Recent structural evolution of Forni Glacier tongue (Ortles-Cevedale Group, Central Italian Alps)

Structural glaciology yields important details about the evolution of glacier dynamics in response to climate change. The maps provided here document the occurrence and evolution of brittle and ductile structures on the tongue of Forni Glacier, Ortles-Cevedale Group, Central Italian Alps, between 20...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Roberto Sergio Azzoni, Davide Fugazza, Marta Zennaro, Michele Zucali, Carlo D’Agata, Davide Maragno, Massimo Cernuschi, Claudio Smiraglia, Guglielmina Adele Diolaiuti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2017-11-01
Series:Journal of Maps
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2017.1394227
Description
Summary:Structural glaciology yields important details about the evolution of glacier dynamics in response to climate change. The maps provided here document the occurrence and evolution of brittle and ductile structures on the tongue of Forni Glacier, Ortles-Cevedale Group, Central Italian Alps, between 2003 and 2014. Through the remote sensing-based analysis of structures, we found evidence of brittle fractures such as crevasses, faults and ring faults, and ductile structures such as ogives at the base of the icefall in the eastern glacier tongue. Although each of the three glacier tongues have evolved differently, a reduction in flow-related dynamics and an increase in the number of collapse structures occurred over the study period. Analysis of the glacier structural evolution based on the numbers and the locations of different structures, suggest a slowdown of glacier flow on the eastern tongue. The recent evolution of the glacier also suggests that the occurrence of a disintegration scenario is likely to worsen over the next decades.
ISSN:1744-5647