The use of blankets is controversial with geologists, since it only works for the short term. A low-tech band-aid on a growing problem. Recently searched locations will be displayed if there is no search query. Steven Desch, a physicist at Arizona State University, told, Harvey. Rhone Glacier . About 131 feet of the roughly 5-mile-long glacier have disappeared in that time. 51 years ago . Study Rewrites History of Ancient Land Bridge Between Britain and Europe, For the Only Person Ever Hit by a Meteorite, the Real Trouble Began Later, Altar to Ancient Greek God Pan Found Embedded in Wall of Byzantine Church, In the Ancient American Southwest, Turkeys Were Friends, Not Food, Tens of Thousands of 12,000-Year-Old Rock Paintings Found in Colombia, Watch This Backyard Squirrel Get a Little Tipsy on Fermented Pears, Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2020, New Prehistoric Marine Reptile Resembled a Miniature Mix of Loch Ness Monster, Alligator and Toothy T. Rex, Animals Are Using Utah's Largest Wildlife Overpass Earlier Than Expected, Otters Solve Puzzles Faster After Seeing a Friend Do It First, The Inspiring Quest to Revive the Hawaiian Language, The New Science of Our Ancient Bond With Dogs, Why Seagrass Could Be the Ocean's Secret Weapon Against Climate Change. For the last several years, locals in … For 150 years tourists have been traveling to the town of Belvédère, high in the Alps of southern Switzerland, for the chance to walk inside a glacier. Democratic Republic of the Congo | Français, State of Vatican City (Holy See) | Italiano, The Community Left Behind at Dried Up Lake Urmia, European Alps have lost approximately two thirds of their volume, The glacier can lose as much as 5 inches of thickness, UV-resistant blankets used on the Rhone glacier reduce retreat by 50 percent, Using Tech to Bring Deforestation to Light. See some parts of the The Rhone is one of the region’s shrinking glaciers. By Jesus Diaz 2 minute Read The glacier lost ~1300 m during the last 120 years leaving behind a track of naked stone. The walls, which would stretch for miles on the seafloor, would slow or reverse their collapse. Use up and down arrows to change selection. The blankets might seem like a quick fix or gimmick, but they could reduce seasonal melting by up to 70 percent, reported Agence France-Presse in 2015. 51 years ago . In honor of Earth Day, NBC Left Field tweeted a video depicting people covering glaciers with blankets. Advertising Notice Hikers walk by the Rhone Glacier covered with white blankets near the Furka Pass in Switzerland, Aug. 5, 2018. 51 years ago . She has written for Columbia Journalism Review, BBC Future, The Dallas Morning News, Racked, CityLab and Pacific Standard. (Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Archive), Gut-Wrenching Reason Nova Scotia Sends Christmas Tree to Boston Each Year, California Wildfires: 5 Things to Do to Prepare for a Blackout, Third Monolith Spotted in on California Hiking Trail, Cold or Flu? There are no guided tours of the glacier, but a visitor’s center sells tickets to the grotto and provides information for independent visits. And it's not the only effort to stop or slow glacial melting. Trouvez les Valais Rhone Glacier images et les photos d’actualités parfaites sur Getty Images. The proposal would not only protect the glacier but also hold off sea-level rise by preventing the meltwater from entering the ocean. Type at least three characters to start auto complete. The proposal would not only protect the glacier but also hold off sea-level rise by preventing the meltwater from entering the ocean. The glacier can lose as much as 5 inches of thickness on a warm day. A glacier knowledgeable told a BBC reporter in 2016 that these blankets unhurried the ice soften by 50 to 70 p.c every Twelve months between June and September. How Winter Fashion Has Changed in 100 Years (PHOTOS), Eerie Vintage Photos of People Battling the Flu. Tourist towns such as Gletsch, which depend on the attraction of the glacier, are reportedly going to heroic lengths to protect the glacier during the hot summers, covering the terminus of the glacier with insulating blankets to try to slow the melt. In the past decade, it has shed an average of 33 feet of ice thickness annually. We recognize our responsibility to use data and technology for good. The blankets reduce melt by 50 percent, but it's not enough to save the glacier. Near the Furka Pass in the Swiss Alps is the beautiful Rhone Glacier. Each year, for example, a group of residents makes its way to the Rhône Glacier to cover up the ice in huge white blankets that reflect the sun to prevent melting, reports Rafi Letzter of Live Science. Robinson Meyer reported on this proposal for The Atlantic in January. [Click here to watch the full video on YouTube.A 2018 article in the Washington Post describes how a group of people living adjacent to Rhone Glacier haul tarps through the mountains each year prior to the start of summer. Last year, another group of scientists came up with a plan to cover a portion of glaciers in the Swiss Alps with artificial snow, Smithsonian.com reported last year. Rhone Glacier . The Rhone glacier is the largest in the Uri Alps, and like glaciers the world over, it is experiencing retreat. The idea was a higher-tech version of the huge blankets; both the blankets and the snow reflect the sun rather than absorbing it. The Rhone's ice has retreated 4,600 feet in the past 150 years. For several years, UV-resistant fleecy white blankets have been installed during the warm periods, covering about 5 acres of the retreating glacier to reduce its melting. Vote Now! It’s not a knotty international issue, dependent on long-shot, high-cost efforts in remote reaches. For 150 years tourists have been traveling to the town of Belvédère, high in the Alps of southern Switzerland, for the chance to walk inside a glacier. It's worked well enough that the same strategy is being put to use for glaciers in Italy and Germany, too. The Rhone Glacier is protected by special white blankets to … There, fleecy white blankets in hand, they cover up the ice. ENVIRONMENT In the Swiss Alps, efforts to stop glacial melting have become commonplace. The Rhone's ice has retreated 4,600 feet in the past 150 years. (Smithsonian) Adapt our activity to learn more about how light-colored surfaces have a cooling effect on Earth. The Rhône Glacier (German: Rhonegletscher, Walliser German: Rottengletscher, French: le glacier du Rhône) is a glacier in the Swiss Alps and the source of the river Rhône and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the Swiss canton of Valais.Because the Glacier is located close to the Furka Pass road it is easily accessible. Near the Furka Pass in the Swiss Alps is the beautiful Rhone Glacier. Last year, another group of scientists came up with a plan to cover a portion of glaciers in the Swiss Alps with artificial snow. Privacy Statement German photographer Thomas Wrede has been photographing the ice grotto considering the fact that 2017. As Glaciers Disappear, Scientists Struggle to Preserve the Ice December 3, 2020 Summary: By the second half of the 21st century, there may not be any glaciers left. Rhone Glacier Covered in Blankets to Slow Melting The Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps is one of the oldest know glaciers in the Alps, and an important one ‘cause it gives rise to the Rhone River – a major river of Europe –, and is also one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva. You may be wondering why this glacier is covered in blankets. The retreat of glaciers in the Alps doesn’just affect tourism. In the past 150 years, the Rhône Glacier—a Swiss tourist attraction that feeds Lake Geneva—has shrunk badly. The Rhone glacier is the largest in the Uri Alps, and like glaciers the world over, it is experiencing retreat. At least in the Alps, residents think they have found a solution, even if it's a temporary one.