Articles | Volume 16, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1579-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1579-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Contrasting geophysical signatures of a relict and an intact Andean rock glacier
Giulia de Pasquale
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas – CEAZA, Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile
Rémi Valois
Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas – CEAZA, Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile
Environnement Méditerranéen et Modélisation
des Agro-Hydrosystèmes – EMMAH, Université de Avignon, Domaine Saint-Paul, Site Agroparc 228, Avignon, France
Nicole Schaffer
Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas – CEAZA, Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile
Shelley MacDonell
Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas – CEAZA, Raúl Bitrán 1305, La Serena, Chile
Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management, University of Canterbury and Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
Related authors
No articles found.
Francesca Pellicciotti, Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, David R. Rounce, Catriona L. Fyffe, Leif S. Anderson, Álvaro Ayala, Ben W. Brock, Pascal Buri, Stefan Fugger, Koji Fujita, Prateek Gantayat, Alexander R. Groos, Walter Immerzeel, Marin Kneib, Christoph Mayer, Shelley MacDonell, Michael McCarthy, James McPhee, Evan Miles, Heather Purdie, Ekaterina Rets, Akiko Sakai, Thomas E. Shaw, Jakob Steiner, Patrick Wagnon, and Alex Winter-Billington
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3837, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3837, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
Rock debris covers many of the world glaciers, modifying the transfer of atmospheric energy to the debris and into the ice. Models of different complexity simulate this process, and we compare 14 models at 9 sites to show that the most complex models at the debris-atmosphere interface have the highest performance. However, we lack debris properties and their derivation from measurements is ambiguous, hindering global modelling and calling for both model development and data collection.
Diego Cusicanqui, Pascal Lacroix, Xavier Bodin, Benjamin Aubrey Robson, Andreas Kääb, and Shelley MacDonell
The Cryosphere, 19, 2559–2581, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2559-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2559-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a robust methodological approach to detect and analyse rock glacier kinematics using Landsat 7/Landsat 8 imagery. In the semiarid Andes, 382 landforms were monitored, showing an average velocity of 0.37 ± 0.07 m yr⁻¹ over 24 years, with rock glaciers moving 23 % faster. Results demonstrate the feasibility of using medium-resolution optical imagery, combined with radar interferometry, to monitor rock glacier kinematics with widely available satellite datasets.
Rémi Valois, Agnès Rivière, Jean-Michel Vouillamoz, and Gabriel C. Rau
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1041–1054, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1041-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1041-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Characterizing aquifer systems is challenging because it is difficult to obtain in situ information. They can, however, be characterized using natural forces such as Earth tides. Models that account for more complex situations are still necessary to extend the use of Earth tides to assess hydromechanical properties of aquifer systems. Such a model is developed in this study and applied to a case study in Cambodia, where a combination of tides was used in order to better constrain the model.
Álvaro Ayala, Simone Schauwecker, and Shelley MacDonell
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3463–3484, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3463-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3463-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
As the climate of the semiarid Andes is very dry, much of the seasonal snowpack is lost to the atmosphere through sublimation. We propose that snowmelt runoff originates from specific areas that we define as snowmelt hotspots. We estimate that snowmelt hotspots produce half of the snowmelt runoff in a small study catchment but represent about a quarter of the total area. Snowmelt hotspots may be important for groundwater recharge, rock glaciers, and mountain peatlands.
Jonathan P. Conway, Jakob Abermann, Liss M. Andreassen, Mohd Farooq Azam, Nicolas J. Cullen, Noel Fitzpatrick, Rianne H. Giesen, Kirsty Langley, Shelley MacDonell, Thomas Mölg, Valentina Radić, Carleen H. Reijmer, and Jean-Emmanuel Sicart
The Cryosphere, 16, 3331–3356, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3331-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3331-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We used data from automatic weather stations on 16 glaciers to show how clouds influence glacier melt in different climates around the world. We found surface melt was always more frequent when it was cloudy but was not universally faster or slower than under clear-sky conditions. Also, air temperature was related to clouds in opposite ways in different climates – warmer with clouds in cold climates and vice versa. These results will help us improve how we model past and future glacier melt.
