Alpine glaciers are sensitive natural archives for reconstructing past climate and environments through time, in and around the glaciers. The Adamello Glacier, located in the Central Italian Alps, has an extension of ca 14,35 km2 (2020) between 2560 - 3420 m asl, and it is the deepest Italian glacier. The ELA (Equilibrium Line Altitude) is located at ca. 3000 m asl. The glacier was chosen for a coring campaign that took place in 2021 and led to the recovery of a 224 m ice core (ADA 270). Preliminary estimate for the age of the core bottom could be around 1000 years ago; the core would span the time interval from around the Medieval Warm period to today. The core, stored at the EUROCOLD facilities at the University of Milano-Bicocca (https://eurocold.disat.unimib.it), is being studied at subannual resolution by means of a multiproxy approach that includes oxygen and deuterium stable isotopes, black carbon, dust, diatoms and microbotanical content (pollen and spores), plus the measurements of the radionuclides 210Pb and 137Cs. The pollen analysis of this core is oriented towards the reconstruction of regional past ecosystems. The samples so far analyzed document the presence and good preservation of palynomorphs. Seasonality of the pollen signal seems to be preserved, with Corylus and other taxa being the spring signal while Pinus, Ostrya and many more taxa being the summer signal of the flowering season. Different species of diatoms have been also observed. The results of the first few months of research will be presented and compared to the visual stratigraphy of the core and the hyperspectral analyses carried out on the same core. The main targets of the research will be: (i) documenting the effects of anthropic activities on natural environments during the Industrial Period; (ii) the impact of World War 1, harshly fought between the Italian and the Austro-Hungarian Armies on the Adamello Massif, on alpine environments; (iii) climate and ecosystems during the Little Ice Age and the Middle Ages.
ADA 270: palaeoclimate evolution of the past centuries from the Adamello Glacier.
PINI R;LAGORIO S;
2023
Abstract
Alpine glaciers are sensitive natural archives for reconstructing past climate and environments through time, in and around the glaciers. The Adamello Glacier, located in the Central Italian Alps, has an extension of ca 14,35 km2 (2020) between 2560 - 3420 m asl, and it is the deepest Italian glacier. The ELA (Equilibrium Line Altitude) is located at ca. 3000 m asl. The glacier was chosen for a coring campaign that took place in 2021 and led to the recovery of a 224 m ice core (ADA 270). Preliminary estimate for the age of the core bottom could be around 1000 years ago; the core would span the time interval from around the Medieval Warm period to today. The core, stored at the EUROCOLD facilities at the University of Milano-Bicocca (https://eurocold.disat.unimib.it), is being studied at subannual resolution by means of a multiproxy approach that includes oxygen and deuterium stable isotopes, black carbon, dust, diatoms and microbotanical content (pollen and spores), plus the measurements of the radionuclides 210Pb and 137Cs. The pollen analysis of this core is oriented towards the reconstruction of regional past ecosystems. The samples so far analyzed document the presence and good preservation of palynomorphs. Seasonality of the pollen signal seems to be preserved, with Corylus and other taxa being the spring signal while Pinus, Ostrya and many more taxa being the summer signal of the flowering season. Different species of diatoms have been also observed. The results of the first few months of research will be presented and compared to the visual stratigraphy of the core and the hyperspectral analyses carried out on the same core. The main targets of the research will be: (i) documenting the effects of anthropic activities on natural environments during the Industrial Period; (ii) the impact of World War 1, harshly fought between the Italian and the Austro-Hungarian Armies on the Adamello Massif, on alpine environments; (iii) climate and ecosystems during the Little Ice Age and the Middle Ages.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
