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 2019-10, Vol.65 (253), p.798-812
Main Authors: Francese, R. G., Bondesan, A., Giorgi, M., Picotti, S., Carcione, J., Salvatore, M. C., Nicolis, F., Baroni, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeology
Buried pipes
Cableways
Climate change
Computer simulation
Connecting
Geophysical surveys
Geophysics
Glacier decay
Glacier retreat
Glaciers
Global warming
GPR
Ground penetrating radar
Ice
Italian Alps
Logistics
military geosciences
numerical modeling
Numerical simulations
Orientation
Radar
Rocks
seismic
Seismic surveys
Surveying
Tomography
Tunnels
War
white war
World War I
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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 possible World War 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.
ISSN:0022-1430
1727-5652
DOI:10.1017/jog.2019.59