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Arti cial cover at
Diavolezza

Stupa in Diavolezza

At the sign post above glaciers
Diavolezza 2973 m

Glacier and the mark
sign in front

stop the loss of water reservoirs in dry covered in summer, it would be protected
mountain regions. According to model from melting. Under today’s climate
calculations, with a climate scenario of conditions, the length could even
0.022 °C temperature increase per year and increase further a er 10 years. is is
a year-round snow-covered area of 0.8 km2, a breakthrough in glacier preservation,
a glacier might even lengthen over 10 years and also for freshwater storage worldwide,
if 10% of the glacier area were covered. especially in areas where water supply
A large amount of the glacier’s meltwater depends on a glacier that will disappear in
could be collected at high altitude, recycled the next few years, for example in Ladakh,
as snow and returned to the glacier. e Northern India.
project would require glacier meltwater,
a jet pump, su cient water pressure Ice Stupa – Not entirely co-incidentally,
and sophisticated technology for snow Ladakh is the home of Sonam Wangchuk,
production without electricity. the engineer who invented the Ice
Stupa. He developed a simple solution
NESSy ZeroE Snow Lances are an of forming cone-shaped ice mounds
innovative Swiss patented system - from the glacial meltwater. Wangchuck
NESSy stands for New Energy-E cient calculated that conical ice mounds have
Snow System) to produce snow without a smaller surface area and therefore melt
electrical energy. Only 200 meters of height more slowly than flat ice fields. Ten years
di erence between the water source and ago his prototype provided 1.5 million
the snow cable are required to generate litres of meltwater which could irrigate
the necessary 20 bar pressure this system 5000 trees. The meltwater reaches the
needs. A single NESSy ZeroE can cover an ice stupa via pipes connected to the
2
area of 200 to 400m during the summer river. The pressure generated creates
months. e water could be taken from a a fountain, so the water drips down
meltwater lake 200m above the area to be onto the stupa, crystallizing into ice in
covered with snow. If enough snow can the cold winter air. The ice then slowly
be produced through meltwater recycling melts during the spring months. The
to keep 10% of the Morteratsch glacier ice stupa caused interest in Switzerland,

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