The Andes Cordillera. Part <scp>II</scp>: Rio Olivares Basin snow conditions (1979–2014), central Chile

Mernild, Sebastian H.; Liston, Glen E.; Hiemstra, Christopher A.; Yde, Jacob C.; McPhee, James; Malmros, Jeppe K.

doi:10.1002/joc.4828

Cited by 9 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(111 reference statements)

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“…An increase in air temperature, for example, causes the 0°C isotherm to ascend to higher elevations resulting in a larger proportion of precipitation falling as rain as opposed to snow. Mernild et al (2016c) observed this phenomenon for the Olivares basin (33°12' S; 70°09' W) between 1979 and 2014, where precipitation has been increasingly falling as rain in recent years. This change in the partitioning of precipitation over mountainous areas can offset the positive effects of increased precipitation on snow accumulation, with rainfall often enhancing snow and ice melt rates on glacier surfaces.…”

Section: Drivers Of Change On Snow Cover Variablesmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The 0°Cisotherm for the western side of the cordillera (40 km northeast of Santiago de Chile), was located at 3,385 m a.s.l. between 2009 and 2014 (Mernild et al 2016c).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Along the central Andes, annual accumulation of snow is highest at 4,000 -5,000 m a.s.l., where glacier accumulation zones are also present (Cornwell et al 2016;Mernild et al 2016b;Mernild et al 2016c). Precipitation differences observed between the western and eastern sides of the Andes Cordillera occur due to the combination of orographic effects of the mountain relief and the dominating 6 westerly wind direction which results in precipitation amounts and humidity being lower on the eastern Cordillera slopes (Cornwell et al 2016;Mernild et al 2016b).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies based on modeling, field measurements and remote sensing have provided insights into the past, current, and future impacts of climate change on snow conditions and runoff in the Andean river catchments of central Chile and Argentina (Pellicciotti et al 2007;Apaloo et al 2012;Delbart et al 2015;Mernild et al 2015aMernild et al , 2016aMernild et al , 2016cRagettli et al 2016). A number of these studies have predicted that air temperatures in the central Andes will continue to increase.…”

Section: Drivers Of Change On Snow Cover Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A number of these studies have predicted that air temperatures in the central Andes will continue to increase. An increase in air temperature, together with seasonal changes in precipitation patterns, will likely result in a decrease in the amount of runoff from snow melt and an increase in the amount of runoff from rain (Cai et al 2014;Mernild et al 2016aMernild et al , 2016cRagettli et al 2016). Since the 1970's, precipitation events have generally become more intense but less frequent in central Chile (Falvey and Garreaud 2007;Garreaud et al 2009).…”

Section: Drivers Of Change On Snow Cover Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Snow cover and snow albedo changes in the central Andes of Chile and Argentina from daily MODIS observations (2000–2016)

Malmros

Mernild

Wilson

et al. 2018

Remote Sensing of Environment

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The variables of snow cover extent (SCE), snow cover duration (SCD), and snow albedo (SAL) are primary factors determining the surface energy balance and hydrological response of the cryosphere, influencing snow pack and glacier mass-balance, melt, and runoff conditions. This study examines spatiotemporal patterns and trends in SCE, SCD, and SAL (2000-2016; 16 years) for central Chilean and Argentinean Andes using the MODIS MOD10A1 C6 daily snow product. Observed changes in these variables are analyzed in relation to climatic variability by using ground truth observations (meteorological data from the El Yeso Embalse and Valle Nevado weather stations) and the Multivariate El Niño index (MEI) data. We identified significant downward trends in both SCE and SAL, especially during the onset and offset of snow seasons. SCE and SAL showed high inter-annual variability which correlate significantly with MEI applied with a one-month time-lag. SCE and SCD decreased by an average of ~13 ± 2 % and 43 ± 20 days respectively, over the study period. Analysis of spatial pattern of SCE indicates a slightly greater reduction on the eastern side (~14 ± 2 %) of the Andes Cordillera compared to the western side (~12 ± 3 %). The downward SCE, SAL, and SCD trends identified in this study are likely to have adverse impacts on downstream water resource availability to agricultural and densely populated regions in central Chile and Argentina.

