Monitoring surface velocity changes of rock glaciers in the Chilean Andes using DINSAR technique with PAZ imagery

Abstract

Vertical deformation associated with the displacement of rock glaciers in the upper Mapocho river basin, in the central Andes of Chile, was monitored using a series of PAZ radar satellite images and the DInSAR technique. Forty-one PAZ images of ascending and descending orbit were processed with the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) technique. Regarding the obtained results, it was estimated that the vertical displacement velocity of rock glaciers between October 9, 2019 and April 22, 2021 reached up to -22 mm/year and the movement in the W-E direction ranged from -47 to 38 mm/year. This remote sensing technique is a useful tool to measure the surface displacement of rock glaciers, compared to conventional techniques such as GNSS point measurements, especially in the semi-arid Andes, which is one of the most important reservoirs of these geoforms worldwide.