Investigation into Marmolada Glacier Collapse Published
8th July 2025
A full scientific investigation reveals the details of what caused the disaster in the Dolomites in July 2022. 11 people died with 7 people seriously injured as a huge block…
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A full scientific investigation reveals the details of what caused the disaster in the Dolomites in July 2022.
11 people died with 7 people seriously injured as a huge block of ice broke away from the glacier and hit hikers on the trails below.
The research says that a combination of factors that led to the collapse:
- Record temperatures accelerating melting
- Water trapped in crevasses creating high hydraulic pressures
- Degraded permafrost
- An unfavourable bedrock geometry
The study has been published in “Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences” with research conducted by an international multidisciplinary team of experts including glaciologists, geologists, engineers, and geophysicists.
They came from various Italian and European institutions including University of Parma, University of Padua, National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics, University of Trieste, University of Zurich, ARPAV and Stellenbosch University.
See here for further details on the web site of the University of Padua.
Its findings will be read with great interest as rising temperatures in the Alps leads to instability.
- Swiss village buried by landslide as glacier collapses
- After the Blatten landslide what is the future of the Swiss village?
- Intense summer rainfall in the Alps predicted
- Another Swiss village evacuated due to landslide threat
- Monitoring rockfalls in the Alps
Marmolada ice collapse. Image c/o Alpine rescue services.
