Cordillera Blanca - Glaciares en la historia

The glaciers of Cordillera Blanca - An historical perspective Abstract The glaciers of Cordillera Blanca are the most extensive in the Tropics (26%), but they became the focus of scientific interest only in the late XIXth century, and particularly during the 1930s-1940s with the Austro-German expeditions. The development of alpinism (refered to here as andinism) and numerous catastrophical events linked to the dynamics of glaciers (overflows of glacial lakes, avalanches) favoured glaciological research. In the 1980's, the glaciers of the Cordillera Blanca rank among the best monitored in the Tropics, first thanks the initiative to the Peruvian institutions. The present rate of glacial retreat being very high, the interest of glaciers as indicators of global atmospheric warming in the Tropics is increasing. On the other hand, this climatic evolution makes necessary a new evaluation of water ressource associated to the glaciers.