Assessing rock glacier horizontal movement in the Cordón del Plata range, Central Andes of Argentina

JAN HENRIK BLÖTHE; DARIO TROMBOTTO; CHRISTIAN HALLA; LOTHAR SCHROTT; ELLEN SCHWALBE

Chamonix, Mont-Blanc

Congreso; 5th European Conference on Permafrost; 2018

International Permafrost Association

The semiarid central Andes of Argentina feature an extensive periglacial belt with a high density of rock glaciers and transitional ice-debris complexes, spurring a debate regarding their hydrological significance in the region. However, little is known about their state of activity, which can be used as a rough proxy for a rock glaciers? ice content. Here we investigate rock glacier activity using a feature-tracking algorithm to estimate horizontal movement from remotely sensed imagery between 2010 and 2017. First results show that active rock glaciers and transitional landforms attain maximum horizontal velocities of up to 6 m in their root zones with rates of movement generally decreasing towards their snouts. However, the Morenas Coloradas rock glacier, one of the largest in the region, also shows fast displacement of up to 2 m yr-1 at its front, which is supported by data obtained during field measurements.