Garnier J. auteur aut IRD Cicerelli R. E. auteur aut IRD de Almeida T. auteur aut IRD Belo J. C. R. auteur aut IRD Curto J. auteur aut IRD Ramos A. P. M. auteur aut IRD Valadao L. V. auteur aut IRD Satgé Frédéric auteur aut IRD Bonnet Marie-Paule auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access In the western Andes, climate changes have led to drastic ecological changes during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Given the debate surrounding precipitation pattern changes and the lack of research on lakes in the Chilean Altiplano, this study aims to assess recent climate changes. The paper presents an innovative methodology based on Google Earth Engine (GEE), utilizing fluctuations in water levels in endorheic lakes as natural precipitation indicators. Three lakes (Chungara, Miscanti, and Miniques) in isolated drainage systems were studied, where changes in water levels directly reflect rainfall variations. Data from Landsat-OLI 8, Landsat-ETM+, Landsat-TM 5, and MODIS spanning 31 years were processed using the Google Earth Engine platform. The shapes of the water bodies were extracted using hue saturation value (HSV) composites. The surface areas of the lakes were compared with precipitation data from national meteorological stations and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) using linear regression analyses. Both lake area and rainfall volume showed a decrease over time, with varying trends depending on environmental conditions. However, the analysis consistently indicates a reduction in the area and volume of Chilean lakes corresponding to observed rainfall patterns over the past three decades. specialized Google Earth Engine Andean Altiplano climate change CHILI ANDES 021 062 126 16 15 2790 [16 p.] 2024 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010091226 10.3390/rs16152790 [F B010091226] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010091226 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2024-09/010091226.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2024-09-27 2024-09-27 fdi:010091226 fre