Nicole Schaffer and Shelley MacDonell
The Cryosphere, 16, 1779–1791, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1779-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1779-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Over the last 2 decades the importance of Andean glaciers, particularly as water resources, has been recognized in both scientific literature and the public sphere. This has led to the inclusion of glaciers in environmental impact assessment and the development of glacier protection laws. We propose three categories that group glaciers based on their environmental sensitivity to hopefully help facilitate the effective application of these measures and evaluation of water resources in general.
Benjamin Aubrey Robson, Shelley MacDonell, Álvaro Ayala, Tobias Bolch, Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen, and Sebastián Vivero
The Cryosphere, 16, 647–665, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-647-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-647-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This work uses satellite and aerial data to study glaciers and rock glacier changes in La Laguna catchment within the semi-arid Andes of Chile, where ice melt is an important factor in river flow. The results show the rate of ice loss of Tapado Glacier has been increasing since the 1950s, which possibly relates to a dryer, warmer climate over the previous decades. Several rock glaciers show high surface velocities and elevation changes between 2012 and 2020, indicating they may be ice-rich.
Annelies Voordendag, Marion Réveillet, Shelley MacDonell, and Stef Lhermitte
The Cryosphere, 15, 4241–4259, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4241-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4241-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The sensitivity of two snow models (SNOWPACK and SnowModel) to various parameterizations and atmospheric forcing biases is assessed in the semi-arid Andes of Chile in winter 2017. Models show that sublimation is a main driver of ablation and that its relative contribution to total ablation is highly sensitive to the selected albedo parameterization and snow roughness length. The forcing and parameterizations are more important than the model choice, despite differences in physical complexity.
Cited articles
Aguilar, G., Riquelme, R., Martinod, J., and Darrozes, J.: Rol del clima y la tectónica en la evolución geomorfológica de los andes semiáridos chilenos entre los 27–32∘ S, Andean Geol., 40, 79–101, 2013. a
Archie, G.: The electrical resistivity log as an aid in determining some reservoir characteristics, Trans. AIME, 146, 54–62, 1942. a
Backus, G. and Gilbert, F.: Uniqueness in the inversion of inaccurate gross earth data, Philos. T. Roy. Soc., 266, 123–192, 1970. a
Ballantyne, C.: Periglacial geomorphology, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 21, 1935–2017, 2002. a
Banerjee, B. and Gupta, S.: Hidden layer problem in seismic refraction work, Geophys. Prospect., 23, 542–652, 1975. a
Barcaza, G., Nussbaumer, S. U., Tapia, G., Valdés, J., García, J.-L., Videla, Y., Albornoz, A., and Arias, V.: Glacier inventory and recent glacier variations in the Andes of Chile, South America, Ann. Glaciol., 58, 166–180, https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2017.28, 2017. a
Barsch, D.: Rock glaciers and ice-cored moraines, Geogr. Ann., 53, 203–206, 1971. a
Barsch, D.: Permafrost creep and rockglaciers, Permafrost Periglac., 3, 175–188, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.3430030303, 1992. a, b
Berthling, I.: Beyond confusion: rock glaciers as cryo-conditioned landforms, Geomorphology, 131, 98–106, 2011. a
Binley, A. and Kemna, A.: DC Resistivity and Induced Polarization Methods, in: Hydrogeophysics. Water Science and Technology Library, edited by: Rubin, Y. and Hubbard, S. S., vol. 50, https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3102-5_5, Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, 2005. a
