NOTIZIE

• 24 Luglio 2009

KARAKORUM EXPEDITION IS STARTING

The departure of the first expedition of photographic-scientific project "On the Trails of the Glaciers" is scheduled for 24 July 2009. The team will depart from Milan with a direct flight to Islamabad, Pakistan, to begin the long journey toward the Baltoro glacier, the main goal of this first mission. The project aims to revisit some of the most important historic expeditions, including the memorable expedition of the Duke of Abruzzi in 1909 (of which this year commemorates the hundredth anniversary), with the aim of achieving, by retracing the same points of view, new images that will be used to observe the changes occurred to the Karakorum’s glacial environment in the last hundred years. The photographic activity will be performed by Fabiano Ventura, project designer team leader, who will use the most modern digital technologies combined with traditional techniques of large-format shooting, seeking not only results of scientific and environmental value, but also aesthetically pleasant. Of great importance for the environmental value, these observations provide the raw material for scientific glaciological studies able to explain the current conditions of the planet, on the threshold of climate changes at a worldwide scale. The scientific observations will be performed by two of the world's leading experts in the field of glaciology: Prof. Claudio Smiraglia, former President of the Glaciologic Italian Committee, who will investigate on data collected during the expedition, and Prof. Kenneth Hewitt, Research Associate and founder of the Cold Regions Research Center of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo (Ontario, Canada), who will be in contact with the team on Baltoro thanks to the satellite link, in order give hints and plan direct observations, thanks to his considerable experience just in the regions to be visited during the expedition. Dr. Pino D’Aquila, geologist and alpinist with interest in geomorphology and GIS, will be with the crew on Baltoro to perform direct analysis and to collect data. The expedition team will be constantly followed by a film crew, to collect material for a video documentary (produced by SD Cinematografica) and for short movies to be published regularly on the web portal www.sdcinematografica.it during the activities on the Baltoro glacier. The expedition takes advantage from contributions by the leading enterprises in the field of the renewable energies, such as Enel Green Power and Enneci S.r.l. that, enjoying the project’s aims, made possible its fulfilment.