higher. The Brenva Glacier has become a glacial cirque. Already subject to strong fluctuations in the Holocene, the frontal variations have always shown a strict relation with meteorological recordings. This is the most typical case of the strong contraction being undergone by the alpine glaciers.