Last German glacier gets cover to stave off melting
By Jeremy van Loon June 4 (Bloomberg) — Germany’s last glacier, located above the Bavarian resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, is getting a protective tarpaulin to help shield it from summer melting. Zugspitze, at 2,962 meters (9,700 feet) the highest mountain in Germany on the northern rim of the Alps, is having its ice sheet covered for a 17th year to reduce shrinkage from rain and sun in an effort to stave off global warming’s effects. The Alps have suffered more than other glacial areas with half of the region’s ice fields having disappeared since the 1850s, according to the University of Zurich’s World Glacier Monitoring Service. Covering glaciers with protective plastic, tarpaulins and special wraps is also done in neighboring Switzerland including Andermatt and Austria, where high-altitude ice fields provide skiers with summer pistes for training. Workers from the Bayerischen Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG, the company that operates the ski lifts and cable cars on Zugspitze, will cover a soccer field-sized area with 30-meter-long tarps starting June 8, about five weeks later than last year. …
