Geodetic Mass Balances and Area Changes of Echaurren Norte Glacier (Central Andes, Chile) between 1955 and 2015

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Version: Final published version
License: CC BY 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_A3C4A644236A
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Title
Geodetic Mass Balances and Area Changes of Echaurren Norte Glacier (Central Andes, Chile) between 1955 and 2015
Journal
Remote Sensing
Author(s)
Farías-Barahona David, Vivero Sebastián, Casassa Gino, Schaefer Marius, Burger Flavia, Seehaus Thorsten, Iribarren-Anacona Pablo, Escobar Fernando, Braun Matthias
ISSN
2072-4292
Publication state
Published
Issued date
28/01/2019
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
11
Number
3
Pages
260
Language
english
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.
Keywords
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Open Access
Yes
Create date
30/01/2019 9:55
Last modification date
24/05/2020 14:08
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