The First Rock Glacier Inventory for the Greater Caucasus
Rock glaciers are an integral part of the periglacial environment. At the regional scale in the Greater Caucasus, there have been no comprehensive systematic efforts to assess the distribution of rock glaciers, although some individual parts of ranges have been mapped before. In this study we produc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Geosciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/13/4/117 |
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| author | Levan G. Tielidze Alessandro Cicoira Gennady A. Nosenko Shaun R. Eaves |
| author_facet | Levan G. Tielidze Alessandro Cicoira Gennady A. Nosenko Shaun R. Eaves |
| author_sort | Levan G. Tielidze |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rock glaciers are an integral part of the periglacial environment. At the regional scale in the Greater Caucasus, there have been no comprehensive systematic efforts to assess the distribution of rock glaciers, although some individual parts of ranges have been mapped before. In this study we produce the first inventory of rock glaciers from the entire Greater Caucasus region—Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. A remote sensing survey was conducted using Geo-Information System (GIS) and Google Earth Pro software based on high-resolution satellite imagery—SPOT, Worldview, QuickBird, and IKONOS, based on data obtained during the period 2004–2021. Sentinel-2 imagery from the year 2020 was also used as a supplementary source. The ASTER GDEM (2011) was used to determine location, elevation, and slope for all rock glaciers. Using a manual approach to digitize rock glaciers, we discovered that the mountain range contains 1461 rock glaciers with a total area of 297.8 ± 23.0 km<sup>2</sup>. Visual inspection of the morphology suggests that 1018 rock glaciers with a total area of 199.6 ± 15.9 km<sup>2</sup> (67% of the total rock glacier area) are active, while the remaining rock glaciers appear to be relict. The average maximum altitude of all rock glaciers is found at 3152 ± 96 m above sea level (a.s.l.) while the mean and minimum altitude are 3009 ± 91 m and 2882 ± 87 m a.s.l., respectively. We find that the average minimum altitude of active rock glaciers is higher (2955 ± 98 m a.s.l.) than in relict rock glaciers (2716 ± 83 m a.s.l.). No clear difference is discernible between the surface slope of active (41.4 ± 3°) and relict (38.8 ± 4°) rock glaciers in the entire mountain region. This inventory provides a database for understanding the extent of permafrost in the Greater Caucasus and is an important basis for further research of geomorphology and palaeoglaciology in this region. The inventory will be submitted to the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) database and can be used for future studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:58:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4f7ba4752d0c43a5b8c48980a01f894d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:58:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-4f7ba4752d0c43a5b8c48980a01f894d2023-11-17T19:25:19ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632023-04-0113411710.3390/geosciences13040117The First Rock Glacier Inventory for the Greater CaucasusLevan G. Tielidze0Alessandro Cicoira1Gennady A. Nosenko2Shaun R. Eaves3Antarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New ZealandDepartment of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Glaciology, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 29 Staromonetniy Pereulok, 119017 Moscow, RussiaAntarctic Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New ZealandRock glaciers are an integral part of the periglacial environment. At the regional scale in the Greater Caucasus, there have been no comprehensive systematic efforts to assess the distribution of rock glaciers, although some individual parts of ranges have been mapped before. In this study we produce the first inventory of rock glaciers from the entire Greater Caucasus region—Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. A remote sensing survey was conducted using Geo-Information System (GIS) and Google Earth Pro software based on high-resolution satellite imagery—SPOT, Worldview, QuickBird, and IKONOS, based on data obtained during the period 2004–2021. Sentinel-2 imagery from the year 2020 was also used as a supplementary source. The ASTER GDEM (2011) was used to determine location, elevation, and slope for all rock glaciers. Using a manual approach to digitize rock glaciers, we discovered that the mountain range contains 1461 rock glaciers with a total area of 297.8 ± 23.0 km<sup>2</sup>. Visual inspection of the morphology suggests that 1018 rock glaciers with a total area of 199.6 ± 15.9 km<sup>2</sup> (67% of the total rock glacier area) are active, while the remaining rock glaciers appear to be relict. The average maximum altitude of all rock glaciers is found at 3152 ± 96 m above sea level (a.s.l.) while the mean and minimum altitude are 3009 ± 91 m and 2882 ± 87 m a.s.l., respectively. We find that the average minimum altitude of active rock glaciers is higher (2955 ± 98 m a.s.l.) than in relict rock glaciers (2716 ± 83 m a.s.l.). No clear difference is discernible between the surface slope of active (41.4 ± 3°) and relict (38.8 ± 4°) rock glaciers in the entire mountain region. This inventory provides a database for understanding the extent of permafrost in the Greater Caucasus and is an important basis for further research of geomorphology and palaeoglaciology in this region. The inventory will be submitted to the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) database and can be used for future studies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/13/4/117rock glacierglacier inventoryCaucasus Mountainspermafrost |
| spellingShingle | Levan G. Tielidze Alessandro Cicoira Gennady A. Nosenko Shaun R. Eaves The First Rock Glacier Inventory for the Greater Caucasus Geosciences rock glacier glacier inventory Caucasus Mountains permafrost |
| title | The First Rock Glacier Inventory for the Greater Caucasus |
| title_full | The First Rock Glacier Inventory for the Greater Caucasus |
| title_fullStr | The First Rock Glacier Inventory for the Greater Caucasus |
| title_full_unstemmed | The First Rock Glacier Inventory for the Greater Caucasus |
| title_short | The First Rock Glacier Inventory for the Greater Caucasus |
| title_sort | first rock glacier inventory for the greater caucasus |
| topic | rock glacier glacier inventory Caucasus Mountains permafrost |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/13/4/117 |
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