Hyperspectral, discrete and XRD analyses on Adamello glacier ice-core sections focusing on dust layers

Ice-covered surfaces of the planet are a pristine glimpse on the climate history of the Earth. Their capability to reflect the solar radiation affects the energy budget through time, so that paleoclimatic information recorded in polar and mountain glaciers tell a story about climate and environmental changes. Climate variations are a glaring reality due to a progressive climate warming that has been observed since the 1950s. The latest 2022 IPCC report [1], highlights the worrying state of the entire cryosphere health. Mid-latitude glaciers, e.g., are highly sensitive to the current atmospheric warming, which is seriously compromising the quality of the signal preserved in the ice. Mineral dust aerosol in atmosphere can alter the Earth’s energy budget interacting with the solar electromagnetic radiation. The dust settled on glaciers surfaces varies the ice capability to reflect the incident radiation, so that a major portion of it is absorbed as a function of Light Absorbing Impurity (LAI) concentration, mineralogical composition, LAI shapes etc. Depending on formation sites different minerals have different optical properties, affecting cryosphere mechanisms in a way that has to be further investigated. Ice core studies from mid-latitude mountain glaciers are essential to infer recent climate variability and anthropogenic impact on a regional scale. In the scientific literature, various imaging non-destructive systems extract e.g. information from visual stratigraphy of ice cores [2]. Advanced techniques can further be developed to improve the accuracy of ice cores measurements, pursuing the preservation of such precious achieves. The aim of this work is to apply different approaches to improve the understanding and climate simulation models regarding ice optical properties and feedback mechanisms, focusing on mineral dust and ice internal features. First, a non destructive system based on a hyperspectral imaging sensor is used to analyze optical properties of ice