First Glacier Inventory and Recent Changes in Glacier Area in the Monte San Lorenzo Region (47°S), Southern Patagonian Andes, South America

Abstract

13Patagonia, located in southern South America, is a vast and remote region 14 holding a rich variety of past environmental records but a small number of 15 meteorological stations. Precipitation over this region is mostly produced by 16 disturbances embedded in the westerly flow and is strongly modified by the 17 austral Andes. Uplift in the windward side leads to hyper-humid conditions 18 along the Pacific coast and the western slope of the Andes; in contrast, 19 downslope subsidence dries the eastern plains leading to arid, highly 20 evaporative conditions. 21Here we investigate the dependence of Patagonia's local climate (precipitation 22 and near surface air temperature) year-to-year variability on large-scale 23 circulation anomalies using results from a 30-year long high-resolution 24 numerical simulation. Variations of the low-level zonal wind account for a large 25 fraction of the rainfall variability at synoptic and interannual timescales. Zonal 26 wind also controls the amplitude of the air temperature annual cycle by 27 changing the intensity of the seasonally varying temperature advection. 28We also investigate the main modes of year-to-year variability of the zonal flow 29 over southern South America. Year round there is a dipole between mid and 30 high latitudes. The node separating wind anomalies of opposite sign migrates 31 through the seasons, leading to a dipole over Patagonia during austral summer 32 and a monopole during winter. Reanalysis data also suggests that westerly flow 33 has mostly decreased over north-central Patagonia during the last four decades, 34 causing a drying trend to the west of the Andes, but exhibit a modest increase 35 over the southern tip of the continent. 36 3

Elevation and Mass Changes of the Southern Patagonia Icefield Derived from TanDEM-X and SRTM Data

“…Different techniques for an automated glacier mapping with optical satellite imagery have been successfully applied in various glaciated regions [29][30][31]. Since optical sensors are restricted by cloud-cover and glacier mapping requires a low coverage of seasonal snow, the choice of suitable satellite scenes at the end of the ablation period is limited.…”

Rock glaciers in the patagonian andes: an inventory for the monte san lorenzo (cerro cochrane) massif, 47° s

“…Recently, Falaschi et al . () inventoried 213 glaciers (∼206 km 2 ) and assessed around 18% glacier retreat over 1985–2008.…”

“…Together with the surrounding Cerro Penitentes, Cerro Hermoso and Cerro W, they represent the largest glaciated area beyond the Northern and Southern Patagonian Icefields at this latitude. Recently, Falaschi et al (2013) inventoried 213 glaciers (ß206 km 2 ) and assessed around 18% glacier retreat over 1985-2008. It was probably Garleff and Stingl (Garleff 1977;Garleff andStingl 1983, 1988) who first identified a series of present day periglacial landforms and processes in several W-E transects, from the Andes to the Patagonian steppe, and recognized temperature as the key factor influencing the Andean permafrost and periglacial phenomena. More recently, Trombotto (2000Trombotto ( , 2002Trombotto Liaudat 2008) did a comprehensive review of cryogenic processes, periglacial landforms and the permafrost state in South America, inventorying relict landforms (e.g.…”

Assessing the Chemistry and Bioavailability of Dissolved Organic Matter From Glaciers and Rock Glaciers

“…Particularly in the United States, rock glaciers are far more abundant than glaciers in alpine headwater ecosystems (Falaschi et al, ; Fegel et al, ; Rangecroft et al, ). Current glacial carbon modeling neglects the contribution of rock glacial carbon (Hood et al, ), yet our results suggest that rock glaciers are a consistent source of BDOM for heterotrophic metabolism in headwater ecosystems.…”