Exploring the rate of climate change from deep within the Earth

A first attempt in the 1990s was broken off at a depth of 70 metres, due to melting glacial ice water. The second attempt in 2010, was completed with difficulty, and the inner shaft was only partially documented.

Recently, Francesco Sauro and Alessio Romeo, geologist, speleology instructor and one of the two photographers at the cave, organised a team of geologists, equipped with Leica Geosystems products, to be lowered 284 metres into the abyss.

On October 15, 2015, despite 70 centimetres of fresh new snow and a two day wait, a helicopter brought 18 participants up the mountain to the abyss. A platform was installed within the cave and the scanner placed on it to ensure data of the highest precision. Because of Cyclone’s ability to seamlessly stich together large amounts of data, the team was able to complete scanning the 2,700 m2 area with over 200,000 m3 volume in just a few days.

3D技术员Tommaso Santagata，Cave专家，负责La Venta项目地形调查和监测负责，“考虑到该区域的大小，Leica Geosystems设备和软件帮助我们获得了非常快速的数据，可以非常快地获得。”该团队还使用Hexagon的3D Re亚搏苹果appshaper软件来创建高度复杂的3D几何壁表面的表面模型。

“The data obtained from the 3D laser scans enabled us to analyse the surface and ice layers of the walls in exact detail. 3D Reshaper enabled us to turn the pointcloud into a surface, giving us a detailed analysis of the surface. From this, we could calculate the volume of the chamber as well as make sections and contour lines,” explains Tommaso.

博洛尼亚大学和因斯布鲁克的地球科学系都提供了非常有用的建议。Leica Geosystems激光扫描仪收集的数据将进行分析，并将其与发现ABYS自发现以来获得的20多年的数据进行比较。完成后将发布这些科学发现。

Tommaso concludes, “The scans acquired are the fundamental basis for future comparisons and studies. The floor of the huge final chamber is glacier rock and its surface is expected to evolve because of important climate changes in the coming years.”

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