Glaciers in the Alps
Glaciers in the Alps are melting due to Global Warming and human impact.
What are the Alps?
The Alps are the highest and have the most widespread mountain range system that rests in Europe. Its stretches approximately 1,200 kilometers (745.64543 miles) across eight Alpine countries, such as Germany, Monaco, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Liechtenstein, and Italy. These mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn forming glaciers over the mountains. Mont Blanc Glacier spans across the French–Italian border, at 15,778 feet being the highest in the Alps. Matterhorn Glacier's width is approximately 8202.1 feet and reaches a minimum height of 9186.352 feet located between Valais, Switzerland and Italy. The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 3,000 feet.
The Alps forms a crescent shape that stretches from Slovenia to Monaco. Extending though Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Italy, and France. This is how these countries got their name The 8 Alpine Countries in 1991 by the Alpine Convention.
Europe is a continent located in both the Northern and Eastern Hemisphere home of the Alps, where they can be found in Central Europe.
The Alpine region of Switzerland also known as the Swiss Alps. Here to the right is an interactive map that shows the location of Switzerland, France, and Germany glaciers.
Click to discover their names.
Alps History
The Alps served as one of the natural barriers between the Mediterranean, Romance cultures of southern Europe and the Germanic cultures of Northern Europe. It was used as a shield to protect Italy (although its passage through the mountains was treacherous, it allowed for a unforeseen invasion to occur). Hannibal was a Carthaginian general who decided to invade the Roman republic in 218 BC. He took his army and African War Elephants over the Alps into Italy from France.
Hannibal's Route into Italy to invade the Romans
What has happen to the Glaciers in the Alps?
The Industrial Revolution
The Alps began disappearing around 1850, even though temperatures did not warm considerably until the end of the century.
Scientists now believe the reason was due to the Industrial Revolution where black carbon, or soot, from industry brought forth this darken surface on the glaciers. In result lowering its ability to reflect solar energy. This will cause a glacier to absorb more heat and melt more quickly.
The surface of Aletsch Glacier is showing evidence of darkening from mineral dust and soot deposits. The Colle Gnifetti drilling site lies in the background.
Another contributing factor was the steam locomotives, domestic fires (cooking, heating, and accidental fires), and other sources blanket parts of Europe during the Industrial Revolution, which took place around 1760 to 1840.
What scientist and glaciologist knows today?
Two-thirds of the ice in the glaciers of the Alps will melt by the end of the century as climate change forces temperatures to rise. Half of the ice in the mountain chain’s (4,000 glaciers) will be gone by 2050 due to global warming research shows. After that, even if carbon emissions have plummeted to zero, two-thirds of the ice will still have melted by 2100.
Evolution Glacier, in Northeastern Switzerland between 2006 and 2018. In 2006 this glacier had some snow 12 years later in 2018 it is dry as a dessert.
Harsh Summers
The summer of 2019 heatwave caused glaciers to melt at a rates of breaking records, leading to huge losses in ice volume, reported by the Cryospheric (parts of the Earth’s Surface where water is in solid form) Commission (CC) of the Swiss Academy of Sciences. It is thinning by about 1 meter (3 feet) per year on average, and by about 9 meters (29.5 feet) near the glacier's snout.
The gravel road to the glacier snout can be seen by a thin line at the bottom of the valley (to the right of the glacial river). The arrows point to the location of a small moraine-dammed lake (not visible), which is fed by melt water from the Vadret da la Fortezza. The Vadret Pers is the glacier on the left, that was connected to the Vadret da Morteratsch until a few years ago.
Results of Glaciers melting due to harsh summers.
Why Glaciers are important?
Glaciers provide areas with many useful resources providing fertile soil for growing crops. Deposits of sand and gravel that are used to make concrete and asphalt. The most important resource provided by glaciers is freshwater. Many rivers are fed by the melting ice of glaciers.
