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Photos: Italian glacier gets special wraps to keep snow from melting

In northern Italy, the onset of summer means renewed efforts to preserve the alpine ice of the Presena glacier. The glacier is covered annually by huge geotextile tarpaulins that reflect sunlight and maintain a temperature lower than the external one, thus preserving as much snow as possible. Austrian-made tarps are brought in every season to blanket the precious snow. It takes a specialised team six weeks to install them -- and another six to remove them before the next ski season.

Updated on: Jun 22, 2020 7:34 PM IST

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An aerial view of workers covering the Presena glacier with huge geotextile tarpaulins on the Val di Sole near Pellizzano in Trentino, Italy on June 19. Summer is here and the alpine ice is being protected from global warming. In northern Italy, the Presena glacier has lost more than one third of its volume since 1993. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 7:34 PM

An aerial view of workers covering the Presena glacier with huge geotextile tarpaulins on the Val di Sole near Pellizzano in Trentino, Italy on June 19. Summer is here and the alpine ice is being protected from global warming. In northern Italy, the Presena glacier has lost more than one third of its volume since 1993. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

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Once the ski season is over and cable cars are berthed, conservationists race to try and stop it melting by using white tarps that block the sun’s rays. “This area is continuously shrinking, so we cover as much of it as possible,” Davide Panizza, who heads the Carosello-Tonale company that does the work, told AFP. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 7:34 PM

Once the ski season is over and cable cars are berthed, conservationists race to try and stop it melting by using white tarps that block the sun’s rays. “This area is continuously shrinking, so we cover as much of it as possible,” Davide Panizza, who heads the Carosello-Tonale company that does the work, told AFP. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

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A huge sheet put up on the Presena glacier, in order to delay snow melting on skiing slopes. “The coverings are geotextile tarpaulins that reflect sunlight, maintaining a temperature lower than the external one, and thus preserving as much snow as possible,” Panizza said. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 7:34 PM

A huge sheet put up on the Presena glacier, in order to delay snow melting on skiing slopes. “The coverings are geotextile tarpaulins that reflect sunlight, maintaining a temperature lower than the external one, and thus preserving as much snow as possible,” Panizza said. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

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On the border between the Lombardy and Trentino Alto Adige regions, workers unroll the sheets in long strips, covering an area at an altitude of 2700 to 3000 metres. The Austrian-made tarps cost up to 400 euros ($450) each and it takes the team six weeks to install them -- and another six weeks to remove them before winter sets in again. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 7:34 PM

On the border between the Lombardy and Trentino Alto Adige regions, workers unroll the sheets in long strips, covering an area at an altitude of 2700 to 3000 metres. The Austrian-made tarps cost up to 400 euros ($450) each and it takes the team six weeks to install them -- and another six weeks to remove them before winter sets in again. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

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Mountains surrounding the Presena glacier on the Val di Sole near Pellizzano. From around 30,000 square metres in 2008 when the project began, Panizza’s team now places 100,000 square metres under wraps. “There are glacier cover systems similar to ours on a few Austrian glaciers, but the surface covered by the tarpaulins is much smaller,” Panizza said AFP. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 7:34 PM

Mountains surrounding the Presena glacier on the Val di Sole near Pellizzano. From around 30,000 square metres in 2008 when the project began, Panizza’s team now places 100,000 square metres under wraps. “There are glacier cover systems similar to ours on a few Austrian glaciers, but the surface covered by the tarpaulins is much smaller,” Panizza said AFP. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

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Workers move methodically down the mountain under clear blue skies to pull the coverings taut, and sew them together to ensure warm drafts do not slip underneath. Bags of sand then act as anchors against the wind. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 7:34 PM

Workers move methodically down the mountain under clear blue skies to pull the coverings taut, and sew them together to ensure warm drafts do not slip underneath. Bags of sand then act as anchors against the wind. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

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Franco Del Pero who leads the operation told AFP that technological improvements mean contemporary tarps protect better than earlier versions. “When we remove them in September and we see that they did their job, we feel proud,” said Del Pero. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

Updated on Jun 22, 2020 7:34 PM

Franco Del Pero who leads the operation told AFP that technological improvements mean contemporary tarps protect better than earlier versions. “When we remove them in September and we see that they did their job, we feel proud,” said Del Pero. (Miguel Medina / AFP)

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