Large-scale drivers of Caucasus climate variability in meteorological records and Mt El'brus ice cores

Kozachek, Anna; Mikhalenko, Vladimir; Masson‐Delmotte, Valérie; Ekaykin, Alexey; Ginot, Patrick; Kutuzov, Stanislav; Legrand, Michel; Lipenkov, V.; Preunkert, Susanne

doi:10.5194/cp-13-473-2017

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…in this area (e.g. GPR measurements by Kutuzov et al, 2019, showed that ∼ 30 m of ice may be present under the previously considered ice-free area on the eastern slope of Elbrus).…”

Section: Possible Reasons For Supra-glacial Debris Cover Changesmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The mean annual temperatures at the northern slopes are usually 1-2 • C cooler than those in the south (Tielidze and Wheate, 2018). The average regional lapse rate is minimum in winter (−2.3 • C per 1000 m) and maximum (−5.2 • C per 1000 m) in summer (Kozachek et al, 2017).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 95%

“…4, 9), although the total estimated uncertainty is comparable to the obtained relative changes. Glaciers on the western slope of Elbrus are affected by avalanches and thus are partially debris-covered (Kutuzov et al, 2019). Glaciers on the eastern slope are characterized by high rates of retreat and great expansion in proglacial lake number and area (Petrakov et al, 2007).…”

Section: Possible Reasons For Supra-glacial Debris Cover Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Glaciers on the eastern slope are characterized by high rates of retreat and great expansion in proglacial lake number and area (Petrakov et al, 2007). The most significant increase in supra-glacial debris cover occurred on the eastern-oriented glaciers of Elbrus, where glaciers are characterized by the highest thinning rates in recent years (Kutuzov et al, 2019). Detailed ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey helps with more accurately identifying supra-glacial debris cover extent Figure 9.…”

Section: Possible Reasons For Supra-glacial Debris Cover Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supra-glacial debris cover changes in the Greater Caucasus from 1986 to 2014

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Knowledge of supra-glacial debris cover and its changes remain incomplete in the Greater Caucasus, in spite of recent glacier studies. Here we present data of supra-glacial debris cover for 659 glaciers across the Greater Caucasus based on Landsat and SPOT images from the years 1986, 2000 and 2014. We combined semi-automated methods for mapping the clean ice with manual digitization of debris-covered glacier parts and calculated supra-glacial debris-covered area as the residual between these two maps. The accuracy of the results was assessed by using high-resolution Google Earth imagery and GPS data for selected glaciers. From 1986 to 2014, the total glacier area decreased from 691.5±29.0 to 590.0±25.8 km2 (15.8±4.1 %, or ∼0.52 % yr−1), while the clean-ice area reduced from 643.2±25.9 to 511.0±20.9 km2 (20.1±4.0 %, or ∼0.73 % yr−1). In contrast supra-glacial debris cover increased from 7.0±6.4 %, or 48.3±3.1 km2, in 1986 to 13.4±6.2 % (∼0.22 % yr−1), or 79.0±4.9 km2, in 2014. Debris-free glaciers exhibited higher area and length reductions than debris-covered glaciers. The distribution of the supra-glacial debris cover differs between the northern and southern and between the western, central and eastern Greater Caucasus. The observed increase in supra-glacial debris cover is significantly stronger on the northern slopes. Overall, we have observed up-glacier average migration of supra-glacial debris cover from about 3015 to 3130 m a.s.l. (metres above sea level) during the investigated period.

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“…in this area (e.g. GPR measurements by Kutuzov et al, 2019, showed that ∼ 30 m of ice may be present under the previously considered ice-free area on the eastern slope of Elbrus).…”

Section: Possible Reasons For Supra-glacial Debris Cover Changesmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Possible Reasons For Supra-glacial Debris Cover Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Possible Reasons For Supra-glacial Debris Cover Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supra-glacial debris cover changes in the Greater Caucasus from 1986 to 2014

et al. 2020

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“…Large dust plumes originating from the Middle East and less frequently from the Sahara reach the Caucasus (Kutuzov et al, 2013). As seen in the Alps, these dust events modify the chemistry of snow deposits, in particular with calcium-rich alkaline snow layers (Wagenbach et al, 1996).…”

