On the central Apennines, in search of disappeared glaciers

A team of researchers from the University of Milan has identified for the first time evidence of glaciers dating back to the Quaternary in the Laga Mountains, in Abruzzo.The study will help understand the evolution of today's glaciers, a symbol of the climate crisis.

MILAN – Studying the past to understand the future is an unwritten rule that also applies to science.With this aim, a team of researchers from the University of Milan set out on the trail of the ancient glaciers of the central Apennines, which have disappeared for centuries, managing to identify for the first time in the Monti della Laga, in Monte Pelone and in Tordino valley, in the province of Teramo, evidence of glaciers dating back to the Quaternary, in the era in which ice also enveloped the Mediterranean Apennines.

STUDY PUBLISHED IN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, AZZONI:'CRUCIAL DATA FOR FUTURE RESEARCH'

The study was published in the international journal "Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews" and could help to better understand the evolution of today's glaciers, whose retreat has become the symbol of the climate crisis, and its repercussions on the high-altitude landscape.“This discovery represents a significant advancement in our understanding of glacialism in the central Apennines, providing crucial data for future research - explains Roberto Sergio Azzoni, professor of applied geology at the University of Milan and one of the main authors of the research -.Our observations suggest that the geological structure of the Monti della Laga has made the conservation of glacial traces extremely difficult due to the intense erosive processes.However, some forms and deposits have been identified and described in specific areas where topographic and climatic conditions have favored their preservation".

STRONG:'OPPORTUNITY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND OUR GLACIERS' FUTURE'

If numerous traces of Quaternary glacialism have been described on the Gran Sasso massif, the highest Apennine relief nearby, these evidences have so far been poorly documented on the Monti della Laga.“This new study - concludes Luca Forti, co-author of the research - will be able to stimulate further investigations to reveal the hidden secrets of the glacial landscape of the Laga Mountains and the Central Apennines, with the aim of expanding knowledge on the ancient Mediterranean glaciers, in order to better understand the future of our Alpine glaciers".