A rocky Alpine path between two glaciers in Switzerland is emerging for what the local ski resort says is the first time in at least 2,000 years after the hottest European summer on record.
Mauro Fischer, a glaciologist at the University of Bern’s Institute of Geography says ten years ago he measured about 15m(49 feet) of ice between Scex Rouge and Zanfleuron glaciers with a geo-Rader, and more than 15m of ice and snow have melted during the past ten years.
“It is very disturbing how the glacier has melted. You can see that in places where it was covered with a blanket there are still five metres of snow left but otherwise virtually everything is gone, down to the ground. Here there is one centimetre on top. That’s unbelievable”
Fischer says this year’s ice melt was around three times the 10-year average, meaning bare rock can now be seen between the Scex Rouge and the Zanfleuron glaciers at an altitude of 2,800 metres and the pass will be completely exposed by the end of this month.
“It’s really beyond everything we have ever measured so far. We will have mass losses about three times higher than the average over the last 10 years. So this year is really exceptional and I could even see, by my eyes, visible changes within two weeks only.”
Fischer says what he has observed this year is shocking and alarming. He says rocky path visible between Alpine glaciers shows warning for future
“To be honest, what I have observed this year was really shocking to me and it’s made me feel very sad. I’m also a bit scared because these very high mass losses and the fast glacier shrinkage we observed this year, this is just a sign actually, the glacier is telling you how the meteorological conditions were over this year. Such a warm summer, such a dry summer, is actually something we’re going to have much more frequently also in the future.”
