Landslide inventory in the lower basin of Blanco River (31ºS), central Andes of Argentina: Español

Abstract

We introduce the first landslides inventory made in the lower basins of Río Blanco, San Juan province, Argentina. The prehistoric events were recognized through interpretation of diverse satellite images. The obtained results were verified during field trips to terrain and digitalized via a geographical information system (QGIS). After a detailed geomorphological map was made, around 800 mass removal processes were identified, which takes up to 30 % of the study area. The recognized mass removal processes were falls, flows, slides, rock avalanches and soligelifluction. It was also noticed that almost all mapped events and scars are located over the 3000 m a.s.l. The active events tend to be originated in the periglacial environment with evidence of glacier activity in the past. This represents a new challenge in a global warming perspective where permafrost is being degraded.