Abstract
We report on ice movements changes in the Horcones Inferior Glacier (HIG), a major debris-covered glacier located in the southern sector of Mt. Aconcagua, Central Andes of Argentina. The HIG has been characterized by outstanding surge phenomena in the recent past, with the last episode registered in 2003. After a surge episode, the surface becomes highly unstable, with continuous ice degradation. We studied the response of the glacier surface in the post-surge stagnation period, based on six semi-continuous Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations distributed along the main axis of the glacier. Kinematic GNSS profiles were acquired over the surface, aiming to strengthen the GNSS measurements of elevation change. Our results show a horizontal surface displacement from 0.4 cmd-1 to 2.7 cmd-1, and a 0.8 cmd-1 mean elevation reduction during the 2009-2014 period. GNSS profiles also show a velocity increase, ranging from -1.1 cmd-1 in 2012 to -1.8 cmd-1 in 2013. Changing surface velocities in the HIG may be related to the presence of a thick debris cover, in combination with faster glacier degradation due to thickness loss after the 2003 surge, and glacier-climate interaction.
Highlights
Study area and historical reconstructionsRegional climate changes directly affect cryospheric environments and their hydrological systems (Parry et al, 2007)
This paper shows the fruitful application of standard Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) techniques applied to study the motion of debris-covered glaciers such as the Horcones Inferior Glacier (HIG)
The results demonstrate that it is possible to use L1 or L1, L2 GNSS receivers to acquire acceptable and reliable results in order to describe the movement of a glacier
Summary
Study area and historical reconstructionsRegional climate changes directly affect cryospheric environments and their hydrological systems (Parry et al, 2007). Glacier shrinkage in the Central Andes has been accelerating over the last few decades (Leiva et al, 2007; Bown et al, 2008; Lenzano, 2013). This ongoing reduction of icecovered areas is one of the most reliable indicators of climate change (Haeberli, 2005), but in the same way glaciers exhibit a broad range of responses to climate. Some glaciers may undergo surge phases, which are periods of sudden advance and/or episodes of exceptionally high speed flow, caused by factors that are not necessarily related to climatic changes (Meier and Post, 1969; Kamb, 1985, 1987; Kotlyakov et al, 2004, 2008). The Central Andes represent an important region for these extreme processes (Espizúa and Bengochea, 1990): surges here are comparable in magnitude to those in the Karakorum and Alaska (Hewitt, 1969)
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