The mountain peak, frozen for thousands of years, has collapsed.

Switzerland: A section of the Fluchthorn peak in the Silvretta Alps suddenly collapsed on June 11, sending more than 100,000 cubic meters of rock tumbling into the valley below.

The landslide occurred after a prolonged period of high temperatures in Switzerland. This could be the result of permafrost melting. Scientists warn that similar events could occur as climate change causes the ancient permafrost to disintegrate, Live Science reported on June 26.

Riccardo Mizio, a mountain rescuer, said the cross erected on the summit had disappeared and no one was injured by falling rocks. The main peak of Fluchthorn lost about 100 meters. The collapse occurred in the western part, in the Futschol Valley. The central peak, 3,397 meters high, is now Fluchthorn's highest point, meaning the mountain is about 19 meters lower than before.

Most mountain peaks over 2,500 meters in the Alps are covered by permafrost, which penetrates deep into the cracks between solid rock formations, helping to bind them together. Without this permafrost, the cliffs could become unstable, leading to landslides.

Climate change is having a major impact on permafrost because rising temperatures are causing the ice in fissures to melt. This isn't unusual in the summer, when the top layer of permafrost melts for a short period, but more frequent heatwaves in the Alps are causing deeper ice to melt during the summer as well.

As the ground warms, the melting permafrost is expected to further destabilize more rock formations in the Alps, leading to more frequent landslides. "The Fluchthorn peak was probably frozen for thousands of years. Because climate change is slowly affecting deeper rock layers, the collapse of this peak is most likely the result of extreme temperatures from last summer or fall," said Jan-Christoph Otto, a geologist at the University of Salzburg.

In the Alps, atmospheric temperatures have risen significantly over the past few decades. According to the Swiss Meteorological Agency, Alpine temperatures are increasing by about 0.3 degrees Celsius per decade, approximately twice as fast as the global average. Based on long-term data collected by sensors on the rock surface, the average temperature inside the rock increases by 1 degree Celsius every 10 years.

While it's impossible to predict which peaks or cliffs in the Alps will collapse next, experts warn that similar landslides will occur as the world warms. Otto said that hundreds of mountains in the Alps have permafrost. "Considering the ongoing temperature increase in the Alps, more similar events could happen," he stated.

Thu Thao (According to Live Science )

Source link