Hidalgo D., Domínguez C., Villacís M., Ruíz J. C., Maisincho L., Cáceres B., Crespo-Pérez V., Condom Thomas, Piedra D. (2024). Carihuairazo glacier retreat and its perception in the Cunucyacu community. GRANJA : Revista De Ciencias De La Vida, 39 (1), p. 94-116. ISSN 1390-3799.
Titre du document
Carihuairazo glacier retreat and its perception in the Cunucyacu community
Année de publication
2024
Auteurs
Hidalgo D., Domínguez C., Villacís M., Ruíz J. C., Maisincho L., Cáceres B., Crespo-Pérez V., Condom Thomas, Piedra D.
Source
GRANJA : Revista De Ciencias De La Vida, 2024,
39 (1), p. 94-116 ISSN 1390-3799
The retreat of glaciers is a reality throughout the Andes Mountain range, especially in low-altitude mountains. One of these cases is the loss of the remaining ice mass in Carihuairazo (Tungurahua, Ecuador), which in recent years has experienced a considerable retreat. This research aims to characterize the retreat of this glacier and its implications for the nearby community (Cunucyacu) through the application of a multi-source methodology, which includes the collection of glacier aerial photographs, data from nearby meteorological stations, the use of global climate reanalysis data, interviews with community members, and mountaineers who work and frequent the area. To characterize the glacier's mass evolution, a hydroglaciological model was applied, using input data from meteorological series, and its parameters were calibrated with the photographic record of the glacier's outline. The results show a glacier loss of 99% of its surface in 1956 (0.34 km 2 ) by 2021. The model successfully simulates the glacier area variation over 67 years, revealing a continuous decrease since 1978, with short periods of recovery and equilibrium, where temperature is the variable that best explains the glacier's retreat. However, the model fails to consider the effect of external factors, such as the eruption of the Tungurahua volcano that could enhance the glacier retreat. The Carihuairazo glacier is in a situation of inevitable disappearance, highlighting the vulnerabilities of communities facing this phenomenon as a consequence of climate change.
Plan de classement
Sciences fondamentales / Techniques d'analyse et de recherche [020]
;
Sciences du milieu [021]
;
Hydrologie [062]
Description Géographique
EQUATEUR
Localisation
Fonds IRD [F B010091114]
Identifiant IRD
fdi:010091114
