Socio-environmental value of glacier lakes: assessment in the Aosta Valley (Western Italian Alps)

Progressive glacier retreat can deeply impact high-mountain areas. New glacier lakes are forming and potential connected opportunities (e.g., geosystem services) and risks (e.g., floods) are emerging. In the last decades, glacier lakes in the European Alps have increased in number and size, including in the study area (Aosta Valley Region, NW Alps, Italy). This work presents a methodology for a regional scale assessment of the potential of glacier lakes for socio-environmental development of mountain territories. Within the Aosta Valley, 337 glacier lakes were identified, covering a total area of about 1.55 km(2). These lakes were numerically evaluated and ranked through a semi-automatic analysis in a GIS environment that was based on a set of parameters related to: 1) the geo-environmental value; 2) the existence of human infrastructures and/or activities close to the lakes; 3) the potential interaction of natural instabilities within the areas surrounding the lakes. Results showed the robustness of the assessment considering some of the highest scored lakes (e.g., Lago del Miage, lakes at the Rutor Glacier, etc.) and mountain sectors (Mont Blanc and Matterhorn areas). The application of the proposed methodology represents an initial step towards the identification of hot-spot lakes for a sustainable and integrated management, that also takes into account potential risk conditions connected to natural instabilities.