RABAGLIATI R. & SERANDREI BARBERO R.
I ghiacciai delle Alpi Pusteresi nell’ultimo ventennio: modalità e cause del regresso – The Pusteresi Alps glaciers in the last twenty years: modality and cause of retreat
Pages 157-164
Abstract
The Pusteresi Alps glaciers were identified and classified using Landsat TM images of September 1985, 1987, 1989 and 1991. The technique to identify glacier surfaces is based on a statistic classifier, which integrates remote sensed data with those from the digital terrain model. Surface values obtained concern all glaciers within the studied area independent of their dimension. They quantify the loss in glacier surface verified between 1985 and 1991 and indicate that in 1991, after the discor – dant trends evidenced in 1987 and 1989, the retreat was extended to all existing glaciers in the examined area. Frontal measurements made since 1977 till pr esent show a pre vailing retreat of the glacier snouts from 1983 and a more intensified retreating since 1991. The utilisation of results obtained by these different approaches and their comparison with the trend of temp erature and precipitation data recorded at Predoi (1449 m) since 1977 allow to show temperature incre ases in 1986-87 as the main facror controlling snouts with a response rime around 5 years; while the recent, progressive increa se of glacier retreat is due to rhe scarcity of winter precipirations and their further decrease from 1988.