Estimation of glacier outline and volume changes in the Vilcanota range snow-capped mountains, Peru, using temporal series of Landsat and a combination of satellite radar and aerial LIDAR images

The Vilcanota is the second-largest snow-capped mountain range in Peru. However, few studies have been conducted to monitor and track glaciers' mass and/or volume. Remote sensing using optical and radar satellite data and LIDAR data acquired from an aircraft allowed for constructing a temporal series for the perimeter and volume of the Suyuparina and Quisoquipina glaciers in the Vilcanota range. Our results indicated that from 1990 to 2013, there was a reduction in snow cover of 12,694.35 m2 per year for Quisoquipina and 16,599.2 m2 per year for Suyuparina. This represents a loss of 12.18% for Quisoquipina and 22.45% for Suyuparina. From 2000 to 2013, the volume of the Quisoquipina glacier decreased from 12.12 km3 to 11.04 km3, and Suyuparina decreased from 7.01 km3 to 5.93 km3.