Climate Variability and Change—Hydrological Impacts (Proceedings of the Fifth FRIEND World
Conference held at Havana, Cuba, November 2006), IAHS Publ. 308, 2006, 479–482.
El glaciar 15 del Antisana:
investigaciones glaciológicas y su relación con el recurso hídrico
BOLIVAR CACERES1, BERNARD FRANCOU2, VINCENT FAVIER2, GUILLAUME BONTRON2, PIERRE TACHKER2, RODOLPHE BUCHER2, JEAN DENIS TAUPIN2, MATHIAS VUILLE3, LUIS MAISINCHO1, FANNY DELACHAUX4, JEAN PHILIPPE CHAZARIN4, ERIC CADIER4 & MARCOS VILLACIS4
1 INAMHI, Iñaquito,
700 y Corea, Quito, Ecuador
bolivarc@inamhi.gov.ec
2 IRD, CP 9214, La Paz,
Bolivia
3 Climate System Research Center, Departament of Geosciences. University
of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
4 IRD, Whymper 442 y
Coruña , Quito, Ecuador
Resumen Sobre el área de ablación de un glaciar del Antisana, el balance de masa
ha sido medido a una escala mensual, proveyendo interesantes detalles acerca
del patrón estacional que se encuentra en estos ambientes contrastados.
Información no continua acerca de la recesión del hielo se la puede encontrar
para las décadas anteriores. Los datos recogidos muestran una aceleración clara
en el derretimiento de los glaciares desde comienzos de los ochenta:. La
situación es particularmente dramática
para los glaciares de pequeño tamaño (<1 km2) los cuales podrían desaparecer
en los próximos cinco años. Durante la década pasadas (noventa) las tasas de
ablación fueron en promedio altas, llegando a ser más intensas durante la fase cálida de el ENSO (El Niño). Esta
situación es analizada en relación con las peculiares condiciones climáticas
que han prevalecido en los trópicos durante los últimos 25 años: un incremento
en la temperatura sobre la mediana troposfera en alrededor de 1°C, relacionado
a un largo período de incremento en la temperatura superficial del mar. Los
glaciares tropicales se muestran como claros indicadores del calentamiento
global y la variabilidad climática a una escala mundial y regional.
Palabras claves
glaciares; balance; ablación; ENSO; clima
Glacier 15, Antisana, Ecuador: its
glaciology and relations to water resources
Abstract Besides the Lewis glacier in Kenya, Glacier 15 of Antisana, Ecuador (5760–4830
m, 0.28 km2) is the only one which provides regular information regarding
glacier mass balance near to the Equator (Annual Report of the World Services
for the Monitoring of Glaciers, WGMS 2005) to the scientific community. The
surface of the glacier had been re-constructed using aerial-photogrammetry from
1956 to 1997. Since 1994, direct measurements have been taken over the terminal
zone at the glacier tongue using topography. That process has shown the changes
at the glacier limits and has determined the superficial speed at the terminal
zone of the tongue (ablation zone). At the ablation zone (<5100 m) a wide
net of stakes have been installed in order to measure the evolution of the
glacier mass each month since 1995. In addition, holes to measure accumulation
have been dug in the ablation zone at the end of the hydrological year
(December–January) in order to calculate the net specific annual balance.
Glacier 15 has lost an average of 600 mm of water a year since 1995 (11 years).
The inter-annual variation is wide: very negative balances were observed in
1995 and 2002, two positive balances in 1999 and 2000, and negative balances
for the remaining years. The dynamics of the glacier show a mass balance with
very noticeable fluctuations. These variations are well synchronized with the
glacier evolution. The variability of the ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation)
has been an important factor in controlling the mass evolution of the
Ecuadorian glaciers and the climate conditions. Those factors caused advances
and retreats on the glaciers according to La Niña (cold event) or El Niño (warm
event), respectively. This study has shown the relationship between glaciology
and availability of hydrological sources.
Key words
glacier; balance; abalation; ENSO; climate