Brenning, A., Grasser, M., and Friend, D.: Statistical estimation and generalized additive modeling of rock glacier distribution in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado, United States, J. Geophys. Res., 112, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000528, 2007. a
Colucci, R., Forte, E., Zebre, M., Maset, E., Zanettini, C., and Guglielmin, M.: Is that a relict rock glacier?, Geomorphology, 330, 177–189, 2019. a
Corte, A.: The Hydrological Significance of Rock Glaciers, J. Glaciol., 17, 157–158, 1976. a
Dahlin, T.: 2D resistivity surveying for environmental and engineering applications, First Break, 14, 275–283, 1996. a
Daily, W., Ramirez, A., LaBrecque, D., and Nitao, J.: Electrical resistivity tomography of vadose water movement, Water Resour. Res., 28, 1429–1442, 1992. a
Delaloye, R. and Echelard, T.: IPA Action Group Rock glacier inventories and kinematics: Towards standard guidelines for inventorying rock glaciers. Baseline concepts v 4.1, https://www3.unifr.ch/geo/geomorphology/en/research/ipa-action-group-rock-glacier/ (last access: 20 January 2020), 2020. a
de Lima, A.: Water saturation and permeability from resistivity, dielectric, and porosity logs, Geophysics, 60, 1756–1764, 1995. a
de Pasquale, G.: Giuliadepasquale-cz/Contrasting-geophysical-signature-of-a-relict-and-an-intact-Andean-rock-glacier: Data from El Jote and el Ternero (v1.0), Zenodo [code/data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6499392, 2022. a
de Pasquale, G., Linde, N., and Greenwood, A.: Joint probabilistic inversion of DC resistivity and seismic refraction data applied to bedrock/regolith interface delineation, J. Appl. Geophys., 170, 103839, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2019.103839, 2019. a
Draebing, D. and Krautblatter, M.: P-wave velocity changes in freezing hard low-porosity rocks: a laboratory-based time-average model, The Cryosphere, 6, 1163–1174, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1163-2012, 2012. a
Duvillard, P. A., Revil, A., Qi, Y., Soueid Ahmed, A., Coperey, A., and Ravanel, L.: Three-Dimensional Electrical Conductivity and Induced Polarization Tomography of a Rock Glacier, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 123, 9528–9554, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JB015965, 2018. a
Evin, M., Fabre, D., and Johnson, P.: Electrical resistivity measurements on the rock glaciers of Grizzly Creek, St Elias Mountains, Yukon, Permafrost Periglac., 8, 181–191, 1997. a
Favier, V., Falvey, M., Rabatel, A., Praderio, E., and López, D.: Interpreting discrepancies between discharge and precipitation in high-altitude area of Chile's nortechico region (26–32∘ S), Water Resour. Res., 45, 1–20, 2009. a
Garreaud, R. D.: The Andes climate and weather, Adv. Geosci., 22, 3–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-22-3-2009, 2009. a
Günther, T., Rücker, C., and Spitzer, K.: Three-dimensional modeling and inversion of DC resistivity data incorporating topography – II. Inversion, Geophys. J. Int., 166, 506–517, 2006. a
Halla, C., Blöthe, J. H., Tapia Baldis, C., Trombotto Liaudat, D., Hilbich, C., Hauck, C., and Schrott, L.: Ice content and interannual water storage changes of an active rock glacier in the dry Andes of Argentina, The Cryosphere, 15, 1187–1213, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1187-2021, 2021. a, b, c, d, e, f, g
Hansen, P.: The L-Curve and Its Use in the Numerical Treatment of Inverse Problems, Computational Inverse Problems in Electrocardiology, 4, 119–142, 2001. a
Hauck, C., Mühll, D. V., and Maurer, H.: DC resistivity tomography to detect and characterize mountain permafrost, Geophys. Prospect., 51, 273–284, 2003. a
Hauck, C., Isaksen, K., Mühll, D. V., and Sollid, J.: Geophysical surveys designed to delineate the altitudinal limit of mountain permafrost: an example from Jotunheimen, Norway, Permafrost Periglac., 15, 191–205, 2004. a
