Tropical high‐mountain permafrost has a unique thermal regime due to its exposure to strong solar radiation and to rough surface snow morphology, which reduce ground heat transfer from the surface. Latent heat transfer and higher albedo that occur during the snow‐covered season contribute to positive feedback that supports the presence of permafrost. This preliminary study reports on the thermal state characteristics of tropical mountain permafrost in Peru. This work also evaluates the potential combined impact of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the mountain permafrost of the Coropuna and Chachani volcanic complexes, both located at the western edge of the southern Peruvian Altiplano. Temperature monitoring boreholes were established at 5,217 m at Coropuna and 5,331 m at Chachani, and electrical resistivity was surveyed in both sites. This 7‐year discontinuous record ...

Tropical high‐mountain permafrost has a unique thermal regime due to its exposure to strong solar radiation and to rough surface snow morphology, which reduce ground heat transfer from the surface. Latent heat transfer and higher albedo that occur during the snow‐covered season contribute to positive feedback that supports the presence of permafrost. This preliminary study reports on the thermal state characteristics of tropical mountain permafrost in Peru. This work also evaluates the potential combined impact of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the mountain permafrost of the Coropuna and Chachani volcanic complexes, both located at the western edge of the southern Peruvian Altiplano. Temperature monitoring boreholes were established at 5,217 m at Coropuna and 5,331 m at Chachani, and electrical resistivity was surveyed in both sites. This 7‐year discontinuous record ...

Permafrost is present in the high-altitude mountains of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt as well as the Andes, even in the extreme dry Atacama highland. The permafrost and active layer termal state are characterized at Latin American Permafrost Network study sites. Ice rich or extremely dry permafrost was observed during drilling operations from Mexico (Pico de Orizaba, 5636m a.s.l. Iztaccíhuatl, 5230m a.s.l.), Colombia, Ecuador (Chimborazo, 6263m a.s.l.), Peru (Coropuna 5250 m a.s.l., Ampato 5850 m a.s.l., Chachani 5600 m a.s.l.) including the highest human habitation in the world: La Rinconada 5100 m a.s.l., Bolivia (Chacaltaya 5300 m a.s.l. where glacier disappeared in 2005), and the Chilean/Argentinian border (up to 6750 m a.s.l. including Parinacota, Aucanquilcha, Ojos del Salado, Llullaillaco, Tupungato and Tupungatito). The Lower Limit of Alpine Permafrost (LLAP) is redrawn from t...

The freezing point and supercooling process are discussed for their impact on the traditional Andean freeze-dried potatoes called chuño. The freezing point depends on potato species, but typically it is slightly below zero to −3 ​°C; supercooling always occurs before the potatoes freeze, and the lowest supercooling point (LSP) can reach −4.3 ​°C. Recently many of the potato fields near Lake Titicaca are not cold enough to freeze tubers for chuño, and the loss of this food source will be critical in the future.

The thermal and hydrological regime of permafrost in the arid Andes is unique due to the combination of extreme aridity, high solar radiation, and significant diurnal temperature fluctuations. Drilling at Chachani (6,057 m.a.s.l.), Aucanquilcha (6,176 m.a.s.l.), Chajnantor (5,640 m.a.s.l.), and Ojos del Salado (6,893 m.a.s.l.) volcanoes revealed both dry permafrost and ice-rich permafrost in one of the driest areas on Earth. We monitored solar radiations and ground temperature conditions at twenty-four sites on eleven mountains between 1° and 33° S. At elevations above 5,800 m, the active layer is about 10 to 30 cm thick and is controlled by diurnal fluctuations. Near the lower limit of mountain permafrost (LLMP), the thermal offset is positive and ice-rich terrains are found that are associated with moisture percolating from penitentes. Above 6,400 m, the surface energy balance is dom...

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A network of air and ground temperature sensors installed 2004-2014 has enabled the discovery of permafrost on the Coropuna (6377 m) and Chachani (6057 m) volcanoes. However, on the Misti (5820 m) volcano there is no permafrost, which can be attributed to geothermal heat. Misti and Chachani are very close to each other, near the city of Arequipa (S. Peru). Coropuna is 150 km to the west. Various volcanic eruptions have taken place on Misti and Coropuna in the last 10 ka (Úbeda et al, 2012). The volcanic activity on the Chachani seems to be much older, although it has not been researched to date. Coropuna is covered by a glacial system of _40 km2 (23-11-2013) and the moraines surrounding the volcanic complex indicate a surface of >500 km2 >10 ka ago (Úbeda et al, 2011). On Chachani the evidence also suggests a great extent in the past although in this case there are no glaciers conserve...

Una red de sensores de las temperaturas del aire y el suelo instalados en 2004-2014 (red CRYOPERU) ha permitido encontrar permafrost en los volcanes Coropuna (6377 m) y Chachani (6057 m). Sin embargo, en el volcán Misti (5820 m) no hay permafrost, circunstancia que se ha atribuido al calor geotérmico (Andrés et al, 2011). El Misti y el Chachani están muy próximos entre sí, junto a la ciudad de Arequipa (sur de Perú). El Coropuna está 150 km hacia el oeste. En el Misti y el Coropuna han ocurrido varias erupciones volcánicas en los últimos 10 ka (Thouret et al, 2002; Úbeda et al, 2012). En el Chachani la actividad volcánica parece mucho más vieja, aunque no ha sido investigada todavía. El Coropuna está cubierto por un sistema glaciar de ~40 km2 (23-11-2013) y alrededor del complejo volcánico hay morrenas que indican una superficie >500 km2 hace >10 ka (Úbeda, 2011). En el ...