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: Daniel Falaschi, Etienne Berthier, Joaquín M. C. Belart, Claudio Bravo, Mariano Castro, Marcelo Durand, Ricardo Villalba
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2023
• Subjects: Glacier mass balance; glacier modelling; glacier volume; mountain glaciers; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Meteorology. Climatology; QC851-999; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.43; https://doaj.org/article/7738ba1181564f04b027fb606aec69e6

We present geodetic mass-balance estimates for ten glaciers (22.6 ± 1.1 km2) around Volcán Domuyo between 1962 and 2020 (and 46 glaciers covering 29 ± 1.5 km2 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.