Geophysical signature of a World War i tunnel-like anomaly in the Forni Glacier (Punta Linke, Italian Alps)

Global warming and the associated glacier retreat recently revealed the entrance to an ice–rock tunnel, at an altitude of ∼3600 m a.s.l., in the uppermost portion of the Forni Glacier in the Central Italian Alps. The tunnel served as an entrance to an Austro-Hungarian cableway station excavated in t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Authors: Francese R. G., Bondesan A., Giorgi M., Picotti S., Carcione J., Salvatore M. C., Nicolis F., Baroni C.
Other Authors: Francese, R. G., Bondesan, A., Giorgi, M., Picotti, S., Carcione, J., Salvatore, M. C., Nicolis, F., Baroni, C.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2019
Subjects:
Glacier decay
GPR
Italian Alp
military geoscience
numerical modeling
seismic
white war
World War I
Journal of Glaciology
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11577/3316467
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2019.59
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-glaciology/all-issues
Description
Summary:Global warming and the associated glacier retreat recently revealed the entrance to an ice–rock tunnel, at an altitude of ∼3600 m a.s.l., in the uppermost portion of the Forni Glacier in the Central Italian Alps. The tunnel served as an entrance to an Austro-Hungarian cableway station excavated in the rocks during the Great War just behind the frontline. A comprehensive geophysical survey, based on seismic and ground-penetrating radar profiling, was then undertaken to map other possibleWorldWar I (WWI) remains still embedded in the ice. The ice–rock interface was reconstructed over the entire saddle and in the uppermost portion of the glacier. A prominent linear reflector was surprisingly similar to the common response of buried pipes. The reflector orientation, almost longitudinal to the slope, does not seem to be compatible with a glacial conduit or with other natural features. Numerical simulations of a series of possible targets constrained interpretation to a partly water-filled rounded shape cavity. The presence of a preserved WWI tunnel connecting Mount Vioz and Punta Linke could be considered a realistic hypothesis. The Forni glacier could be still considered polythermal and comprised of cold ice without basal sliding in its top portion.

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