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Call for Papers for the semi-thematic N° 67: (Re)defining rural territories, between the global South and North: actors, processes, scales.
Full papers are invited to be submitted via the journal's official platform by 15 March 2024.
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Recent glacier variations in Chile
Abstract
A synthesis of glaciological research carried out in Chile during the last decades is presented, including existing inventories, mass balance and glacier variations, which are related to the regional climate change. In Chile, almost 100 glaciers have been measured in terms of their historical frontal variations. They represent
5,6% of the total inventoried glaciers of the country. Only 6% of the inventoried glaciers show a net advance during the study penod, especially glaciar Pio XI with an average of 206 m a-1 between 1945-1997. A 7 % of the studied glaciers show no significant change, while 87% show a negative rate of variation, ranging from a few meters per year to a maximum of 278 m a-1 at glaciar Amalia for the period 1945-1986.
Although there are some glaciers with variations related to non-climatic effects, most of the glacier variations are driven by the temperature increase which has been detected in several stations of Chile. Some of these stations show a doubling of the warming rate during the last three decades compared to the secular trend.
Anomalies of rainfall and the decreasing trend in the annual precipitation shown in a few stations, have also affected significantly the glacier variations. Finally, the higher frequency of El Niño/Southern Oscillation phenomena (ENSO), has had a significant influence on the inter-annual variability of the precipitation and
temperature, with a contrasting response of glaciers at a regional level.
Based on observed climatic trends, it is expected that the glacier retreat will continue, the mass balance will maintain negative trends and the thinning rates will increase, affecting the availability of water resources of the country in the future.
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