Multitemporal Satellite Analysis of Laguna Fea, Province of Neuquén

Abstract

In March 2017, with the participation of professionals from national and provincial departments, a survey was carried out in a remote area with difficult access in the north of the province of Neuquén, adjacent to the province of Mendoza and the Republic of Chile, where the Fea lagoon is located. It is placed in a glacial trough at a height of 2.300 m, in a volcanic and tectonically active area, in the upper basin of the Barrancas River, one of the main tributaries of the Colorado River. The natural overflow of the basin would affect the populations located downstream, and even with the possibility of endangering the stability of the Casa de Piedra reservoir, it has led to the carrying out of studies of various kinds, complementary to the periodic measurements of the lagoon water level. The decrease in the hydrometric levels of the lagoon led to the need to identify the degree of link that could exist between the above-mentioned reduction of the body of water and the development of natural springs in the southeast of the mountain range called Infiernillo, where greater availability humidity allows the proliferation of mallines. In order to establish the degree of link between the development of mallines and the runoff from the lagoon, the advantages offered by remote sensing were use through mapping, quantification and temporal evolution of the surface of the lagoon and the area of mallines, for the period 1975-2020.