Hausmann, H., Grainer, K., Brückl, E., and Mostler, W.: Internal Structure and Ice Content of Reichenkar Rock Glacier (Stubai Alps, Austria) Assessed by Geophysical Investigations, Permafrost Periglac., 28, 351–367, 2007. a
Hellman, K., Ronzcka, M., Günther, T., Wennermark, M., Rücker, C., and Dahlin, T.: Structurally coupled inversion of ERT and refraction seismic data combined with cluster-based model integration, J. Appl. Geophys., 143, 169–181, 2017. a
Hilbich, C., Hauck, C., Mollaret, C., Wainstein, P., and Arenson, L. U.: Towards accurate quantification of ice content in permafrost of the Central Andes, part I: geophysics-based estimates from three different regions, The Cryosphere Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-206, in review, 2021. a, b, c, d, e, f, g
Jones, D., Harrison, S., Anderson, K., and Betts, R.: Mountain rock glaciers contain globally significant water stores, Sci. Rep., 8, 2834, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-21244-w, 2018. a, b, c
Jones, D. B., Harrison, S., Anderson, K., and Whalley, W. B.: Rock glaciers and mountain hydrology: A review, Earth-Sci. Rev., 193, 66–90, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.04.001, 2019. a, b
Jordi, C., Doetsch, J., Günther, T., Schmelzbach, C., Maurer, H., and Robertsson, J.: Structural joint inversion on irregular meshes, Geophys. J. Int., 220, 1995–2008, 2019. a
Kabanikhin, S.: Definitions and Examples of Inverse and Ill-Posed Problems, J. Inverse Ill-Pose. P., 16, 317–357, https://doi.org/10.1515/JIIP.2008.019, 2008. a
Krainer, K. and Mostler, W.: Flow velocities of active rock glaciersin the Austrian Alps, Geogr. Ann., 88, 267–280, 2006. a
Lesmes, D. and Friedman, S.: Relationships between the Electrical and Hydrogeological Properties of Rocks and Soils, in: Hydrogeophysics. Water Science and Technology Library, edited by: Rubin, Y. and Hubbard, S. S., vol. 50, https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3102-5_4, Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, 2005. a
Linde, N. and Doetsch, J.: Joint Inversion in Hydrogeophysics and Near Surface Geophysics, in: Integrated Imaging of the Earth: Theory and Applications, edited by: Moorkamp, M., Lelièvre, P. G., Linde, N., Khan, A., American Geophisical Union, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118929063.ch7, 2016. a
Mavko, G., Mukerji, T., and Dvorkin, J.: The Rock Physics Handbook – Tools for Seismic Analysis of Porous Media, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511626753, 2009. a
Monnier, S. and Kinnard, C.: Internal structure and composition of a rock glacier in the Andes (upper Choapa valley, Chile) using borehole information and ground-penetrating radar, Ann. Glaciol., 54, 61–72, 2013. a
Moorkamp, M., Leliévre, P., Linde, N., and Khan, A.: Integrated Imaging of the Earth: Theory and Applications, 1st edn., AGU – John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 1118929055, 2016. a
Nolet, G.: Seismic wave propagation and seismic tomography, in: Seismic Tomography. Seismology and Exploration Geophysics, vol. 5, edited by: Nolet, G., Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3899-1_1, 1987. a
Núñez, J., Rivera, D., Oyarzún, R., and Arumí, J.: Influence of Pacific Ocean multi decadal variability on the distributional properties of hydrological variables in north-central Chile, J. Hydrol., 501, 227–240, 2013. a
Oyarzún, J. and Oyarzún, R.: Sustainable development threats, inter-sector conflicts and environmental policy requirements in the arid, mining rich, northern Chile territory, Sustain. Dev., 19, 263–274, 2011. a
Potter, N.: Ice-Cored Rock Glacier, Galena Creek, Northern Absaroka Mountains, Wyoming, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 83, 3025–3058, 1972. a
Réveillet, M., MacDonell, S., Gascoin, S., Kinnard, C., Lhermitte, S., and Schaffer, N.: Impact of forcing on sublimation simulations for a high mountain catchment in the semiarid Andes, The Cryosphere, 14, 147–163, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-147-2020, 2020. a
