Marmolada, georadar and drones return to the glacier: now under observation Punta Penia
09.04.2026
Three years after the Marmolada tragedy, georadar and drones return to investigate the glacier. The new scientific campaign focuses on Punta Penia, aiming to verify whether this residual sector presents conditions of potential instability. The same approach will then be extended to the Adamello, the largest glacier in the Italian Alps.
The investigations were conducted by the Glaciological-Geophysical Working Group for the study of the Marmolada, which includes the University of Parma, the University of Padua, and researchers from OGS. Field surveys were completed in recent days; now the data collected with multiband georadar, used both by drone and from the ground, will be processed to reconstruct the internal structure of the glacier and assess possible risk scenarios, also in view of future heatwaves.
The New Research Phase
The new phase of study stems from the experience gained after the collapse on 3 July 2022, the most severe glacial event in recent Alpine history, which claimed the lives of eleven people. In the following three years, the group published two scientific studies that reconstructed the causes of the collapse, identifying the role of pressurised water and the loss of equilibrium of the glacial mass as decisive factors. Today, those same methodologies are being applied to the residual sectors of the glacier.
Why Punta Penia
Punta Penia was chosen because some of its morphological characteristics observable on the surface — shape, altitude, slope, and dimensions — require further investigation. However, researchers urge caution: the presence of predisposing conditions does not automatically equate to a dangerous situation. "This is not an alarm: it is an investigation. Science cannot pronounce itself before having the data, and we are gathering that data," says Aldino Bondesan from the University of Padua. The goal of the georadar is to "look inside" the glacier: measuring the ice thickness, defining the geometry of the bedrock, and identifying any presence of water or saturated zones, which are considered among the main indicators of instability. "We started these investigations because the morphological characteristics observable on the surface tell us that it is necessary to look inside," explains Stefano Picotti from OGS. "We do not know yet what we will find: that is exactly the objective of the work."
Research in a Broader Context
Climate change is increasing the risks at high altitudes related to glacial collapses, glacial lake outbursts, and landslides due to permafrost degradation. Different phenomena, but linked by the same cause: the rapid warming of the Alpine mountains. "The Alpine mountain is changing faster than current monitoring systems can keep up with," observes Roberto Francese from the University of Parma – OGS. "The methodologies we are developing — from the Marmolada to the Adamello — aim to bridge this gap."
Having concluded the field campaign, the work will now continue with data analysis and numerical modelling. The results will be scientifically published and communicated to the competent authorities for mountain risk management.
