CADIC   02618
CENTRO AUSTRAL DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
HYDROGRAPHIC EVOLUTION AND DUST-STORMS; THE COLHUÉ HUAPI LAKE CASE STUDY (45°S, PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA)
Autor/es:
GAIERO, DIEGO; MONTES, ALEJANDRO
Lugar:
Reykjavik
Reunión:
Conferencia; International Conference on High Latitude and Cold Climate Dust; 2017
Institución organizadora:
University of Iceland
Resumen:
Patagonia (40°-60° S) is the only continental territory exposed to the southern westerlies. The velocity and frequency of these westerly winds generate extensive dust storms. The winds coming from the Pacific Ocean ascend on reaching the Andes, while cooling adiabatically and generating high precipitation on the western slopes, whereas the eastern side of the Andes is in the rain shadow, which generates true desert conditions. The dust sources are located in numerous pans distributed in the Extra-Andean Patagonia and north of Tierra del Fuego. These pans are located in the bottom of deflation and enclosed drainage basins, generally fed by ephemeral streams. The Lake Colhué Huapi is the largest pan of Patagonia reaching 811 km2 in expansion periods and it is the major source of atmospheric dust as recognized by satellite images. The main tributary to the Colhué Huapi basin is the Senguerr River, which its seasonal behavior generates seasonal fluctuations in the lake surface. Maximum flows are associated with spring snowmelt in the Andes Mountains and minimum flows occur at the end of the hottest and driest season coincident with summer. In turn, this hydrographic basin is used for caters to human consumption of more than 350 thousand habitants of surrounding cities and towns, irrigation channels in rural belt areas of Sarmiento city and extraction pumps to drilling and secondary recovery stages of hydrocarbon industry. Dunefields developed from the beach-lake moved in west-east direction affecting the soils and vegetation of the livestock areas and dust storm plumes affect directly the cities of Comodoro Rivadavia and Rada Tilly due to the persistent of the westerly winds. The sediments supply is related to the lake dynamic, subject to a clear tendency to desiccation.