The Alps provided lowland Europe with drinking water, irrigation, and hydroelectric power. The area is about 11 percent of the surface area of Europe, while the Alps provides up to 90 percent of water to lowland Europe, particularly to areas that are excessively dry especially during the summer months. Cities such as Milan depend on 80 percent of the water from the Alpine water runoff rivers that use over 500 hydroelectricity power plants to generating electricity. Switzerland represents almost 60 percent of water exported from the country. Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of freshwater on Earth, holding more water than all lakes, rivers, soils, and plants combined.
Hydro-power Plant
Switzerland depend on hydro-power plants powered by the melting water of the glaciers represented by the photo below. In a town of Bitsch near the Rhone River, supplying 60 percent of Switzerland’s electricity.
Rain and melting snow are often the main sources of water for hydro-power, but in Switzerland and many other countries the melting of glacier ice is an important contributor. With the glaciers now melting fast climate forecasts suggest that in the coming decades, Switzerland might make up for some of its lost ice. Along with the increase in rain and snow, retreating glaciers are expected to be as much as 5 percent decline in electricity production in some regions of the country.
Hydro-power Plant
Nant De Drance
One of the most powerful hydroelectric power plants in Europe. Nant de Drance, located in Finhaut Switzerland, will become one of the largest and most powerful pumped storage facility in Europe. With an output of 900 MW, it will produce about 2.5 billion kWh of electricity per year.
Switzerland is located in Central Europe and is the size of New Jersey.
Switzerland is called the Europe’s ‘Water Tower’
Switzerland holds about 5% of the freshwater reserves of the European continent. Around 40% of the drinking water comes from natural springs or wells.
Another 40% from large underground groundwater reserves. For example the image shown to the right located in St. Leonard, Switzerland.
The last remaining 20% of water comes from surface water reservoirs, mainly lakes.
This is the Lac de Mauvoisin is a reservoir in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The reservoir is formed by the Mauvoisin Dam from the lake Combin de la Tsessette.
Can it be still called Europe’s Water Tower??
With its 1,500 lakes, 890 square kilometers of glaciers and countless rivers and streams. You would think Switzerland should have no water supply problems, but in some places inhabitants and farmers are regularly confronted with water shortages. This phenomenon will increase because of the climate change and the predicted reduction in summer rainfall, researchers say. A lack of drinking water has forced the small municipality of Enges in canton Neuchâtel, with its 270 inhabitants, to take precautions. In mid-April, the authorities decided to block a housing project for 140 people and to ban the construction of new houses for at least two years.
Researchers have proposed spraying artificial snow on the popular Morteratsch glacier to help slow its retreat, but such measures may only delay the inevitable.
Water Shortage
The loss of glacial ice also reduces the amount of fresh water available for plants and animals that need fresh water to survive. A study assesses the potential of reservoirs and natural lakes for the alleviation of water shortages in a nationwide analysis in Switzerland. To do so, they estimated the water supply and demand under current and future conditions both under normal and extreme runoff regimes for 307 catchments (rain collection, reservoirs) Water demand was assessed for various categories including drinking water, industrial use, artificial snow production, agriculture, ecological flow requirements, and hydro-power production. The aggregated supply and demand estimates were used to develop a water surplus/shortage estimate. These were then compared to the storage capacity of reservoirs and natural lakes within a catchment to determine the potential for alleviating summer water shortage. Reduced flows or seasonal changes in volume resulting from dwindling glaciers could be more noticeable in the smaller streams in the highest valleys. It is likely to have an impact on river life, including bugs and fish, as well as riverside habitat like shrubs and trees that are, in turn, important for birds. Lack of water also harms terrestrial ecosystems, diminishing both plant and animal life.
Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich in Switzerland
"Glaciers in the European Alps and their recent evolution are some of the clearest indicators of the ongoing changes in climate, The future of these glaciers is indeed at risk, but there is still a possibility to limit their future loses" stated by Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and one of the research team.
