Brief communication: A framework to classify glaciers for water resource evaluation and management in the Southern Andes

Over the last 2 decades the importance of Andean glaciers, particularly as water resources, has been recognized in both scientific literature and the public sphere. This has led to the inclusion of glaciers in the environmental impact assessment and the development of glacier protection laws in both Chile and Argentina. However, these laws are limited in their ability to protect, manage, and monitor water resources as they do not differentiate between glacier types. We propose three glacier categories that aim to group glaciers based on their sensitivity to environmental changes as a framework that could be adopted to match the level of protection to the current and future needs of society, be region-specific, and evolve through time. Finally, we review both national inventories with respect to this classification to facilitate the evaluation and/or management of water resources.

Automated summary

The importance of Andean glaciers as water resources has been recognized in the past two decades. Laws have been enacted in Chile and Argentina to protect the glaciers, but they are limited in their effectiveness. The authors propose a classification system based on the sensitivity of glaciers to environmental changes, which can be adapted to meet the specific needs of different regions and evolve over time. The classification system can facilitate the evaluation and management of water resources.