Glacier area changes in the central Chilean and Argentinean Andes 1955–2013/14

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: MALMROS, JEPPE K., MERNILD, SEBASTIAN H., WILSON, RYAN, YDE, JACOB C., FENSHOLT, RASMUS
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2016
• Subjects: Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.43; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143016000435

ABSTRACT To improve our knowledge of glacier area changes in the central Chilean and Argentinean Andes (32°9′S–33°4′S), two new glacier inventories from 1989 to 2013/14 are compared with a reinterpreted inventory from 1955. Comparisons show glacier area retreat of 30 ± 3% since 1955, decreasing from 134 to 94 km 2 in 2013/14, whilst the annual rate of area loss showed a small increase (insignificant) between the periods of 1955–1989 and 1989–2013/14. Separate analysis of the 1989 and 2013/14 inventories, including a larger sample, revealed a higher rate of glacier change compared with the smaller samples of these inventories. Additionally, an analysis at ~5 year intervals for six major glaciers (1955–2013) indicates large variability in response times and area loss magnitudes. Glacier Olivares Alfa, for example, lost 63% of its ice area, while the Juncal Norte Glacier lost only 10% (1955–2013). The findings from this study improve our current knowledge base concerning widespread glacier decline in the southern Andes, and furthers monitoring efforts in this poorly described region of the world, a region containing vital water resources for populated areas in South America.