Journal article

Reconstructing the annual mass balance of the Echaurren Norte glacier (Central Andes, 33.5° S) using local and regional hydroclimatic data

  • Masiokas, Mariano H. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT- CONICET Mendoza, Argentina
  • Christie, Duncan A. Laboratorio de Dendrocronología y Cambio Global, Instituto de Conservación Biodiversidad y Territorio, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile - Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR), Santiago, Chile
  • Quesne, Carlos Le Laboratorio de Dendrocronología y Cambio Global, Instituto de Conservación Biodiversidad y Territorio, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
  • Pitte, Pierre Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT- CONICET Mendoza, Argentina
  • Ruiz, Lucas Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT- CONICET Mendoza, Argentina
  • Villalba, Ricardo Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT- CONICET Mendoza, Argentina
  • Luckman, Brian H. Department of Geography, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
  • Berthier, Etienne LEGOS, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, France
  • Nussbaumer, Samuel U. Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland - Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • González-Reyes, Álvaro Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
  • McPhee, James Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
  • Barcaza, Gonzalo Dirección General de Aguas (DGA), Santiago, Chile
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    26.04.2016
Published in:
  • The Cryosphere. - 2016, vol. 10, no. 2, p. 927–940
English Despite the great number and variety of glaciers in southern South America, in situ glacier mass-balance records are extremely scarce and glacier–climate relationships are still poorly understood in this region. Here we use the longest (>  35 years) and most complete in situ mass-balance record, available for the Echaurren Norte glacier (ECH) in the Andes at  ∼  33.5° S, to develop a minimal glacier surface mass-balance model that relies on nearby monthly precipitation and air temperature data as forcing. This basic model is able to explain 78 % of the variance in the annual glacier mass- balance record over the 1978–2013 calibration period. An attribution assessment identified precipitation variability as the dominant forcing modulating annual mass balances at ECH, with temperature variations likely playing a secondary role. A regionally averaged series of mean annual streamflow records from both sides of the Andes between  ∼  30 and 37° S is then used to estimate, through simple linear regression, this glacier's annual mass-balance variations since 1909. The reconstruction model captures 68 % of the observed glacier mass-balance variability and shows three periods of sustained positive mass balances embedded in an overall negative trend over the past 105 years. The three periods of sustained positive mass balances (centered in the 1920s–1930s, in the 1980s and in the first decade of the 21st century) coincide with several documented glacier advances in this region. Similar trends observed in other shorter glacier mass-balance series suggest that the Echaurren Norte glacier reconstruction is representative of larger-scale conditions and could be useful for more detailed glaciological, hydrological and climatological assessments in this portion of the Andes.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département de Géosciences
Language
  • English
Classification
Hydrology
License
License undefined
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/305104
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