Historical view of desertification in the Camiña Basin, in the northern region of the Atacama Desert

Penagos Piñeros O.S.; Pino Vargas E.M. · Ingeniare (2025) · DOI: 10.64966/ingeniare.v33.16

Resumen

Climate change has severely impacted the Atacama Desert, the world’s driest desert, where significant economic activity occurs. The objective of this study was to analyze the variation of water resources in the Camiña ravine basin between 1977 and 2023 and to evaluate its effects on vegetation cover and environmental conditions, using historical cartography and Landsat and Sentinel satellite data. The results reveal an alarming decrease in surface water, with a 77% reduction between 1977 and 2000. Despite this, a 2% increase in wet surface area was observed in 2021, possibly due to the La Niña phenomenon. In addition, the NDVI index showed a reduction in vegetation cover, from 0.69% to 0.43% in almost four decades, indicating cyclical climatic changes. Extreme temperatures reached up to 37.3 ºC, highlighting the critical conditions facing the region. These findings are concerning as they highlight how climate change impacts water resources and biodiversity, which are essential for economic activities such as mining and agriculture, as well as for ancestral communities. The research underscores the urgent need to implement adaptation strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on these communities and their environment. The results support the urgency of integrated, adaptive policies to mitigate the effects of climate change in the region.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann