Abstract
We mapped flow velocity and calving rates of the iconic Perito Moreno Glacier (PMG), belonging to the Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI) in the Argentinian Patagonia. We tracked PMG from 2001 to 2017, focusing mostly upon the latest images from 2016–2017. PMG delivers about ca. 106 m3 day−1 of ice in the Lago Argentino, and its front periodically reaches the Peninsula Magallanes. Therein, the PMG causes an ice-dam, clogging Brazo Rico channel, and lifting water level by about 10 m, until ice-dam failure, normally occurring in March. Here, we used 36 pairs of satellite images with a resolution of 10 m (SENTINEL2, visible, 9 pairs of images) and 15 m (LANDSAT imagery, panchromatic, 27 pairs of images) to calculate surface velocity (VS). We used Orientation Correlation technique, implemented via the ImGRAFT® TemplateMatch tool. Calving rates were then calculated with two methods, namely, (i) M1, by ice flow through the glacier front, and (ii) M2, by ice flow at 7.5 km upstream of the front minus ablation losses. Surface velocity ranged from about 4 m day−1 in the accumulation area to about 2 m day−1 in the calving front, but it is variable seasonally with maxima in the summer (December–January–February). Calving rate (CRM) ranges from 7.72 × 105 ± 32% to 8.76 × 105 ± 31% m3 day−1, in line with recent studies, also with maxima in the summer. We found slightly lower flow velocity and calving rates than previously published values, but our estimates cover a different period, and a generally large uncertainty in flow assessment suggests a recent overall stability of the glacier.
Highlights
The Perito Moreno Glacier is located in the Campo de Hielo PatagonicoSur (Southern Patagonian Ice field, hereon Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI)), the largest temperate ice masses in the Southern Hemisphere and the largest continental reserve of fresh water therein.Recent climate change in the central Andes caused measurable reduction of snow cover [1]
We pursued a preliminary assessment of the best crosscorrelation method in TemplateMatch for the Perito Moreno Glacier (PMG) area, among the four available methods (i.e., NCC, OC, PC, and CCF) as reported above
We report therein the different flow velocities estimated at Transect B in [27], namely, from (i) tracking of ablation stakes (1995–2003), (ii) assessment of velocity field from SIR-C/SAR-X (October 7, 9, and 10, 1994), (iii) SENTINEL2 (RGB, 10 m pixel size), and (iv) LANDSAT7-8, in this study
Summary
The Perito Moreno Glacier (hereon PMG) is located in the Campo de Hielo PatagonicoSur (Southern Patagonian Ice field, hereon SPI), the largest temperate ice masses in the Southern Hemisphere and the largest continental (not polar) reserve of fresh water therein.Recent climate change in the central Andes caused measurable reduction of snow cover [1]. The Perito Moreno Glacier (hereon PMG) is located in the Campo de Hielo Patagonico. The ice cover was largely reduced recently, and this is expected to accelerate in the future [2,3]. Patagonia is a main landmass at its latitude, so SPI is of great significance for studies of climate history and ice-climate interactions [4,5,6,7]. During the last 50 years, out of the 22 major calving glaciers in Patagonia, nine have been fluctuating within ±1 km, and 12 have been retreating considerably in a range from −1 to −13 km [10,11]. PMG instead experienced lower fluctuation during the last half-century, albeit the glacier snout oscillated frequently, causing damming of Remote Sens.
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