Italy seeks to study, sample Europe’s southernmost glacier

By LUIGI NAVARRA
Associated Press

ON THE CALDERONE GLACIER, Italy (AP) — Italian scientists are racing against time to study, scan and sample Europe’s southernmost glacier before it melts and disappears as a result of rising global temperatures. Researchers conducted a preliminary radar survey of the Calderone glacier in Italy’s central Apennine Mountains on March 13 and plan to return next month to drill into it and take samples. The aim is to extract chunks of the glacier and store them in Antarctica for future study. The Associated Press accompanied the team to the snow-covered glacier for the radar survey, traipsing up and down the mountainside of the Gran Sasso massif. Researchers in snow shoes probed the ground with electromagnetic equipment to determine how the glacier is stratified.