High-resolution seismic imaging of the Pian di neve glacier on the Adamello massif (Italy)

The application of geophysical techniques on glaciers can be very useful to study the overall impact of climate changes on the terrestrial cryosphere (Seppi et al. 2015). The multichannel seismic and GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) methods are the most popular and geophysical techniques widely used in glaciology. Besides enabling to monitor the glacier thickness and then the ice mass balance, these methods can provide useful information on the basal sediment properties, which influence the overall glacier flow. We report here about the results of an active seismic investigation in the Adamello massif (Italy). In October 2014, a 1-km multichannel seismic survey has been carried out on the Pian di Neve with the purpose to image the glacier bottom and obtain the ice thickness profile. The Pian di Neve (18 km²) is a high altitude glacier which occupies the plateau between the main peaks of the Lombardy side, from the Lobbia Alta peak and the Corno Bianco peak, at an altitude of between 3100 and 3400 meters. Together with the adjacent Mandrone glacier, it is the largest glacier in the Italian Alps. The Pian di Neve glacier was already investigated by Carabelli (1964) using single shot seismic analysis and Frassoni et al., (2001) by mean of GPR surveying.