Holocene variations of the Vedrett della Lobbia, Adamello Group, central Alps(Variazioni Oloceniche della Vedretta della Lobbia, Gruppo dell'Adamello - Alpi centrali)

Geomorphological, glacial geological, lichenometrical and dendrochronological studies have been carried on the Upper Val di Genova with the aim of reconstructing Holocene fluctuations of the Vedretta della Lobbia. The maximum extention reached by the glacier during the Little Ice Age is marked by a moraine near the Malga Matarot bassa, at about 1790 m. The age of this moraine lies between 1645 A.D. and 1845 A.D. The maximum position of the same glacier during the Holocene has been determined at a slightly more advanced point (before 5310 14C yr BP). An end moraine located about 100 m South of the Malga Matarot bassa, at about 1790 m, marks the position reached by the glacier in the second half of the last Century. In the 20th Century, the Vedretta della Lobbia gradually retreated to its present position at about 2570 m. When the galcier was at its maximum position during the Little Ice Age, the snowline was situated about 60 m below the present snowline (2950).