Episodic events on radar and multispectral remote sensors from Salar de Aguas Calientes, Chile

BARBER, MATIAS; DELSOUC, ANALIA; BRICEÑO-DE-URBANEJA, IDANIA; PÉREZ-MARTÍNEZ, WALDO

Santiago

Conferencia; LAGIRS 2020: 2020 Latin American GRSS & ISPRS Remote Sensing Conference; 2020

Universidad de Chile y Universidad de Magallanes

Restricted episodic changes occurred in a short time period and over large spatial extents. Extreme weather conditions usually giverise to restricted episodic changes. Sentinel-1 radar images of the Salar de Aguas Calientes in Chile acquired in the Altiplanic winter(March 2015 and June 2017), 2018 austral winter and 2017-2018 springtime, demonstrates the ability to monitor episodic eventsremotely. The results of the backscattered power are encouraging and show episodic variations in VV polarization at C-band. Thesurface features in Salar de Aguas Calientes Sur change in response to snowfalls during either the Altiplanic or austral winter with anincrease of the backscattering in presence of dry snow over the salt pan crust. Flooding events related to snow-melting during spring2017-2018 showed a decrease in the backscattering signal over ponded water and an increase when wind blows over the water.Remote-sensing observations of the salar can provide a means for monitoring changes in the surface of the salar and a betterunderstanding of the associated climatic episodic event processes. Furthermore, it can help to have a better understanding ofenvironmental changes in arid regions and the understanding of global climate change.