A Web 2.0 Platform for a Century of Glaciological Observations in the Italian Alps

The collection is relevant not only for its value as historical archive, but also as an important reference for analyzing past trends and for modeling the future of the cryosphere and the hydrology in Europe. The format of the reports and the instrumentation used by the operators have widely changed over the century, from paper notes to spreadsheets, from slides to digital photos, from tape readings to GPS, and this evolution is still in progress.

It follows a great heterogeneity in the collection, making extremely onerous both storing and consulting all the documents. It is a crucial objective to preserve this heritage, to make it available to scientists for analysis, and to ensure its continuation over time. Recent information technology advancements let foresee scenarios in which mobile smart devices and sensors will assist operators in recording field measurements, while web processes and applications will facilitate the automatic storage and display of data.