Accelerated Glacier Area Loss in the Zhetysu (Dzhungar) Alatau Range (Tien Shan) for the Period of 1956–2016
Nurakynov S. Kaldybayev A. Zulpykharov K. Sydyk N. Merekeyev A. Chepashev D. Nyssanbayeva A. Issanova G. Fang G.
April 2023MDPI
Remote Sensing
2023#15Issue 8
An updated glacier inventory is important for understanding the current glacier dynamics in the conditions of actual accelerating glacier retreat observed around the world. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the glaciation areas of the Zhetysu Alatau Range (Tien Shan) for 1956–2016 using well-established semiautomatic methods based on the band ratios. The total glacier area decreased by 49 ± 2.8% or by 399 ± 11.2 km2 from 813.6 ± 22.8 km2 to 414.6 ± 11.6 km2 during 1956–2016, while the number of glaciers increased from 985 to 813. Similar rates of area change characterized the periods 1956–2001, 2001–2012, 2012–2016, and 2001–2016: −296.2 ± 8.3 (−0.8% a−1), −63.7± 1.8 (−1.1% a−1), −39.1 ±1.1 (−2.2% a−1) and −102.8 ± 2.9 (−1.3% a−1) km2, respectively. The mean glacier size decreased from 0.57 km2 in 2001 to 0.51 km2 in 2016. Most glaciation areas of the Zhetysu Alatau faced north (north, northwest, and northeast), covered 390.35 ± 11 km2, and were located in altitudes between 3000 and 4000 m.a.s.l. With shrinkage rates of about −0.8% and −1.3% a−1 for the periods of 1956–2001 and 2001–2016, our results show that study area has the highest shrinkage rate compared to other glacierized areas of Central Asian mountains, including Altai, Pamir, and even the inner ranges of Tien Shan. It was found that a significant increase in temperature (0.12 °C/10 years) plays a main role in the state of glaciers.
climate change , Eastern Tien Shan , glacier shrinkage , inventory , the Zhetysu (Dzhungar) Alatau
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Institute of Ionosphere, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
Department of Surveying and Geodesy, Satbayev University, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China
Research Centre for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
Institute of Ionosphere
Department of Surveying and Geodesy
Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences
State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology
Research Centre for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia
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