Monitoring glacier evolution and assessing glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) susceptibility in the Bolivian Andes
Cutler, Mark E.
Continued deglaciation in the Bolivian Andes threatens regional water security and may result in increased exposure to geohazards. We analyse high spatial resolution (∼3–5 m) satellite imagery to constrain annual glacier and glacial lake evolution across the Bolivian Andes between 2016 and 2022. The total glaciated area of the region decreased by 9.1%, from 316.6 ± 3.2 km 2 to 287.8 ± 2.9 km 2 ; a rate of loss of 4.8 km 2 a −1 . Concurrently, the number (total surface area) of glacial lakes incr