Glacier change in the Karatal river basin, Zhetysu (Dzhungar) Alatau, Kazakhstan

Abstract

ABSTRACT. We investigated glacier changes in the). This very high shrinkage rate is likely connected with a general trend of increasing temperatures, and small glaciers being situated at the relatively low altitude of the outer Zhetysu Alatau ranges. We also analyzed the shrinkage rate of glaciers based on their differences in size, altitude and aspect of slopes, as well as other topographic parameters, in four sub-basins where glacier shrinkage varied between 18% and 39%. Weather-station climate data showed a significant temperature increase and stable precipitation trends over the study period. We conclude that glacierized areas of the Karatal river basin are located in the most unfavorable conditions for glaciation, and as a result showed a higher shrinkage rate than other glacierized areas of the Tien Shan from 1956 to 2012.

Runoff response to the glacier shrinkage in the Karatal river basin, Kazakhstan

“…From 1960 to 2007, records at the same station displayed a slight decrease in annual precipitation. Increasing temperature leads to (1) increasing energy available for ice and snow melt, (2) decreasing snow accumulation, and (3) lower albedo of the glacier surface (Ageta and Kadota 1992;Fujita and Ageta 2000;Wang et al 2014, Kaldybayev et al 2016. The temperature increase caused the rainfall rate to increase, rather than snowfall in the high-altitude glacierized areas, leading to a reduction of accumulation and the acceleration of ablation, especially during the summer (Chaulagai 2003).…”

“…Annual and summer (JJA) temperature and annual precipitation of Taldykorgan station(Kaldybayev et al 2016) …”

Topography-Related Glacier Area Changes in Central Tianshan from 1989 to 2015 Derived from Landsat Images and ASTER GDEM Data

“…Glacier area reductions of −15.2% (−0.38% a −1 ) and −21.9% (−0.61% a −1 ) were reported respectively in the upper Jinghe River Catchment between 1964 and 2004 [21] and in the Karlik Mountain between 1977 and 2013 [23]. In the Northern Ranges, the glacier areas in the Zailiyskiy-Kungey Alatau (Ala-Too) decreased by −32.1% (−0.73% a −1 ) during 1955-1999 [56], while a −4% reduction was found in the same region during 1990 and 2003 [5]; glacier areas decreased by −23.5% (−1.02% a −1 ) in the Karatal River Basin from 1989 to 2012 [22] and by −16.1% (−0.43% a −1 ) in the Ili-Kungoy region from 1970 to 2007 [57]. In the Western Ranges, glacier area declined by −15.8% (−0.43% a −1 ) in the At-Bashy region from 1970 to 2007 [57].…”

Methodological proposal for the analysis of the evolution of glaciers since the Little Ice Age and its application in the Tröllaskagi Peninsula (northern Iceland)

“…Remote sensing -in some cases aided by the application of band ratios or thresholding of ratio images-also provided good results in studies of changes in glacier areas and lengths (e.g. Bahuguna et al, 2007;Kaldybayev et al, 2016;Qureshi et al, 2017).…”

“…The development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing have enabled the remote study of glaciers by using aerial photographs and satellite images (see Kääb, 2005;Kääb et al, 2005;Bradwell et al, 2006;Bahuguna et al, 2007;Pellika and Rees, 2010;Chandler et al, 2016;Gachev et al, 2016), which has improved the recording of glacier surface trends (e.g. Thompson et al, 2011;Gjermundsen et al, 2011;Kaldybayev et al, 2016;Veettil et al, 2017;Fernández-Fernández et al, 2017). Estimating glacier volumes and their spatiotemporal variations are also key aspects in the research on the impact of climate change, since the quantification of glacier melt is essential in modelling due to its global contribution to rising sea levels (Church et al, 2001;Braithwaite et al, 2006).…”