Abstract

ZEBALLOS, Gabriel et al. Using satellite images, digital elevation models and geographic information systems to characterize the spatial dynamics of glaciers and high Andean wetlands in Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia [online]. 2014, vol.49, n.3, pp.14-26. ISSN 1605-2528.

Due to the climate change and glacier shrinking, water resource in the central Andes is overall expected to decrease in the next decades. Accordingly, the characteristics of high Andean wetlands as hydrologic regulators and natural reservoirs will take even more importance than they do today. In order to better understand their dynamics this study proposes a method for the spatial analysis of multiple factors affecting their vulnerability through the use of Landsat images, in order to analyze the variation of the glacier and wetlands area of the Cordillera Real (Bolivia). The method relates the variability of these objects with external and internal factors, such as the precipitation and the physical morphometry of the drainage basins. The images are geometrically and radiometrically corrected prior to the execution of an algorithm designed for the assessment of the objects area. Such algorithm includes a non supervised classification, and the application of normalized difference of vegetation, water, and snow/ice indexes. Finally, a multi-lineal regression analysis is proposed to correlate the spatial dynamics of the wetlands with accumulated precipitation and basin morphometry data. The morphometry is obtained from a mosaic of the digital elevation model GDEM-Aster V2 (global digital elevation model, version 2, Satellite Aster). This methodological model can also be applied to more precise images and DEMs, as will be part of the next phase of the project BIOTHAW.

Keywords : Central Andes; Glacier retreat; High Andean tropical wetlands; Remote sensing; Spatial analysis.

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