10 Sept 2015: The result of the 8th Mont Blanc measurement campaign is in!
According to the data, Mont Blanc now rises 4,808.73 metres above sea level, that means 1.33m less than in 2013.
A twenty-two surveyors team, made up of: geographers, glaciologists, snow experts and meteorologists had joined together on Tuesday morning and had gone in one of the most desirable expedition, called: "Measuring the Altitude of Mont Blanc".
The IGN team (French National Institute of Geographical and Forestry Information) has been very well equipped with all necessary materials including GPS systems, specially used to test the precision of the equipment, but also to identify and explain the variations in climate.
The height of Mont-Blanc has been checked every two years. In 2002, with the aid of GPS technology, an IGN expert measured it to be 4,807.40m. In December 2005, the altitude had recovered to 4808.75m, 30 cm more than the previous recorded height. In 2007, it had increased still further, to a new record of 4810.90m. In 2011, the height was measured at 4810.44 metres and in 2013, at its penultimate measurement, the mountain was at 4,810.02 m.
So, we can easily observe how over the past decade the mountain has been moving up and down.
After experiencing a very hot summer, is not surprising why Mont-Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, has shrunk so much.
Besides this, a shape change had been also detected on the summit ridge. In 2009, the summit was found 34 metres further to the east than in 2003.
Next measurement campaign will be launched in 2017, when a new altitude for the Mont Blanc is to be announced.