Section: Basal Ice Datingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Elbrus (Caucasus, Russia) ice core record – Part 1: reconstruction of past anthropogenic sulfur emissions in south-eastern Europe

et al. 2019

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Abstract. This study reports on the glaciochemistry of a deep ice core (182 m long) drilled in 2009 at Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus, Russia. Radiocarbon dating of the particulate organic carbon fraction in the ice suggests that the basal ice dates to 280±400 CE (Common Era). Based on chemical stratigraphy, the upper 168.6 m of the core was dated by counting annual layers. The seasonally resolved chemical records cover the years 1774–2009 CE, thus being useful to reconstruct many aspects of atmospheric pollution in south-eastern Europe from pre-industrial times to the present day. After having examined the extent to which the arrival of large dust plumes originating from the Sahara and Middle East modifies the chemical composition of the Elbrus (ELB) snow and ice layers, we focus on the dust-free sulfur pollution. The ELB dust-free sulfate levels indicate a 6- and 7-fold increase from 1774–1900 to 1980–1995 in winter and summer, respectively. Remaining close to 55±10 ppb during the 19th century, the annual dust-free sulfate levels started to rise at a mean rate of ∼3 ppb per year from 1920 to 1950. The annual increase accelerated between 1950 and 1975 (8 ppb per year), with levels reaching a maximum between 1980 and 1990 (376±10 ppb) and subsequently decreasing to 270±18 ppb at the beginning of the 21st century. Long-term dust-free sulfate trends observed in the ELB ice cores are compared with those previously obtained in Alpine and Altai (Siberia) ice, with the most important differences consisting in a much earlier onset and a more pronounced decrease in the sulfur pollution over the last 3 decades in western Europe than south-eastern Europe and Siberia.

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The Great Acceleration of fragrances and PAHs archived in an ice core from Elbrus, Caucasus

Vecchiato

Gambaro

Kehrwald

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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the Great Acceleration of the anthropogenic impact on the earth system is marked by the ubiquitous distribution of anthropogenic materials throughout the global environment, including technofossils, radionuclides and the exponential increases of methane and carbon dioxide concentrations. However, personal care products as direct tracers of human domestic habits are often overlooked. Here, we present the first research combining fragrances, as novel personal care products, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pAHs) as combustion and industrial markers, across the onset of the Great Acceleration in the Elbrus, Caucasus, ice core. This archive extends from the 1930s to 2005, spanning the profound changes in the relationship between humans and the environment during the twentieth century. concentrations of both fragrances and pAHs rose throughout the considered period, reflecting the development of the Anthropocene. However, within this rising trend, remarkable decreases of the tracers track the major socioeconomic crises that occurred in eastern europe during the second half of the twentieth century. The recent influence of human activity on the global environment is so profound that a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, was proposed. From the mid-twentieth century onwards the exponential growth in human population, economic activity and resource consumption created a global-scale change in the human signal, defined as the Great Acceleration 1,2. Geochemical signatures due to novel anthropogenic materials, including new minerals, plastics and organic contaminants, can be detected in nearly every terrestrial environment. The cryosphere is particularly good at archiving this human signal, by preserving the deposited aerosols and chemicals in the ice 3,4. A variety of indicators related to human population growth demonstrate a marked increasing trend since the 1950s 5 , but few studies consider the evolution of personal care products as socioeconomic development tracers during the Great Acceleration 6. The concentrations of these compounds in environmental matrices may be related to population size, changing industrial production and domestic behavior, as well as due to transport mechanisms 7. The knowledge regarding the distribution of personal care products in the cryosphere is limited 8-10 and no studies currently consider these contaminants in ice cores. Compared to personal care products, more information is available for the presence of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ice core archives. However, the related literature is restricted to a handful of studies, representing different Arctic 11,12 , Antarctic 13,14 and high altitude environments 15-17. PAHs are produced by the incomplete combustion of organic material and partially derive from natural sources, but mostly derive from anthropogenic emissions 18. While this human signal can be detected in remote environments 19 , the majority of the research in mountain environments is from other Eurasian mountain ranges such as the Himalaya or the Alps, w...

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Large-scale drivers of Caucasus climate variability in meteorological records and Mt El'brus ice cores

Cited by 16 publications

References 41 publications

Supra-glacial debris cover changes in the Greater Caucasus from 1986 to 2014

Supra-glacial debris cover changes in the Greater Caucasus from 1986 to 2014

The Elbrus (Caucasus, Russia) ice core record – Part 1: reconstruction of past anthropogenic sulfur emissions in south-eastern Europe

The Great Acceleration of fragrances and PAHs archived in an ice core from Elbrus, Caucasus

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