A regional view of fluctuations in glacier length in southern South America

Fluctuations in the length of 72 glaciers in the Northern and Southern Patagonia Icefield (NPI and SPI, respectively) and the Cordillera Darwin Icefield (CDI) were estimated between 1945 and 2005. The information obtained from historical maps based on 1945 aerial photographs was compared to ASTER and Landsat satellite images and to information found in the literature. The majority of glaciers have retreated considerably, with maximum values of 12.2km for Marinelli Glacier in the CDI, 11.6km for O'Higgins Glacier in the SPI and 5.7km for San Rafael Glacier in the NPI.