2  Spatial distribution

The Tropical glacier ecosystem of the Cordillera de Mérida included at least five occurrences of glaciers or ice patches in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida and one in the Sierra de Santo Domingo, but is currently represented by a single ice mass in the former range.

Figure 2.1: As this study we use 1:2 million data from the World Bank, a digital elevation model and hillshade from a map service, in combination with partial transparency to provide geographical context. The vector layer for the protected areas is from Protected Planet.

Available global data of glacier extent overestimates its distribution in the Cordillera de Mérida. The Randolph Glacier Inventory version 6.0 (Randolph Glacier Inventory Consortium, 2017) includes glacier outlines for the Humboldt and Bolivar Peaks shown in Figure 2.1. These outlines were digitised between 2000 and 2003 but do not include ground calibration and appear to overestimate the extent of the glaciers at that point in time.

The changes in occurrence and extent of the glacier and ice fields in the Cordillera de Mérida have been described by Braun & Bezada (2013) and Ramírez et al. (2020) based on measures on the ground or estimated from cartographic and remote sensing analysis. The extent of the current single occurrence is less than 1 \(km^2\) and can be seen in recent satellite imagery Figure 2.2.

Figure 2.2: Satellite image and topographic maps of Cordillera de Mérida and glacier outlines from RGI 6.0.

Braun, C. & Bezada, M. (2013) The history and disappearance of glaciers in venezuela. Journal of Latin American Geography, 12, 85–124. University of Texas Press.

Ramírez, N., Melfo, A., Resler, L.M. & Llambí, L.D. (2020) The end of the eternal snows: Integrative mapping of 100 years of glacier retreat in the venezuelan andes. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 52, 563–581. Taylor & Francis.

Randolph Glacier Inventory Consortium (2017) Randolph glacier inventory 6.0. NSIDC. Http://www.glims.org/RGI/randolph60.html.