Shallow ground temperature measurements on the highest volcano on Earth, Mt. Ojos del Salado, Arid Andes, Chile
Abstract
Mt. Ojos del Salado (6893 m a.s.l.) lies within the Andean Arid Diagonal, on the Chilean-Argentinean border. Due to the extremely arid climate, surface ice is not widespread on Mt. Ojos del Salado and at similar high-altitude massifs in the region, although ice-bearing permafrost might be present. However, the thermal regime of the ground is relatively unknown in the region, especially outside of rock glaciers at high elevations north of 30°S. To study ground thermal regimes, in-situ shallow ground temperature and snow coverage from satellite imagery have been surveyed for four years (2012-2016) at six sites between the elevations of 4200-6893 m a.s.l. on Mt. Ojos del Salado (27°07′S, 68°32′W). According to the ground temperature and snow coverage data at the six monitoring sites, the presence of permafrost is unlikely below 4550 m a.s.l. but likely above 5250 m a.s.l. on Mt. Ojos del Salado. In addition, the active layer becomes extremely thin around 6750 m a.s.l.
- Publication:
-
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1002/ppp.1989
- Bibcode:
- 2019PPPr...30....3N