Remote sensing of glaciers in the tropical Andes: a review

Veettil, Bijeesh Kozhikkodan; Kamp, Ulrich

doi:10.1080/01431161.2017.1371868

Cited by 32 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…Observed trends in the loss of glacierized areas of Cordillera Blanca in this study (~60 km 2 /decade) is comparable with the general decreasing trends in the tropical Andes, which were presented in a few recent review articles (e.g. Vuille et al ., ; Veettil & Kamp, ; Veettil et al ., ). Lower rate of glacier shrinkage on the western slopes compared to eastern sides can be possibly due to the geometry of incoming solar radiation as well as the slight mass balance gained during the cold phases of La Niña events (Maussion et al ., ; Veettil et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Glacier mapping in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, tropical Andes, using Sentinel‐2 and Landsat data

Veettil

2018

Singap J Trop Geogr

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Sentinel‐2 images were used for mapping debris‐free glaciers for the first time in Cordillera Blanca. Landsat‐8 and Sentinel‐2 data were compared for glacier area estimation in 2016, obtaining comparable results. It was observed that normalized difference snow index method for glacier mapping using MSI data is less sensitive to cast shadows and steep terrain compared with Landsat data. Estimated total glacier areas in 1975, 1994, and 2016 were 726 ± 20.3 km2, 576.9 ± 15.1 km2 and 482.8 ± 7.4 km2, respectively. Glacier area in 2016 using Landsat was slightly lower (475.7 ± 16.8 km2) compared to the area estimated using MSI data. Observed glacier shrinkage between 1975 and 2016 was 33.5 per cent, which is lower compared to observed glacier area loss in the eastern cordilleras of Peru. Glacier shrinkage was higher at northern and northeastern slopes (47.9 per cent and 48.1 per cent, respectively) compared to the south‐western slopes (11.1 per cent).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Glacier mapping in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, tropical Andes, using Sentinel‐2 and Landsat data

Veettil

2018

Singap J Trop Geogr

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“…8), which typically lead to increased glacier melt in the tropical Andes (Wagnon et al, 2001). Retreat measurements in subregion R2 are carried out at the Cordillera Vilcanota (Hanshaw and Bookhagen, 2014;Salzmann et al, 2013;Veettil and Souza, 2017), the Cordillera Apolobamba (Cook et al, 2016;Veettil et al, 2017a), the Cordilleras Carabaya, Urubamba, and Vilcabamba (Veettil et al, 2017d), and at glaciers draining into the Vilcanota-Urubamba basin (Drenkhan et al, 2018). All studies revealed significant glacier shrinkage since the 1980s with retreat rates in the range of −0.9 to −1.7 % a −1 .…”

Section: Glacier Retreatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes of the tropical glaciers throughout Peru between 2000 and 2016 – mass balance and area fluctuations

et al. 2019

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Abstract. Glaciers in tropical regions are very sensitive to climatic variations and thus strongly affected by climate change. The majority of the tropical glaciers worldwide are located in the Peruvian Andes, which have shown significant ice loss in the last century. Here, we present the first multi-temporal, region-wide survey of geodetic mass balances and glacier area fluctuations throughout Peru covering the period 2000–2016. Glacier extents are derived from Landsat imagery by performing automatic glacier delineation based on a combination of the NDSI and band ratio method and final manual inspection and correction. The mapping of debris-covered glacier extents is supported by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) coherence information. A total glacier area loss of -548.5±65.7 km2 (−29 %, −34.3 km2 a−1) is obtained for the study period. Using interferometric satellite SAR acquisitions, bi-temporal geodetic mass balances are derived. An average specific mass balance of -296±41 kg m−2 a−1 is found throughout Peru for the period 2000–2016. However, there are strong regional and temporal differences in the mass budgets ranging from 45±97 to -752±452 kg m−2 a−1. The ice loss increased towards the end of the observation period. Between 2013 and 2016, a retreat of the glacierized area of -203.8±65.7 km2 (−16 %, −101.9 km2 a−1) is mapped and the average mass budget amounts to -660±178 kg m−2 a−1. The glacier changes revealed can be attributed to changes in the climatic settings in the study region, derived from ERA-Interim reanalysis data and the Oceanic Nino Index. The intense El Niño activities in 2015/16 are most likely the trigger for the increased change rates in the time interval 2013–2016. Our observations provide fundamental information on the current dramatic glacier changes for local authorities and for the calibration and validation of glacier change projections.

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“…Glaciers in South America have been experiencing an unprecedented retreat since the mid-20th century, particularly since the late 1970s, although the rate of shrinkage varies with geographical location and is influenced by global and regional climate forcing [2,3,8]. Detailed reviews on recent glacier changes in the tropical South America are available [2,8,109], but a brief overview is given here.…”

Section: Tropical Andesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Disappearance of Tropical Mountain Glaciers: Observations, Causes, and Challenges

Veettil

Kamp

2019

Geosciences

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This article reviews the current status of tropical glaciers in the South American Andes, East Africa, and Australasia by shedding light on past, present, and future glacier coverage in the tropics, the influence of global and regional climates on the tropical glaciers, the regional importance of these glaciers, and challenges of ongoing glacier recessions. While tropical glaciers have predominantly receded since the Little Ice Age, the rate of shrinkage has accelerated since the late 1970s as a result of climate changes. As a result, socio-ecological implications occur around ecosystem health, natural hazards, freshwater resources, agriculture, hydropower, mining, human and animal health, traditions and spirituality, and peace.

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Remote sensing of glaciers in the tropical Andes: a review

Cited by 32 publications

References 107 publications

Glacier mapping in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, tropical Andes, using Sentinel‐2 and Landsat data

Glacier mapping in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, tropical Andes, using Sentinel‐2 and Landsat data

Changes of the tropical glaciers throughout Peru between 2000 and 2016 – mass balance and area fluctuations

Global Disappearance of Tropical Mountain Glaciers: Observations, Causes, and Challenges

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