Assessment of Recent Flow, and Calving Rate of the Perito Moreno Glacier Using LANDSAT and SENTINEL2 Images

Abstract

We mapped flow velocity and calving rates of the iconic Perito Moreno Glacier (PMG), belonging to the Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI) in the Argentinian Patagonia. We tracked PMG from 2001 to 2017, focusing mostly upon the latest images from 2016–2017. PMG delivers about ca. 106 m3 day−1 of ice in the Lago Argentino, and its front periodically reaches the Peninsula Magallanes. Therein, the PMG causes an ice-dam, clogging Brazo Rico channel, and lifting water level by about 10 m, until ice-dam failure, normally occurring in March. Here, we used 36 pairs of satellite images with a resolution of 10 m (SENTINEL2, visible, 9 pairs of images) and 15 m (LANDSAT imagery, panchromatic, 27 pairs of images) to calculate surface velocity (VS). We used Orientation Correlation technique, implemented via the ImGRAFT® TemplateMatch tool. Calving rates were then calculated with two methods, namely, (i) M1, by ice flow through the glacier front, and (ii) M2, by ice flow at 7.5 km upstream of the front minus ablation losses. Surface velocity ranged from about 4 m day−1 in the accumulation area to about 2 m day−1 in the calving front, but it is variable seasonally with maxima in the summer (December–January–February). Calving rate (CRM) ranges from 7.72 × 105 ± 32% to 8.76 × 105 ± 31% m3 day−1, in line with recent studies, also with maxima in the summer. We found slightly lower flow velocity and calving rates than previously published values, but our estimates cover a different period, and a generally large uncertainty in flow assessment suggests a recent overall stability of the glacier.