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, Bravo, Claudio, Castro, Mariano, Durand, Marcelo, Villalba, Ricardo
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'études en Géophysique et océanographie spatiales (LEGOS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03719615; https://hal.science/hal-03719615/document; https://hal.science/hal-03719615/file/increased-mass-loss-of-glaciers-in-volcan-domuyo-argentinian-andes-between-1962-and-2020-revealed-by-aerial-photos-and-satellite-stereo-imagery.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2022.43

International audience 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.