Swiss Ski Area Uses Blankets to Prevent Ice Melt
2021-09-01
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1One of Switzerland's most popular ski areas has been covering mountain areas with cloth material in an effort to reduce ice melt over the summer.
2Workers have placed large blankets of material around Mount Titlis, a ski area near the Swiss mountain town of Engelberg.
3The area contains a glacier that has been losing large amounts of ice over the past 20 years.
4The protective cloth, made of polyester material, is designed to block the sun.
5Putting the blankets over the glacier provides "a natural protective shield," Gian Darms explained to Reuters.
6He oversees snow conditions and mountain security in the area.
7Decreasing snow cover resulting from higher temperatures presents a serious threat to ski areas across Europe.
8Having a glacier can provide some protection from climate change.
9It can help keep large snow supplies on the mountain year-round.
10This snow can later be moved to fill in areas where it is needed.
11But the Swiss government has predicted that 90 percent of the country's remaining 1,500 glaciers will disappear by the end of the century if nothing is done to cut man-made pollution emissions.
12Darms said he has had to continually increase the size of the blankets over the glacier in recent years to save what is left.
13A small group of employees works over five-to-six weeks to cover parts of the glacier.
14At the end of the summer, the workers spend weeks removing the covers.
15Currently, the reflective material covers about 100,000 square meters, which is about the size of 14 football fields.
16The blankets help radiate the sun's energy back into the atmosphere.
17Collected snow is used to fill openings in the glacier that could open up along the area's ski runs.
18The snow also helps support lift structures that are fixed into the ice.
19I'm Bryan Lynn.
1One of Switzerland's most popular ski areas has been covering mountain areas with cloth material in an effort to reduce ice melt over the summer. 2Workers have placed large blankets of material around Mount Titlis, a ski area near the Swiss mountain town of Engelberg. 3The area contains a glacier that has been losing large amounts of ice over the past 20 years. The protective cloth, made of polyester material, is designed to block the sun. 4Putting the blankets over the glacier provides "a natural protective shield," Gian Darms explained to Reuters. He oversees snow conditions and mountain security in the area. 5Decreasing snow cover resulting from higher temperatures presents a serious threat to ski areas across Europe. Having a glacier can provide some protection from climate change. It can help keep large snow supplies on the mountain year-round. This snow can later be moved to fill in areas where it is needed. 6But the Swiss government has predicted that 90 percent of the country's remaining 1,500 glaciers will disappear by the end of the century if nothing is done to cut man-made pollution emissions. 7Darms said he has had to continually increase the size of the blankets over the glacier in recent years to save what is left. 8A small group of employees works over five-to-six weeks to cover parts of the glacier. At the end of the summer, the workers spend weeks removing the covers. 9Currently, the reflective material covers about 100,000 square meters, which is about the size of 14 football fields. The blankets help radiate the sun's energy back into the atmosphere. 10Collected snow is used to fill openings in the glacier that could open up along the area's ski runs. The snow also helps support lift structures that are fixed into the ice. 11I'm Bryan Lynn. 12Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 13We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 14_________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16ski - v. to move over snow wearing skis (a pair of long, think pieces of wood of plastic worn on the bottom of boots 17blanket - n. a thick layer of cloth material 18glacier - n. a large mass of ice that moves very slowly, usually down a hill of valley 19shield - n. a person or thing used as protection 20emission - n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source; something that is sent out or produced by something 21reflect - v. to send back or bounce off