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Section: Drivers Of Change On Snow Cover Variablesmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The 0°Cisotherm for the western side of the cordillera (40 km northeast of Santiago de Chile), was located at 3,385 m a.s.l. between 2009 and 2014 (Mernild et al 2016c).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Drivers Of Change On Snow Cover Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Drivers Of Change On Snow Cover Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Snow cover and snow albedo changes in the central Andes of Chile and Argentina from daily MODIS observations (2000–2016)

Malmros

Mernild

Wilson

et al. 2018

Remote Sensing of Environment

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Interannual variability in glacier contribution to runoff from a high‐elevation Andean catchment: understanding the role of debris cover in glacier hydrology

Burger

Ayala

Farías

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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We present a field‐data rich modelling analysis to reconstruct the climatic forcing, glacier response, and runoff generation from a high‐elevation catchment in central Chile over the period 2000–2015 to provide insights into the differing contributions of debris‐covered and debris‐free glaciers under current and future changing climatic conditions. Model simulations with the physically based glacio‐hydrological model TOPKAPI‐ETH reveal a period of neutral or slightly positive mass balance between 2000 and 2010, followed by a transition to increasingly large annual mass losses, associated with a recent mega drought. Mass losses commence earlier, and are more severe, for a heavily debris‐covered glacier, most likely due to its strong dependence on snow avalanche accumulation, which has declined in recent years. Catchment runoff shows a marked decreasing trend over the study period, but with high interannual variability directly linked to winter snow accumulation, and high contribution from ice melt in dry periods and drought conditions. The study demonstrates the importance of incorporating local‐scale processes such as snow avalanche accumulation and spatially variable debris thickness, in understanding the responses of different glacier types to climate change. We highlight the increased dependency of runoff from high Andean catchments on the diminishing resource of glacier ice during dry years.

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The Andes Cordillera. Part III: glacier surface mass balance and contribution to sea level rise (1979–2014)

Mernild

Liston

Hiemstra

et al. 2016

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Glacier surface mass balance (SMB) observations for the Andes Cordillera are limited and therefore estimates of the SMB contribution to sea‐level rise are highly uncertain. Here (in Part 3), we simulate glacier surface meteorological and hydrological conditions and trends for the Andes Cordillera (1979/80–2013/14; 35 years), covering the tropical latitudes in the north down to the sub‐polar latitudes in the far south, including the Northern Patagonia Icefield (NPI) and Southern Patagonia Icefield (SPI). Surface meteorological conditions and heat‐ and mass‐transfer processes were simulated for all glaciers having an area equal to or greater than 0.5 km2. SnowModel – a fully integrated energy balance, blowing‐snow distribution, multi‐layer snowpack, and runoff routing model – was used to simulate glacier SMBs for the Andes Cordillera. The Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI; v. 4.0) and NASA Modern‐Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) products, downscaled in SnowModel, allowed us to conduct relatively high‐resolution (1‐km horizontal grid; 3‐h time step) simulations of glacier air temperature, precipitation, sublimation, evaporation, runoff, and SMB. These simulated glacier SMBs were verified against both independent direct observed annual glacier SMB and satellite gravimetry and altimetry derived SMB, indicating a good agreement. For Andes glaciers, the 35‐year mean annual SMB was found to be −1.13 m water equivalent (w.e.), while the cumulative SMB was −39.6 m w.e., which is equal to a cumulative SMB contribution of 3.4 mm sea‐level equivalent (SLE) (∼0.1 mm SLE per year). However, for both NPI and SPI, the mean SMB was positive (where likely calving explains why geodetic estimates are negative). For the Andes Cordillera, the simulated mean glacier‐specific runoff was 41 L s−1 km−2, while for NPI and SPI it was 213 and 198 L s−1 km−2, respectively, indicating available water resources from NPI and SPI.

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The Andes Cordillera. Part II: Rio Olivares Basin snow conditions (1979–2014), central Chile

Cited by 9 publications

References 64 publications

Snow cover and snow albedo changes in the central Andes of Chile and Argentina from daily MODIS observations (2000–2016)

Snow cover and snow albedo changes in the central Andes of Chile and Argentina from daily MODIS observations (2000–2016)

Interannual variability in glacier contribution to runoff from a high‐elevation Andean catchment: understanding the role of debris cover in glacier hydrology

The Andes Cordillera. Part III: glacier surface mass balance and contribution to sea level rise (1979–2014)

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