Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-10
07 Feb 2023
 | 07 Feb 2023
Status: this discussion paper is a preprint. It has been under review for the journal The Cryosphere (TC). The manuscript was not accepted for further review after discussion.

Frontal collapse of San Quintín glacier (Northern Patagonia Icefield), the last piedmont glacier lobe in the Andes

Michał Pętlicki, Andrés Rivera, Jonathan Oberreuter, José Uribe, Johannes Reinthaler, and Francisca Bown

Abstract. Glacier fronts are retreating across the globe in response to climate warming, revealing valleys, fjords, and proglacial lakes. The piedmont lobe of San Quintín, the largest glacier of the Northern Patagonia Icefield, in southern Chile, has recently entered a phase of frontal retreat, where its terminus is rapidly disintegrating into large tabular icebergs calving into a new proglacial lake. We present results of a new airborne GPR survey of the terminus of this large Patagonian glacier (763 km2 in 2017), complemented with an analysis of ice flow velocity, satellite imagery, and ice elevation change to show that the ongoing retreat is caused by recent detachment of a floating terminus from the glacier bed and may shortly lead to the disappearance of the last existing piedmont lobe in Patagonia. Finally, we discuss how the observations of San Quintín’s ongoing collapse may give insights into processes governing frontal retreat of fast-flowing temperate glaciers and the quasi-stability of the floating termini.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Michał Pętlicki, Andrés Rivera, Jonathan Oberreuter, José Uribe, Johannes Reinthaler, and Francisca Bown

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
Michał Pętlicki, Andrés Rivera, Jonathan Oberreuter, José Uribe, Johannes Reinthaler, and Francisca Bown

Data sets

Ground Penetrating Radar survey of San Quintin glacier, Northern Patagonia Icefield Michał Pętlicki; Andrés Rivera; Jonathan Oberreuter; José Uribe https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7607535

Michał Pętlicki, Andrés Rivera, Jonathan Oberreuter, José Uribe, Johannes Reinthaler, and Francisca Bown

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Short summary
The terminus of San Quintín glacier, the largest of the Northern Patagonia Icefield in southern Chile, is rapidly disintegrating with large tabular icebergs into a proglacial lake left behind by this retreating glacier. We show that the ongoing retreat is caused by recent detachment of a floating terminus from the glacier bed. This process may lead to the disappearance of the last existing piedmont lobe in Patagonia, and one of the few remaining glaciers of this type in the world.