The overarching scientific objective of ALPCLIM was aimed at the exploitation of ALPCLIM glaciers for climate related records. These concerns the archived history of isotope temperature, atmospheric trace constituents as well as the englacial temperature distribution. Different to the vast polar ice sheets, there is a primary need for small scale Alpine glacier archives to evaluate and validate such proxy records in view of their hitherto unknown reliability, spatio-temporal significance and, most important, in view of their underlying net atmospheric signals. In this way, ALPCLIM findings are expected to eventually provide the basic prospect on the potential of Alpine glacier archives in current environmental and climate research foci. The conceptual framework had to narrow down crucial shortcomings of Alpine glaciers, which mainly comprised dating problems, large and even unknown glaciometeorological noise as well as the virtually unexplored (paleo-climate) potential of trace gases, englacial temperature profiles and cold ice bodies at lower altitudes.

3 ice cores was taken in two different site; Colle del Lys e Colle Gnifetti on Monte Rosa.