Does Lake Titicaca still control the Lake Poopó system water levels? An investigation using satellite altimetry and MODIS data (2000–2009)

Complementary analysis of satellite mission data (altimetry, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS)) and climate fields over 2000–2009 was conducted to investigate the variability of the water cover surfaces and the geographical source of water inflowing into the Lake Poopó system. The results suggest that over the time span of 2000–2009 a great part of the variability of the Poopó system originates from geographic sources other than Lake Titicaca. Possible alternative causes include climate change inducing increased temperatures and greater evaporation rates along the Altiplano; increased glacier and snow melting over the Andes Cordillera; and a potential increased anthropogenic water use (such as irrigation, minery, etc.) throughout the path of the Desaguadero River (which connects lakes Titicaca and Poopó). This change in the hydrology of this region could lead to a collapse of water supplies and endanger the already fragile Poopó system as well as the regional socioeconomic system, which closely depends upon it.

[1]  Geoffrey O. Seltzer,et al.  Late Quaternary Climate and Hydrology of Tropical South America Inferred from an Isotopic and Chemical Model of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia and Peru , 2001, Quaternary Research.

[2]  Bernard Francou,et al.  Climate change and tropical Andean glaciers: Past, present and future , 2008 .

[3]  J. Crétaux,et al.  Lake studies from satellite radar altimetry , 2006 .

[4]  Y. Hong,et al.  The TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA): Quasi-Global, Multiyear, Combined-Sensor Precipitation Estimates at Fine Scales , 2007 .

[5]  Amy C. Clement,et al.  The climate of the Altiplano: observed current conditions and mechanisms of past changes , 2003 .

[6]  Ramiro Pillco Zolá,et al.  Three methods for determining the area–depth relationship of Lake Poopó, a large shallow lake in Bolivia , 2007 .

[7]  F. Delclaux,et al.  Evaporation estimation on Lake Titicaca: a synthesis review and modelling , 2007 .

[8]  M. Minvielle,et al.  Projecting rainfall changes over the South American Altiplano , 2011 .

[9]  François Delclaux,et al.  Transient modelling of lacustrine regressions: two case studies from the Andean Altiplano , 2004 .

[10]  M. Bush,et al.  Nonlinear climate change and Andean feedbacks: an imminent turning point? , 2010 .

[11]  L. Bengtsson,et al.  Long-term and extreme water level variations of the shallow Lake Poopó, Bolivia , 2006 .

[12]  François Delclaux,et al.  FLOOD MAPPING INFERRED FROM REMOTE SENSING DATA , 2011 .

[13]  Jean-François Crétaux,et al.  Lakes Studies from Satellite Altimetry , 2011 .

[14]  Yale Mintz,et al.  Climatology of the terrestrial seasonal water cycle , 1985 .