Firefighters in Sicily rescue 400 rare books from library after landslide

Firefighters in Sicily rescue 400 rare books from library after landslide

Landslide in Niscemi in January tore away entire slope of town and carved 4km chasm Firefighters in Sicily have rescued about 400 rare books from a library in Niscemi that hangs on the edge of a mudflow, after a devastating landslide in January tore away an entire slope of the town and carved a 4km chasm. The library stands on the lip of the precipice gouged out by the landslide, with part of the building in effect hanging in mid-air. The recovery operation, which began on Monday, was preceded by a detailed study of floor plans and interior photographs to map the position of the books. Continue reading...

Frozen in time: Antarctic ice cave to be used to save melting glacier samples

Frozen in time: Antarctic ice cave to be used to save melting glacier samples

Ice Memory Foundation’s specially dug ‘sanctuary’ offers storage for cores, which hold thousands of years of history Last month the Ice Memory Foundation opened the first ever sanctuary for mountain ice cores in Antarctica, where samples will be stored for centuries to come. The cores, typically 10cm in diameter and a metre or more long, are stored in a specially excavated ice cave. The first to be laid down came from two Alpine glaciers that are rapidly shrinking . Continue reading...