Rock Glacier Inventory for Western Andes Chilean Transect

Rock glacier inventory maps over 120 features along an 18°S to 29°S transect in the Chilean Altiplano. The dataset, produced by NASA, includes attributes like height, exposition, activity, and latitude to analyze climatic implications. It specifically examines the distribution relative to the 'Andean Dry Diagonal' and precipitation patterns.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the relationship between rock glacier activity (active, inactive, relict) and latitude to infer past climate conditions.
• Correlating rock glacier distribution and altitude with modern precipitation patterns to understand moisture controls.
• Mapping the spatial gap in rock glacier occurrence between 23°S and 27°S to study the impact of the 'Andean Dry Diagonal'.
• Comparing field-validated rock glacier data with aerial photograph interpretations for methodological assessment.

Strengths

• Inventory includes over 120 individually mapped rock glaciers, providing a substantial sample size.
• Data synthesis combines aerial photograph mapping with field visits for ground-truthing.
• Analysis covers a significant latitudinal transect (11 degrees) across a climatically sensitive region.
• Attributes include specific climatic indicators like activity status and relationship to the 0°C isotherm.

Limitations

• Exact row count, column names, and dataset size are not specified in any source.
• Sources conflict on license: Data.gov lists 'other-license-specified', while NASA Earthdata shows null.
• The temporal range for data collection and the specific 'last updated' date for the dataset content are unclear.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Mapping from aerial photographs supplemented by field visits for comparison.

Time Range

null

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:29:38.713717

Geography

Chilean Altiplano, along a transect from 18°S to 29°S latitude.