Increased mass loss of glaciers in Volcán Domuyo (Argentinian Andes) between 1962 and 2020, revealed by aerial photos and satellite stereo imagery

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Falaschi, Daniel, Berthier, Etienne, Belart, Joaquín M. C., Bravo, Claudio, Castro, Mariano, Durand, Marcelo, Villalba, Ricardo
• Other Authors: Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2022
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.43; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143022000430

Abstract We present geodetic mass-balance estimates for ten glaciers (22.6 ± 1.1 km 2 ) around Volcán Domuyo between 1962 and 2020 (and 46 glaciers covering 29 ± 1.5 km 2 between 1984 and 2020), derived from airborne, ASTER and Pléiades imagery. Overall, we find a slightly negative mass balance (−0.15 ± 0.09 m w.e. a –1 ) for the entire 1962–2020 time span. A closer inspection of sub-periods reveals, however, an increasingly negative mass balance with time. The Domuyo glaciers shifted from a moderately positive mass balance of +0.28 ± 0.13 m w.e. a –1 between 1962 and 1984, to a strongly negative mass balance of −0.99 ± 0.19 m w.e. a –1 between 2012 and 2020. An increase in summer temperatures and a decrease in winter precipitation during the last four decades are likely drivers of the observed glacier changes. We support this finding by implementing a minimal glacier model, relying solely on monthly precipitation and air temperatures. The mass-balance evolution detected in Volcán Domuyo is consistent with other sites spread across the Central Andes, suggesting rapidly increasing glacier wastage impacts are occurring at a geographically wider scale.