CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS ON THE GLACIAR COVER OF NEVADOS DE CHILLAN VOLCANIC COMPLEX

Abstract

The climatic variations/climatic change are/is affecting the different ecosystems, such glaciers, which are the largest reservoirs of water on the planet. The goal of this study was to determine the superficial changes of glacier cover in "Nevados de Chillán" Volcanic Complex and to relate their changes to meteorological variations. In order to understand the effect of climate change on this ecosystem, a multi-temporal study of LANDSAT TM and OLI images from 3 different periods (1999, 2009 and 2019) was carried out. We performed a spectral analysis based on two indices: 1) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and 2) Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI). Two meteorological variables were analyzed: precipitation and environmental temperature, using the monthly averages during the same dates in which the satellite images were obtained. Our results indicate a superficial decrease in the temporal evolution of glaciers. In the two meteorological variables, the observed variations support our hypothesis that climatic change is contributing to the melting of glaciers in the study area. This study evidences the significant decrease of glacier surfaces and its possible relationship with the rapid climatic change.