A near 90-year record of the evolution of El Morado Glacier and its proglacial lake, Central Chilean Andes
Farias-Barahona, David
University of Erlangen Nuremberg
Wilson, Ryan
University of Huddersfield
Bravo, Claudio
University of Leeds
Vivero, Sebastian
University of Lausanne
Caro, Alexis
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Shaw, Thomas E.
Universidad de Chile
Ayala, Alvaro
Ctr Adv Studies Arid Zones CEAZA
Mejias, Alonso
Universidad de Chile
Harrison, Stephan
University of Exeter
Glasser, Neil F.
Aberystwyth University
McPhee, James
Universidad de Chile
Wundrich, Olaf
ColibriVentura
Braun, Matthias H.
University of Erlangen Nuremberg
Journal
journal of glaciology
ISSN
0022-1430
1727-5652
Open Access
gold
Volume
66
Start page
846
End page
860
Using an ensemble of close- and long-range remote sensing, lake bathymetry and regional meteorological data, we present a detailed assessment of the geometric changes of El Morado Glacier in the Central Andes of Chile and its adjacent proglacial lake between 1932 and 2019. Overall, the results revealed a period of marked glacier down wasting, with a mean geodetic glacier mass balance of -0.39 +/- 0.15 m w.e.a(-1)observed for the entire glacier between 1955 and 2015 with an area loss of 40% between 1955 and 2019. We estimate an ice elevation change of -1.00 +/- 0.17 m a(-1)for the glacier tongue between 1932 and 2019. The increase in the ice thinning rates and area loss during the last decade is coincident with the severe drought in this region (2010-present), which our minimal surface mass-balance model is able to reproduce. As a result of the glacier changes observed, the proglacial lake increased in area substantially between 1955 and 2019, with bathymetry data suggesting a water volume of 3.6 million m(3)in 2017. This study highlights the need for further monitoring of glacierised areas in the Central Andes. Such efforts would facilitate a better understanding of the downstream impacts of glacier downwasting.
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