Mountain Area Glaciers of Russia in the 20th and the Beginning of the 21st Centuries

Khromova, T.; Nosenko, G.; Muraviev, A. Ya.; Никитин, С. А.; Chernova, L. P.; Zverkova, N. M.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-63787-1.00002-0

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…In comparison to existing glacier inventories, we found regionally large discrepancies that have now been corrected. The outlines included in the RGI v6 and GLIMS ( 2000 database were mostly created based on Landsat and ASTER imagery from 1999-2004 (Pfeffer et al, 2014;Khromova et al, 2009;Khromova et al, 2016). By detailed visual inspection, we found partly large differences between RGI v6, GLIMS (2000) outlines, and our database that was compiled using Landsat imagery from 2000.…”

Section: Comparison With Previous Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…The state of the Caucasus glaciers was determined within the framework of the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) initiative using the ASTER and Landsat (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004) satellite images (Khromova et al, 2016). The number and area of glaciers were calculated only for 21 river basins (out of 53), and an incomplete but first digital database was created for the southern and northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus (1706 glaciers, with a total area of 1174.52 km 2 ).…”

Section: Previous Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strong acceleration of glacier area loss in the Greater Caucasus between 2000 and 2020

et al. 2022

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Abstract. An updated glacier inventory is important for understanding glacier behaviour given the accelerating glacier retreat observed around the world. Here, we present data from a new glacier inventory for two points in time (2000, 2020) covering the entire Greater Caucasus (Georgia, Russia, and Azerbaijan). Satellite imagery (Landsat, Sentinel, SPOT) was used to conduct a remote-sensing survey of glacier change. The 30 m resolution Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM; 17 November 2011) was used to determine aspect, slope, and elevations, for all glaciers. Glacier margins were mapped manually and reveal that in 2000 the mountain range contained 2186 glaciers with a total glacier area of 1381.5 ± 58.2 km2. By 2020, the area had decreased to 1060.9 ± 33.6 km2 a reduction of 23.2 ± 3.8 % (320.6 ± 45.9 km2) or −1.16 % yr−1 over the last 20 years in the Greater Caucasus. Of the 2223 glaciers, 14 have an area > 10 km2, resulting in the 221.9 km2 or 20.9 % of total glacier area in 2020. The Bezengi Glacier with an area of 39.4 ± 0.9 km2 was the largest glacier mapped in the 2020 database. Glaciers between 1.0 and 5.0 km2 accounted for 478.1 km2 or 34.6 % in total area in 2000, while they accounted for 354.0 km2 or 33.4 % in total area in 2020. The rates of area shrinkage and mean elevation vary between the northern and southern and between the western, central, and eastern Greater Caucasus. Area shrinkage is significantly stronger in the eastern Greater Caucasus (−1.82 % yr−1), where most glaciers are very small. The observed increased summer temperatures and decreased winter precipitation along with increased Saharan dust deposition might be responsible for the predominantly negative mass balances of Djankuat and Garabashi glaciers with long-term measurements. Both glacier inventories are available from the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) database and can be used for future studies.

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Section: Comparison With Previous Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: Previous Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%