Browsing by Author "MacDonell, Shelley"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Black carbon and other light-absorbing impurities in snow in the Chilean Andes
    (2019) Rowe, Penny M.; Cordero, Raúl R.; Warren, Stephen G.; Stewart, Emily; Doherty, Sarah J.; Pankow, Alec; Schrempf, Michael; Casassa, Gino; Carrasco, Jorge; Lambert, Fabrice; Pizarro, Jaime; MacDonell, Shelley; Damiani, Alessandro; Rondanelli, Roberto; Huneeus, Nicolás; Fernandoy, Francisco; Neshyba, Steven
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    Characterizing the Water Storage Capacity and Hydrological Role of Mountain Peatlands in the Arid Andes of North-Central Chile
    (2020) Valois, Remi; Schaffer, Nicole; Figueroa, Ronny; Maldonado, Antonio; Yanez, Eduardo; Hevia, Andres; Yanez Carrizo, Gonzalo; MacDonell, Shelley
    High-altitude peatlands in the Andes, i.e., bofedales, play an essential role in alpine ecosystems, regulating the local water balance and supporting biodiversity. This is particularly true in semiarid Chile, where bofedales develop near the altitudinal and hydrological limits of plant life. The subterranean geometry and stratigraphy of one peatland was characterized in north-central Chile using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and core extraction. Two sounding locations, two transversal and one longitudinal profile allowed a 3D interpretation of the bofedal's internal structure. A conceptual model of the current bofedal system is proposed. Geophysical results combined with porosity measurements were used to estimate the bofedal water storage capacity. Using hydrological data at the watershed scale, implications regarding the hydrological role of bofedales in the semiarid Andes were then briefly assessed. At the catchment scale, bofedal water storage capacity, evapotranspiration losses and annual streamflow are on the same order of magnitude. High-altitude peatlands are therefore storing a significant amount of water and their impact on basin hydrology should be investigated further.
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    Elemental and mineralogical composition of the western andean snow (18°S–41°S)
    (2019) Alfonso, Juan A.; Cordero, Raul R.; Rowe, Penny M.; Neshyba, Steven; Casassa, Gino; Carrasco, Jorge; MacDonell, Shelley; Lambert, Fabrice; Pizarro, Jaime; Fernandoy, Francisco; Feron, Sarah; Damiani, Alessandro; Llanillo, Pedro; Sepulveda, Edgardo; Jorquera, Jose; Garcia, Belkis; Carrera, Juan M.; Oyola, Pedro; Kang, Choong-Min
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    Improving the underground structural characterization and hydrological functioning of an Andean peatland using geoelectrics and water stable isotopes in semi-arid Chile
    (2021) Valois, Remi; Araya Vargas, Jaime; MacDonell, Shelley; Guzman Pinones, Camilo; Fernandoy, Francisco; Yanez Carrizo, Gonzalo; Cuevas, Jaime G.; Sproles, Eric A.; Maldonado, Antonio
    High altitude, Andean wetlands, or bofedales as they are locally known, are important regulators of the local water balance and also play a key role in sustaining biodiversity. Nevertheless, there is almost no information regarding their hydrogeological structure and functioning. This paper aims to characterize the thickness of the alluvial filling of one peat-accumulating wetland in North-Central Chile using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) to assess its role as a water reservoir. To develop a quasi-3D understanding of the peatland's structure, four ERT profiles were conducted. Results highlight a conductive basin shape of the peatland, with a thicker interface downstream than upstream between alluvial materials and the underlying bedrock or rock screes. Those results allow the estimate of the water column (1000-3400 mm) within the peatland alluvial filling. The second objective is to better understand the water exchanges between the peatland and the streamflow using discharge measurements and water stable isotopes. Water and isotopes budgets highlight a streamflow loss towards the peatland groundwater reservoir at the end of spring season. In addition, ten delta O-18 and delta H-2 surveys were used to characterize the distinct wetland water sources and their temporal variations. A peatland conceptual model is proposed to connect groundwater, rock glaciers, snowmelt, and hillslope flows. Andean peatlands provide a pivotal control on water delivery downstream, and therefore, understanding their structure and function is important, because they are unique structures providing ecological services at high elevations.
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    Internal structure and water routing of an ice-debris landform assemblage using multiple geophysical methods in the semiarid Andes
    (2023) Navarro, Gonzalo; Valois, Remi; MacDonell, Shelley; de Pasquale, Giulia; Pablo Diaz, Juan
    Rock glaciers are the most abundant (peri) glacial landform in the semiarid Andes (SA, 29-34 degrees S), covering about three times the area of mountain glaciers. Recent studies suggest they may play an important hydrological role, including generating, storing and routing water. However, processes governing these roles are still poorly known especially for glacier complex units, i.e., where there is a juxtaposition or continuity of different (peri) glacial landforms, which are common in semiarid Andean and Himalayan areas. This study aims to understand how the internal structure of an ice-debris landform assemblage controls hydrological routing. To address this aim, we used a combination of three geophysical techniques to qualitatively determine the internal structure and favourable water routing and storage zones at the Tapado glacier complex (30 degrees S), Chile. The Tapado glacier complex consists of an assemblage of a debris-free glacier, a debris-covered glacier and two rock glaciers. For the purpose of this study, we focused on the debris-covered and active rock glacier connection. At this site, the debris-covered glacier has a relatively thin debris-cover that increases thickness downglacier. This debris cover connects to the active rock glacier and forms the active layer. The rock glacier contains a heterogenous internal structure consisting of debris with water or segregated ice filling the voids, which likely derives from the massive ice of the debris-covered glacier. The superficial debris layer of the ice-debris landforms may act as a transmissive medium by routing water downstream above the massive ice of the debris-covered glacier, but also into deeper areas, as intra-permafrost flow, in the rock glacier. The rock glacier likely has a higher capacity to transmit vertical and horizontal flows, thereby enhancing infiltration processes. This study reinforces the value of geophysical methods to determine the internal structure of ice-debris landforms, particularly in the transition between landforms, and highlights how a warming climate and consequent paraglacial processes will impact the hydrological system not only in terms of water storage, but also water transfer.