Schweiz

Glacier grottoes like
this one in the Aletsch
area are icy masterpieces
of nature.
23
Ice giants in peril
N
umerous myths and legends
have been woven around the glaciers
of the Swiss Alps; the ice giants
have always shaped the landscape and
cast a spell over people. They are often
referred to as the “eternal ice”. Unfortunately,
this is a name that has been
dramatically shown to be incorrect in
recent years. That’s because the glaciers
are melting, retreating and even
threatening to disappear completely –
a development with far-reaching consequences
and effects for entire ecosystems,
electricity and water supplies,
as well as tourism.
This is why researchers have
spent many years investigating the
question of how the retreat of glaciers
can be prevented or at least
slowed down. For example, parts of
the Rhone Glacier are covered with
white sheeting in late spring. The
hope is that this will slow down the
melting of the snow and ice over the
summer months. Another project focuses
on producing artificial snow
on glaciers, since a layer of snow
would protect the ice below from the
rays of the summer sun. However, for
many glaciers, this help is coming
too late: in the Swiss National Park,
for example, there were still approximately
12 glaciers around 1970. Now
they are all gone. ë