Ecobreves – CHILE: Tracking Glacier Melt

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

SANTIAGO, Apr 25 2005 (IPS) - For the first time in Chile's history there will be a systematic process for monitoring an important glacier in the country's southern region, as a means to measure melting that could be associated with global warming. Francisco Riestra, water director for the Ministry of Public Works in the southern region of Aysén, told Tierramérica last week that the study is possible thanks to cooperation between the Chilean government, the French Development Research Institute and the Center for Scientific Studies, in the Chilean city of Valdivia.

Every six months, technical teams will turn in information about the flow volume of the Nef River in the watershed of Campos de Hielo Norte (icefields), a vast formation of glaciers.

That data will complement the information normally provided by 10 satellite reception stations, and another 20 stations that monitor water resources, all part of the Ministry of Public Works.