Abstract

Currently the Venezuelan glaciers are restricted to the northwest slopes of the Humboldt-Bonpland and Bolívar peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Merida. Only a few glaciological observations have been completed and so many parameters of their dynamics are still unknown. In 1952 the total glacial cover was calculated at 3 km2. However, their evolution until 2008, their rate of retreat and response to the climatic variability are not well understood. This work presents the first results using satellite observations made on the Siniguis glacier which is the largest in the region located on the Humboldt-Bonpland peaks. The covered area calculated from the multi-spectral analysis of the SPOT-5 images is 0.33 km2. This indicates that since 1952 the glacier has lost an area of approximately 1.7 km2 with and average retreat rate of 30.3 m/year which corresponds to 83.74% of its coverage area. lf this trend continues, the glaciers of the Venezuelan Andes could disappear in ten years.