Recent glacier variations and snow line changes in central Chile

. The response of glaciers and snow line elevation to climate changes during the last few decades in central Chile are analyzed.

The variations of some of the main glaciers in central Chile (28º-38º lat. S) show a clear tendency of retreat between 1950 and 1990, with important spatial variations due to local topographic and climatic effects. Lineal retreat values vary between -3 to -50 m a-1.

Variations of snow line elevation at various snow routes measured by Direccion General de Aguas in the last three decades, do not allow to define a clear variation with altitude. However, the importance of ENSO events can be clearly reflected on snow line elevation