Articles | Volume 20, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5829-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-20-5829-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
13 Oct 2026
Research article |
| 13 Oct 2026
| 13 Oct 2026
Introducing a new normalized cryospheric index (NCI) to categorize sub-watersheds on arid environments
Christopher Ulloa
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
University of Atacama, Geology Department, Avenida Copayapu #485, Copiapo, Chile
Ayon García
University of Atacama, Geology Department, Avenida Copayapu #485, Copiapo, Chile
Anouk Beniest
Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1085 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Christopher Ulloa, Ayon García, Hans Fernández-Navarro, Jorge Berkhoff, José Luis Rodriguez, and Pierre Pitte
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Mountain glaciers in Chile's dry Central Andes are critical water sources for millions downstream. We tracked ice movement at Universidad Glacier, the region's largest valley glacier, using satellite radar over two summers, validated against field GPS. We found the glacier now flows far slower than in past decades, and that brief, meltwater-driven speed-ups each summer are too short-lived for existing global satellite monitoring, which only resolves year-to-year change.
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Mountain glaciers in Chile's dry Central Andes are critical water sources for millions downstream. We tracked ice movement at Universidad Glacier, the region's largest valley glacier, using satellite radar over two summers, validated against field GPS. We found the glacier now flows far slower than in past decades, and that brief, meltwater-driven speed-ups each summer are too short-lived for existing global satellite monitoring, which only resolves year-to-year change.
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BlackGate seeks to MSP drill a transect to study the impact of dramatic hydrologic change in Mediterranean–Black Sea connectivity by recovering the Messinian to Holocene (~ 7 Myr) sedimentary sequence in the North Aegean, Marmara, and Black seas. These archives will reveal hydrographic, biotic, and climatic transitions studied by a broad scientific community spanning the stratigraphic, tectonic, biogeochemical, and microbiological evolution of Earth’s most recent saline and anoxic giant.
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Short summary
In arid zones, water comes mainly from snow, glaciers and ice-rich permafrost landforms. We introduce the Normalized Cryospheric Index (NCI), which combines ice storage and snow permanence to rank sub-watersheds where no regulatory framework exists. Applied to the Copiapó basin (Atacama, Chile), the NCI identifies the Montosa, Del Potro, Manflas and Estero Come Caballos sub-watersheds as priority targets for sustaining runoff in Chile's national water resources strategy.
In arid zones, water comes mainly from snow, glaciers and ice-rich permafrost landforms. We...
