Bundled up for summer, European glaciers covered with blankets to slow melting from climate change
SCMP, 17 Sep 2020
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The Presena glacier in northern Italy has lost over one-third of its volume in the past 27 years due to climate change. To slow the melting, the country rolled out about 100,000 sq metres (1.1 million sq ft) of white blankets on top of the ice in the summer of 2020. The textile reflects sunlight and maintains a lower temperature on the surface of the glacier than the air above. Glaciers in Austria and Switzerland are also being protected this way. As the blankets were removed in early September ahead of the skiing season, Italian officials said the project had saved more than 2.5 metres (8.2ft) of glacier mantle from melting away.
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The Presena glacier in northern Italy has lost over one-third of its volume in the past 27 years due to climate change. To slow the melting, the country rolled out about 100,000 sq metres (1.1 million sq ft) of white blankets on top of the ice in the summer of 2020. The textile reflects sunlight and maintains a lower temperature on the surface of the glacier than the air above. Glaciers in Austria and Switzerland are also being protected this way. As the blankets were removed in early September ahead of the skiing season, Italian officials said the project had saved more than 2.5 metres (8.2ft) of glacier mantle from melting away.
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