Permafrost model for the Argentinian Andes - Results and climatic scenarios

• Main Author: Tapia Baldis, Carla Cintia
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: Spanish
• Subjects: https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1; Argentina; Tapia; permafrost
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11336/200477

Supplementary information to the following publication: Tapia Baldis C, Trombotto Liaudat D. 2020. Permafrost debris-model in Central Andes of Argentina (28°-33° S). Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica 46, http://doi.org/10.18172/cig.3802 --- To predict regional-scale spatial patterns of permafrost occurrence, especially over remote environments with limited data, empiric-statistical models are widely used. This kind of approach correlates permafrost occurrence with topo-climatic factors (altitude, geographic position, slope, aspect, air temperature, ground temperature, solar radiation, etc.) easily available, in some cases. Different combinations of empiric-statistical models were tested to evaluate the permafrost spatial distribution in the study area. The study area (28° to 33°S and 70°30’ to 69°W) comprises the middle portion of the South American (Argentinian side) Central Andes (17°30’ to 35°S), named Dry Andes. The landscape is expressed as mountain ranges and valleys with 50% of the terrain surface above 3000 m a.s.l. The highest elevations are represented by mountain peaks such us Mercedario (6850 m a.s.l.) or La Ramada (6400 m a.s.l.). The Dry Andes could be further separated into Desert Andes (17°30’ to 31°S) and Central Andes (31° to 35°S), according to precipitation rates and landscape geomorphological characteristics. Models were trained in a calibration area to evaluate the correlation between geomorphological permafrost indicators (named explanatory variable) and the topoclimatic parameters (predictive variable). A logistic regression model with a logit link function was chosen as a mathematical approach. Data for model calibration was obtained from the Bramadero river basin, located at 31°50’ S and 70°00’ W in the Central Andes. From a geomorphological point of view, the landscape of the Dry Andes is characterized by the interdigitation of glacial, periglacial, alluvial, fluvial, and gravitational processes. The Bramadero river basin was largely glaciated during the LGM, even today it is ...