The Aneto glacier's (Central Pyrenees) evolution from 1981 to 2022: ice loss observed from historic aerial image photogrammetry and remote sensing techniques
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Published:2023-08-08
Issue:8
Volume:17
Page:3177-3192
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ISSN:1994-0424
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Container-title:The Cryosphere
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language:en
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Short-container-title:The Cryosphere
Author:
Vidaller IxeiaORCID, Izagirre EñautORCID, del Rio Luis Mariano, Alonso-González EstebanORCID, Rojas-Heredia Francisco, Serrano Enrique, Moreno AnaORCID, López-Moreno Juan Ignacio, Revuelto JesúsORCID
Abstract
Abstract. The Aneto glacier, although it may be considered a very small
glacier (<0.5 km2), is the largest glacier in the Pyrenees.
Its surface and thickness loss have been continuous in recent decades, and
there have been signs of accelerated melting in recent years. In this study,
thickness and surface losses of the Aneto glacier from 1981 to 2022 are
investigated using historical aerial imagery, airborne lidar point clouds
and unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery. A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey conducted in 2020, combined with data from
photogrammetric analyses, allowed us to reconstruct the current ice
thickness and also the existing ice distribution in 1981 and 2011. Over the
last 41 years, the total glacierised area has decreased by 64.7 %, and the
ice thickness has decreased, on average, by 30.5 m. The mean remaining ice
thickness in autumn 2022 was 11.9 m, as against the mean thickness of 32.9, 19.2 and 15.0 m reconstructed for 1981 and 2011 and observed in 2020,
respectively. The results demonstrate the critical situation of the glacier,
with an imminent segmentation into two smaller ice bodies and no evidence of
an accumulation zone. We also found that the occurrence of an extremely hot
and dry year, as observed in the 2021–2022 season, leads to a drastic
degradation of the glacier, posing a high risk to the persistence of the
Aneto glacier, a situation that could extend to the rest of the Pyrenean
glaciers in a relatively short time.
Funder
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Universidad de Zaragoza Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Subject
Earth-Surface Processes,Water Science and Technology
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