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Contamination by microplastics (MPs) is a global issue involving all the ecosystems, both within densely populated and remote areas. However, to date the information on the presence and the distribution of MPs in remote, high-altitude ecosystems such as glaciers, remains incomplete and disjointed. This study aimed at investigating the occurrence, the spatial distribution and the contamination pattern of MPs within and among three glaciers suffering a different anthropic pressure. Supraglacial debris was randomly sampled from the Forni, the Cedec and the Ebenferner – Vedretta Piana glaciers (Ortles-Cevedale massif, Central Alps, Northern Italy). MPs were isolated and characterised by shape, size, and polymeric composition. The mean concentration (± SE; MPs/g dry weight) of MPs measured in debris from the Forni, the Cedec and the Ebenferner glaciers was 0.033 ± 0.007, 0.025 ± 0.009, and 0.265 ± 0.027 MPs/g, respectively. MPs abundance and contamination pattern of Ebenferner glacier debris significantly differed from those of the other glaciers because of a notable anthropic pressure due to the presence of a ski area. In addition, the contamination pattern of this glacier was dominated by MP fragments, while fibres were prevalent in debris from other glaciers. No significant spatial gradients in MPs distribution were detected along the ablation areas of the glaciers. Our results suggest that local contamination can represent the main source of MPs in glacier ecosystems experiencing high anthropic pressure, while long-range transport can be the main source of MPs for other glaciers. Also see: https://micro2022.sciencesconf.org/427201/document, In MICRO 2022, Online Atlas Edition: Plastic Pollution from MACRO to nano

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hol-10.1177_09596836221096292 for Biodiversity and ecology of plants and arthropods on the last preserved glacier of the Apennines mountain chain (Italy) by Barbara Valle, Michele di Musciano, Mauro Gobbi, Marco Bonelli, Enzo Colonnelli, Giulio Gardini, Massimo Migliorini, Paolo Pantini, Adriano Zanetti, Emanuele Berrilli, Anna Rita Frattaroli, Davide Fugazza, Anna Invernizzi and Marco Caccianiga in The Holocene

International audience; Most of the world’s mountain glaciers have been retreating for more than a century in response to climate change. Glacier retreat is evident on all continents, and the rate of retreat has accelerated during recent decades. Accurate, spatially explicit information on the position of glacier margins over time is useful for analyzing patterns of glacier retreat and measuring reductions in glacier surface area. This information is also essential for evaluating how mountain ecosystems are evolving due to climate warming and the attendant glacier retreat. Here, we present a non-comprehensive spatially explicit dataset showing multiple positions of glacier fronts since the Little Ice Age (LIA) maxima, including many data from the pre-satellite era. The dataset is based on multiple historical archival records including topographical maps; repeated photographs, paintings, and aerial or satellite images with a supplement of geochronology; and own field data. We provide ESRI shapefiles showing 728 past positions of 94 glacier fronts from all continents, except Antarctica, covering the period between the Little Ice Age maxima and the present. On average, the time series span the past 190 years. From 2 to 46 past positions per glacier are depicted (on average: 7.8)

Alpine glaciers respond to climate imbalance by adjusting their mass and length. In turn, these changes modify the glacial and periglacial environment, leading to increased supraglacial debris cover, the development of glacial lakes and glacier fragmentation. In this research, we investigated the evolution of Lys Glacier (Monte Rosa Group), by studying length, area and volume changes, and evolution of its supraglacial debris cover and proglacial lakes by means of historical sources and high-resolution aerial and satellite orthophotos. Lys Glacier retreated almost continuously, by nearly 2 km, from its maximum Little Ice Age position. More recently, the glacier lost 11.91% of its area between 1975 and 2014 and underwent fragmentation in 2009. Over the same period, glacier fragmentation and tongue stagnation affected the formation and rapid growth of a series of ice-contact lakes and led to a non-linear debris cover evolution. The glacier was also subjected to strong volume losses, with more than 135 m thinning on the ablation tongue from 1991 to 2014. Analysis of the meteorological records (1927–present) from the closest weather station reveals a considerable increase in average annual temperatures by more than 1°C from the mean of 1971–1989 to the mean of 1990–2017.

Alpine glaciers respond to climate imbalance by adjusting their mass and length. In turn, these changes modify the glacial and periglacial environment, leading to increased supraglacial debris cover, the development of glacial lakes and glacier fragmentation. In this research, we investigated the evolution of Lys Glacier (Monte Rosa Group), by studying length, area and volume changes, and evolution of its supraglacial debris cover and proglacial lakes by means of historical sources and high-resolution aerial and satellite orthophotos. Lys Glacier retreated almost continuously, by nearly 2 km, from its maximum Little Ice Age position. More recently, the glacier lost 11.91% of its area between 1975 and 2014 and underwent fragmentation in 2009. Over the same period, glacier fragmentation and tongue stagnation affected the formation and rapid growth of a series of ice-contact lakes and led to a non-linear debris cover evolution. The glacier was also subjected to strong volume losses, with more than 135 m thinning on the ablation tongue from 1991 to 2014. Analysis of the meteorological records (1927–present) from the closest weather station reveals a considerable increase in average annual temperatures by more than 1°C from the mean of 1971–1989 to the mean of 1990–2017.

In this study, we reported valuable information on the cryosphere of the Central Karakoram National Park (CKNP, the largest protected area of Pakistan and the highest park all over the world). In fact, in addition to the glacier inventory, we also estimated the glacier volume and we modeled the amount of meltwater derived from glacier ice ablation during a 18-day summer period (23 July���9 August 2011, time window where also field melt measurements were performed thus enabling a crosscheck of the obtained results). Moreover, glacial lakes were considered as well; for these latter glacier features we also analyzed their potentially dangerous conditions. All these information are given considering the CKNP as a whole and in detail by dividing it into five basins (i.e. Shigar, Hunza, Shyok, Upper Indus and Gilgit). As regards the CKNP as a whole, 608 glaciers are found with a total area of 3682.1 �� 61.0 km2, ~35% of the CKNP area. Analyzing in detail the five basins included in the CKNP area, they reflect the overall conditions regarding glacier distribution per size class, terminus elevation, length, and thickness. The widest basin (for number of ice bodies, glacier extent and ice volume) is the Shigar basin, where the largest glaciers are present (among which Baltoro Glacier), and the smallest one is the Gilgit basin. Finally, the highest number of debris-covered glaciers is located in the Shyok basin (62 glaciers). During 18 days in summer 2011, we quantified a total water magnitude of 1.54 km3 derived from ice melting. Even if we considered a relatively short period, this water volume equals ~11% of the reservoir capacity of the Tarbela Dam. In addition to glacier information, we provided glacial lake occurrence, as these ephemeral water bodies can develop into actual glacial risk conditions, which makes it important to list them and to survey them over time. The information reported in this study would provide base for future monitoring of glacial lakes and GLOFs and for planning and prioritizing disaster mitigation efforts in the park. In fact, even if the Potentially Dangerous Glacial Lakes (PDGLs) identified in the park territory are only 2, they are located in a high vulnerable and fragile area and the recent history suggests us to survey over time these water bodies to avoid losses of human lives and destructions of villages and communities. Moreover, many other supraglacial lakes identified in the park area could develop into conditions of PDGLs thus suggesting to prosecute the lake monitoring and to develop early strategies for risk mitigations and disaster management., JUNCO | Journal of UNiversities and international development COoperation, N. 1-2 (2018): Migrazioni, Pace e Sviluppo. Nuove sfide e nuovi attori nella cooperazione internazionale per lo sviluppo in Italia - Atti del V Congresso CUCS, Milano 14-15 settembre 2017