Ice loss in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego glaciers during the first two decades of the 21st century

Patagonian and Tierra del Fuego Glaciers are among the highest contributors to sea level rise in the Southern Hemisphere. Although this is an area gaining more attention through recent studies, continuous remotely sensed monitoring is only nascent, but crucial for a better understanding of the glacier changes in this region. Here, we present an update of the glacier elevation and mass changes of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego glaciers, applying differential synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry using data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and the German TerraSAR-X-Add-on for Digital Elevation Measurements mission (TanDEM-X). Our study covers the period between 2000 and 2019. Here, we particularly estimated the glacier mass loss regionalized for the Northern and Southern Patagonia Icefield (NPI and SPI) and Tierra del Fuego, which includes the Icefields of Cordillera Darwin and Gran Campo Nevado.

Our preliminary results indicate mass loss rates of 4.75 ± 0.35 Gt a-1 for NPI for the period of 2000-2019. Results for both other regions will be also presented. Alongside an accuracy assessment based on GNSS field campaign data and satellite laser altimetry.