Thinning of the Horcones inferior debris-covered glacier, derived from five ablation seasons by semi-continuous GNSS geodetic surveys (Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina)

JORGE BARÓN; DARIO TROMBOTTO; LENZANO MARIA GABRIELA; ESTEBAN LANNUTTI; LUIS LENZANO; MARCELO DURAND

ANDEAN GEOLOGY

SERVICIO NACIONAL GEOLOGIA MINERVA

Lugar: Santiago de Chile; Año: 2016 vol. 43 p. 47 - 59

0718-7092

We report on ice movements changes in the Horcones Inferior Glacier (HIG), a major debris-coveredglacier located in the southern sector of Mt. Aconcagua, Central Andes of Argentina. The HIG has been characterizedby outstanding surge phenomena in the recent past, with the last episode registered in 2003. After a surge episode, thesurface becomes highly unstable, with continuous ice degradation. We studied the response of the glacier surface in thepost-surge stagnation period, based on six semi-continuous Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations distributedalong the main axis of the glacier. Kinematic GNSS profiles were acquired over the surface, aiming to strengthenthe GNSS measurements of elevation change. Our results show a horizontal surface displacement from 0.4 cmd-1 to2.7 cmd-1, and a 0.8 cmd-1 mean elevation reduction during the 2009-2014 period. GNSS profiles also show a velocityincrease, ranging from -1.1 cmd-1 in 2012 to -1.8 cmd-1 in 2013. Changing surface velocities in the HIG may be relatedto the presence of a thick debris cover, in combination with faster glacier degradation due to thickness loss after the2003 surge, and glacier-climate interaction.