French Alpine glaciers decline

French Alps glaciers are decreasing at a rapid rate Copyright Keith Laverack

Following an assessment of 600 glaciers in the Ecrins, Belldone, Vanoise, Ubaye, Grande Rousse massifs as well as the famous Mont Blanc Massif in the north, findings of retreat were discovered.

The new survey shows glacial coverage had decreased to almost 375 square kilometres in the late 1960s and 340 square kilometres by 1986. Since then, the retreat has accelerated, with the area reduced to 275 square kilometres in 2010.

This represents an average loss of 26 per cent over the last 40 years, suggesting that glacial elevation is in danger. The biggest losses have been seen in the southern sectors, where, for example, in the Belldonne Massif, glaciers have almost completely disappeared.

The findings were revealed by Maria Gardent from the University of Savoie, who has worked with a team of investigators on the project. They looked at map archives, past satellite imagery, and aerial photographs, concluding with a manual inspection to check that the automatic delineation methods used in the pictures were correct.

Ms Gardent explained to the BBC: “The glacier retreat is less important in the northern Alps than in the southern Alps. We think this is because of the lower elevation of the mountains in the south, but also because of the climatic conditions which are different. There is more precipitation in the north and there is also more cloud.”

The recent findings mirror retreat discoveries occurring in other sectors of the Alps, predominantly Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and France.

Louise Kirby