A significant research initiative has recently concluded in San Michele all’Adige, where the Edmund Mach Foundation hosted the final event of the Euregio ROCK-ME project. This three-year project involved collaboration among researchers from the FEM Research and Innovation Centre, the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, aiming to study the effects of permafrost thawing on alpine water quality. During the meeting, which brought together around thirty experts and stakeholders, the results regarding the role of rock glaciers in the release of heavy metals into alpine springs were presented.
The investigations revealed the significant impact that climate change has on high-altitude water resources. Through an interdisciplinary approach that integrated glaciology, hydrology, and ecology, the project provided crucial data for the sustainable management of water resources. The scientists present emphasized the urgency of continuing research on the link between global warming and alpine water quality, with the intention of leveraging the findings in new initiatives dedicated to the protection of mountain ecosystems.
