Estimation by photogrammetry of the glacier recession on the Cotopaxi Volcano (Ecuador) between 1956 and 1997

Aerial photographs of the Cotopaxi Volcano ice cap dating from 1956 to 1997 were used to quantify the evolution of the surface area. Results were obtained using precise stereoscopic methods that give the most accurate information. In addition four specific glacier tongues were investigated in detail to measure the ice mass lost between 1976 and 1997. Surprisingly, the bedrock morphology is shown to be very irregular and this explains a large extent of the variability found in the ice losses. The results show that glaciers stagnated from 1956 to 1976 and lost about 30% of their surface area between 1976 and 1997. Slope exposure did not seem to have any significant effect since all the glaciers of the volcano retreated in the same proportion. In accordance with specific measurements performed on the nearby Antizana 15 Glacier, it is suggested that the strong recession observed after 1976 was associated with increasing melting conditions which have occurred repeatedly during the intense/long-duration warm ENSO phases.