Revil, A. and Glover, P.: Theory of ionic-surface electrical conduction in porous media, Phys. Rev. B, 55, 1757–1773, 1997. a
RGIK: Towards standard guidelines for inventorying rock glaciers: baseline concepts (version 4.2.1), IPA Action Group Rock glacier inventories and kinematics, 13 pp., 2021. a
Rücker, C., Günther, T., and Wagner, F.: pyGIMLi: An open-source library for modelling and inversion in geophysics, Comput. Geosci., 109, 106–123, 2017. a
Schrott, L.: Some geomorphological-hydrological aspects of rock glaciers in the Andes (San Juan, Argentina), Z. Geomorphol. Supp., 104, 161–173, 1996. a
Sinclair, K. and MacDonell, S.: Seasonal evolution of penitente glaciochemistry at Tapado Glacier, Northern Chile, Hydrol. Process., 30, 176–186, 2016. a
Springman, S. M., Arenson, L. U., Yamamoto, Y., Maurer, H., Kos, A., Buchli, T., and Derungs, G.: Multidisciplinary investigations on three rock glaciers in the swiss alps: legacies and future perspectives, Geogr. Ann. A, 94, 215–243, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0459.2012.00464.x, 2012. a
Steiner, M., Wagner, F. M., Maierhofer, T., Schöner, W., and Flores Orozco, A.: Improved estimation of ice and water contents in alpine permafrost through constrained petrophysical joint inversion: The Hoher Sonnblick case study, Geophysics, 85, WB119–WB133, https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2020-0592.1, 2021. a
Thies, H., Nickus, U., Mair, V., Tessadri, R., Tait, D., Thaler, B., and Psenner, R.: Unexpected response of high alpine lake waters to climate warming, Environ. Sci. Technol., 41, 7424–7429, 2007. a
Timur, A.: Velocity of compressional waves in porous media at permafrost temperatures, Geophysics, 33, 584–595, 1968. a
Valois, R., Galibert, P., Guérin, R., and Plagnes, V.: Application of combined time-lapse seismic refraction and electrical resistivity tomography to the analysis of infiltration and dissolution processes in the epikarst of the Causse du Larzac (France), Near Surf. Geophys., 14, 13–22, 2016. a
Valois, R., Cousquer, Y., Schmutz, M., Pryet, A., Delbart, C., and Dupuy, A.: Characterizing Stream-Aquifer Exchanges with Self-Potential Measurements, Hydrogeol. J., 56, 437–450, 2018a. a
Valois, R., Vouillamoz, J., Lun, S., and Arnout, L.: Mapping groundwater reserves in northwestern Cambodia with the combined use of data from lithologs and time-domain-electromagnetic and magnetic-resonance soundings, Hydrogeol. J., 26, 1187–1200, 2018b. a
Vonder-Mühll, D., Hauck, D., and Gubler, C.: Mapping of mountain permafrost using geophysical methods, Prog. Phys. Geog., 26, 643–660, 2002. a
Vozoff, K. and Jupp, D.: Joint Inversion of Geophysical Data, Geophys. J. Int., 46, 977–991, 1975. a
White, D.: Two-Dimensional Seismic Refraction Tomography, Geophys. J. Int., 97, 223–245, 1989. a
Winkler, G., Wagner, T., Pauritsch, M., Birk, S., Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Benischke, R., Leis, A., Morawetz, R., Schreilechner, M. G., and Hergarten, S.: Identification and assessment of groundwater flow and storage components of the relict Schöneben Rock Glacier, Niedere Tauern Range, Eastern Alps (Austria), Hydrogeol. J., 24, 937–953, 2016. a
Yáñez, G., Renero, C., von Huene, R., and Díaz, J.: Magnetic anomaly interpretation across the southern-central Andes (32–34 S): The role of the Juan Fernández Ridge in the late Tertiary evolution of the margin, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 106, 6325–6345, 2001. a
Short summary
We presented a geophysical study of one intact and one relict rock glacier in semi-arid Chile. The interpretation of the collected data through different methods identifies geophysical signature differences between the two rock glaciers and characterizes their subsurface structure and composition. This is of great importance because of rock glaciers' relevant role in freshwater production, transfer and storage, especially in this area of increasing human pressure and high rainfall variability.
We presented a geophysical study of one intact and one relict rock glacier in semi-arid Chile....