Le ricerche glaciologiche italiane nelle regioni extraeuropee

Italian glaciological studies in regions outside Europe

Abstract

The principal trends in Italian glaciological research outside Europe (excluding the Antarctic) are indicated, as well as the principal geographic areas in which Italian glaciologists have worked since the beginning of the present century. In fact, it was at the beginning of the 1900s that the first glaciological observations were made, usually as part of large-scale expeditions. Three names stand out above all in this phase, LUIGI AMEDEO DI SAVOIA DUCA DEGLI ABRUZZI, Giotto DAINELLI and Ardito DESIO (it should be noted that in the case of the latter, his intensive and prolific work also extends into the second half of the 1900s). The areas were the great Asian mountains, particularly the Karakoram chain, in which case the glaciological observations represent only part of complex exploration work, mountain ascents, and scientific research. In this regard, the K2 expedition of 1954 is emblematic. It was led by Ardito DESIO, and besides climbing the second highest peak on earth, it also included accurate surveys on the glaciers in that region, particulary on the Baltoro glacier. Compared to the activity in the Asian regions, the glaciological studies in other mountain areas are very limited numerically. An exception to this is represented by the work of Father A.M. DE AGOSTINI in South America, particularly in Patagonia. After 1950, the rest of this century has seen a continuation of the surveys conducted as part of mountain-climbing expedition in both the more traditional regions (particularly Karakoram and the Himalayas) and in areas less explored by Italian researchers, such as the mountains of Africa or China. With the renewed interest in studying glaciers as climatic indicators and as records of atmospheric characteristics, in the last few decades, Italian glaciologists have been participating in research projects on an international level as well or in exclusively scientific expeditions. The GRIP Project deserves particular mention; the centre of the ice-sheet of Greenland was drilled for a depth of almost 3000 m in the carry 1900s and the drill hole reached the bedrock. Participants in this project also included Italian scientists who studied mainly the atmospheric record contained in the core. Glacio-chemical aspects are being examined also as part of the Ev-K2-CNR Program (this too started by Prof. DESIO), which is concerned principally with the Karakoram and the Himalayas as the study area. Within this program, firn samples for study are being collected on Everest at very high altitudes. The Ev-K2-CNR Program also includes the more traditional research topics concerning the Himalayas glaciers, particularly in the Everest group, with studies on differential ablation, epiglacial morphology and the dynamics of the black glaciers. A recent field of research is unfolding with the interest in glacial speleology, which sees numerous Italian scientists are actively involved in studies in Asia and South America.