Geoengineering Project to Preserve Glacier
In an attempt to preserve the Varet glacier Les Arcs has covered the glacier with a huge white sheet to slow down its melting in the summer sun.
The glacier du Varet, situated at 3,228 metres in Les Arcs has had an area of 4,000m2 covered at a cost of 30,000 Euros.
The company that operate the ski area in Les Arcs (Société des Montagnes de l’Arc - SMA) along with Bourg Saint Maurice council have funded the operation.
Funnily enough the interest of preserving the glacier is not purely environmental; the glacier provides sole access for piste bashers to the Aiguille Rouge cable car top station in the preparation of the slopes for the winter.
The 'sun block' is a new development with a UV shield on one side and an anti-condensation interior to avoid the negative effect of water collecting on the glacier. The installation took two days to secure the 50 metre strips out over the glacier.
The initial reports look promising, whilst investment costs are high, reports of up to 1.5 metres of glacier has been saved. However the protective sheet is only covering 1/100 th of the total surface area of the glacier; some might say it's the tip of the iceberg.
Previous attempts of blanketing glaciers have not been so successful - Tignes installed a sheet on the glacier du Grand Motte. The material that was used attracted lots of dirt making the white sheet turn black. This meant that the sheet actually acted as a heat trap and accelerated the melting of the glacier.
Furthermore the SMA are not going to stop there, plans are already in place to build wind barriers along 200 metres of exposed glacier face. This would protect the snow fall during the winter period and allow for a deeper snow-depth over the season.
