Glacial geomorphology of the former Patagonian Ice Sheet (44–46 °S)

Abstract

We map the glacial geomorphology of the former Patagonian Ice Sheet between 44°S and 46°S. Building on previous work, our map covers a ∼50,000 km2 region of west-central Patagonia. The study area includes the eastward-flowing Río Pico, Río Caceres, Río Cisnes, Lago Plata-Fontana, El Toqui, Lago Coyt/Río Ñirehuao, Simpson/Paso Coyhaique, and Balmaceda palaeo-outlet glaciers, adjacent valleys, and the Andean Cordillera. The inventory contains >70,000 individual landforms mapped from remotely-sensed imagery and field surveys. Mapping was classified into ice-marginal (e.g. moraine ridges, trimlines), subglacial (e.g. glacial lineations, flutes), glaciolacustrine (e.g. palaeolake shorelines, perched deltas), glaciofluvial (e.g. proglacial outwash plains, meltwater channels), and non-glacial (e.g. palaeochannels, landslides or slumps) landform groups. The new map will inform future interpretations of regional glacier dynamics, and the development of robust geochronological datasets that test the timing of glaciation and deglaciation.

Keywords

• glaciers
• patagonia
• glacial landforms
• geographic information system