Abstract
The Echaurren Norte Glacier is a reference glacier for the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) network and has the longest time series of glacier mass balance data in the Southern Hemisphere. The data has been obtained by the direct glaciological method since 1975. In this study, we calculated glacier area changes using satellite images and historical aerial photographs, as well as geodetic mass balances for different periods between 1955 and 2015 for the Echaurren Norte Glacier in the Central Andes of Chile. Over this period, this glacier lost 65% of its original area and disaggregated into two ice bodies in the late 1990s. The geodetic mass balances were calculated by differencing digital elevation models derived from several sources. The results indicated a mean cumulative glacier wide mass loss of −40.64 ± 5.19 m w.e. (−0.68 ± 0.09 m w.e. a−1). Within this overall downwasting trend, a positive mass balance of 0.54 ± 0.40 m w.e. a−1 was detected for the period 2000–2009. These estimates agree with the results obtained with the glaciological method during the same time span. Highly negative mass change rates were found from 2010 onwards, with −1.20 ± 0.09 m w.e. a−1 during an unprecedented drought in Central Andes of Chile. The observed area and the elevation changes indicate that the Echaurren Norte Glacier may disappear in the coming years if negative mass balance rates prevail.
Highlights
Mid-latitude glaciers in the Southern Hemisphere, in South America, are less studied than their northern counterparts [1]
Our results reveal that the Echaurren Norte Glacier shows considerable downwasting from 1955 to 2015,Fwigiuthrea3cushmouwlastitvhee gslpaactiiearlmdiasstsribbaultainocneooffs−u4rf0a.6ce4 e±le5v.a1t9iomn wch.ea.nge maps for the period 1955– 2015.TOhue rgeroesduelttisc mreavsesabl atlhaantcethseshEocwhahuertreernogNenoortues Gpalattceirenrssdhuorwinsgctohnesdidifefrearbenlet sduobw-pnewriaosdtisn. gGlfarcoimer 1m95as5stoba2l0a1n5c,ewanitdh vaocluummuelcahtiavneggelsaacrieersmumasms abrailzaendceinoTfa−b4l0e
This study presents a complete remote sensing and topographic dataset to generate a comprehensive compilation of ice-elevation and area changes from 1955 to 2015 of the Echaurren Norte Glacier
Summary
Mid-latitude glaciers in the Southern Hemisphere, in South America, are less studied than their northern counterparts [1]. The Echaurren Norte Glacier has the longest and most continuous record of glacier mass balance in the Southern Hemisphere, from 1975 to present. This is relevant as a climate indicator for the Southern Andes. There is a serious lack of information for understanding the impacts of global climate change on glacier behavior in this region [3]. Due to their sensitive response to climatic conditions, glaciers are important indicators of climate change [4,5]. Several studies report that most mountain glaciers and ice caps worldwide are retreating and thinning in response to current global warming [6,7]
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