Cambio de área glaciar en el volcán Maipo (Andes Centrales), una aproximación morfométrica: 4 décadas de registros satelitales

Current climatic conditions in Central Andes (CA) (31-36 °S) have triggered the reduction of glacier area. Although CA are geographically circumscribed to an area under the same macroclimatic domain, their rugged topography creates several topoclimates as response to the effects of elevation, slope and aspect (morphometric factors). This study explores the impact of morphometric factors on the evolution of the glacial surface located above of Maipo volcano (34°09'50''S; 69°49'53''W). Through the use of 11 LANDSAT images (MSS, TM and OLI), the spatio-temporal evolution (period 1976-2020) of the glacier area was reconstructed. On this period, glacier area was reduced by 6 ± 0.5 km2 (-0.14 ± 0.01 km2a-1), equal to 63 % of 1976 glacial area (9.6 ± 0.5 km2). Fifty percent of the reduction occurred between 3,900 and 4,000 m elevation, with absolute losses towards lower elevations. In addition, it was detected that for every 100 m of ascent the relative area loss rate decreased 0.1 %a-1 (R2 = 0.81; p-value