Climate change effects on landscape and environment in glacierized Alpine areas: retreating glaciers and enlarging forelands in the Bernina group (Italy) in the period 1954–2007

We analysed the recent involution of glaciers in the Bernina group (Italy), which are shrinking thus permitting a rapid enlargement of the forelands. We delimited glacier outlines upon aerial photographs (1954 and 1981 stereo pairs analysed through an optical system) and orthophotos (2003 and 2007 digital imagines directly managed via GIS software). All the obtained data were overlapped and compared. The estimated glacier area change during 1954–2007 was −36.5 ± 2.4% (−16.2 ± 0.4 km2). The changes sped up more recently; in fact, during 1981–1954 (27 years) the variation was −0.206 km2/y, against −0.387 km2/y during 1981–2003 (22 years), and −0.535 km2/y during 2007–2003 (4 years). In the 1954–2007 period, the forelands experienced a continuous increase (+14.7 km2). Moreover, the analysis of the colour orthophotos allowed observations of: (i) changes affecting shape and geometry of glaciers (growing rock outcrops, tongue separations, increasing supraglacial debris and collapse structures) and (ii) main features of glacier forelands (bare rock exposures, debris and sediments and, in the latter case, occurrence of vegetation colonizing such pristine areas). Glacier forelands resulted also subjected to the action of melting water, debris transport, and periglacial processes, with consequences on landscape and geoheritage.