Impacts of Recent Warming and the 2015/2016 El Niño on Tropical Peruvian Ice Fields

Abstract

AbstractData collected between 1974 and 2016 from snow pits and core samples from two Peruvian ice fields demonstrate the effect of the recent warming over the tropical Andes, augmented by El Niño, on the preservation of the climate record. As the 0°C isotherm is approaching the summit of the Quelccaya ice cap in the Andes of southern Peru (5,670 meters above sea level (masl)), the distinctive seasonal δ18O oscillations in the fresh snow deposited within each thermal year are attenuated at depth due to melting and percolation through the firn. This has become increasingly pronounced over 43 years. In the Andes of northern Peru, the ice field on the col of Nevado Huascarán (6050 masl) has retained its seasonal δ18O variations at depth due to its higher elevation. During the 2015/2016 El Niño, snow on Quelccaya and Huascarán was isotopically (δ18O) enriched and the net sum of accumulation over the previous year (NSA) was below the mean for non–El Niño years, particularly on Quelccaya (up to 64% below the mean) which was more pronounced than the NSA decrease during the comparable 1982/1983 El Niño. Interannual large‐scale oceanic and middle to upper‐level atmospheric temperatures influence δ18O in precipitation on both ice fields, although the influences are variably affected by strong El Niño–Southern Oscillation events, especially on Quelccaya. The rate of ice wastage along Quelccaya's margin was dramatically higher during 2015/2016 compared with that of the previous 15 years, suggesting that warming from future El Niños may accelerate mass loss on Peruvian glaciers.