Recent mass-balance changes of Agua Negra glacier (30°S) in the Desert Andes of Argentina. Issue 272 (12th December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pitte, Pierre; Masiokas, Mariano; Gargantini, Hernán; Ruiz, Lucas; Berthier, Etienne; Ferri Hidalgo, Lidia; Zalazar, Laura; Dussaillant, Inés; Viale, Maximiliano; Zorzut, Valentina; Corvalán, Ernesto; Scarpa, Juan Pablo; Costa, Gustavo; Villalba, Ricardo
• Is Part Of: Journal of Glaciology. Volume 68:Issue 272(2022)
• Page Start: 1197
• Page End: 1209
• Publication Date: 2022-12-12
• Subjects: Accumulation -- glacier ablation phenomena -- glacier fluctuations -- glacier mass balance -- mountain glaciers
• DOI: 10.1017/jog.2022.22
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1430

Abstract

Abstract: The Desert Andes contain >4500 ice masses, but only a handful are currently being monitored. We present the mass changes of the small mountain glacier Agua Negra (1 km 2 ) and of the rest of glaciers in the Jáchal river basin. Remote-sensing data show Agua Negra glacier lost 23% of its area during 1959–2019. Glaciological measurements during 2014–2021 indicate an average annual mass balance of −0.52 m w.e. a −1, with mean winter and summer balances of 0.80 and −1.33 m w.e. a −1, respectively. The Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) is estimated to be 5100 ± 100 m a.s.l., which corresponds to an Accumulation Area Ratio (AAR) of 0.28 ± 0.21. Geodetic data from SRTM X and Pléiades show a doubling of the loss rate from −0.32 ± 0.03 m w.e. a −1 in 2000–2013, to −0.66 ± 0.06 m w.e. a −1 in 2013–2019. Comparatively, the ice losses for the entire Jáchal river basin (25 500 km 2 ) derived from ASTER show less negative values, −0.11 ± 16 m w.e. a −1 for 2000–2012 and −0.23 ± 14 m w.e. a −1 for 2012–2018. The regional warming trend since 1979 and a recent decline in snow accumulation are probably driving the observed glacier mass balance.