Today these photographs of a large rockfall occurred in the vicinity of the Mesón Alto glacier, near Embalse El Yeso, the main source of water in the Metropolitan region, have been circulating in various media.
At the moment, we do not know if this rockfall occured due to natural causes or if it is a product of the work carried out by the Alto Maipo project, which has been strongly questioned due to the impact on the communities and areas intervened.
The dust in suspension produced by this rockfall, in case it ends up deposited in the nearby glaciers, could increase the rate of melting of the glacier.
Reference image from Google Maps with the location of the Mesón Alto glacier.
Towards the right of the image it is possible to distinguish part of the Mesón Alto glacier covered by suspended dust.
If the suspended dust is deposited on the Mesón Alto glacier, it could be severely affected, increasing its melting rate.
