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
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Glacier mass balance; Glacier modelling; Glacier volume; Mountain glaciers; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/increased-mass-loss-of-glaciers-in-volcn-domuyo-argentinian-andes-between-1962-and-2020-revealed-by-aerial-photos-and-satellite-stereo-imagery(25a30ec6-9291-439b-83f3-1c31d0c1564b).html; https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.43; https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/25634/1/Falaschi_2022_JoG_Increased_mass_loss_of_glaciers_CC.pdf

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.