Although the idea is unusual, it is not new. Implementation of the thermal canvas began in 2008
The glacier of Presena, in Italy, has lost a third of its size since 1993 and this has been worrying local authorities.
Therefore, the region's government decided to place sheets, also known as geotextiles, to contain the melting of ice in the important valley that lies between the regions of Trento and Lombardy, in the north of the country, the Italian Alps.
The implementation of the thermal canvas began in 2008, when almost 30 thousand square meters of ice were covered. The new phase of the project seeks to cover more than 100 thousand square meters.
The tarpaulin reflects sunlight and cools the ice, making it difficult to melt and making it easier to maintain the site, which is also a tourist attraction in Italy.
This area is shrinking more and more, so we need to cover it as much as possible. The screen is a geotextile canvas that reflects [sun] light and helps preserve the snow,” Davide Panizza, 34, head of the company Carosello-Tonale, responsible for the project, tells RFI.
The system, however, only works if there is ice beneath the snow. “This system only works if we have ice under the snow. And this is the case with Presena. If there was just snow on the grass, the earth, it would melt anyway. We want to protect the ice by keeping the snow cold.”, Giacinto Delpero, also from BBC Brasil, told Carosello-Tonale.
One of the main threats is precisely summer, which occurs at this time of year in the northern hemisphere.
This week, temperatures of 38ºC were recorded in Verkhoiansk, Siberia, the highest in history. Climate change can harm the environment and destroy many of the natural beauties we have on our planet, as well as, of course, putting our very existence at risk.
Watch a video of the application of geotextiles on Italian glaciers:
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