ananicheva_2005.htm
Bulletin of Glaciological Research 22 (2005)
9-17
©Japanese Society of Snow and Ice
Assessment of glacier shrinkage from the
maximum in the Little Ice Age
in the Suntar-Khayata Range, North-East Siberia
Maria D. ANANICHEVA1, Michael M. KOREISHA2 and Shuhei TAKAHASHI3
1 Institute of Geography, Russian Accademy
of Sciences, Staromonetony 29, Moscow 109017,
Russia
2 Research Institute on Engineering Investigations
in Building Industry (PNIIIS), Okruzhnoy
Proezd 18, Moscow 105187, Russia
3 Kitsmi Institute of Technology, Koen-cho
165, Kitami, 090-8705 Japan
Abstract
This paper presents new estimates and a preliminary
analysis of some key glaciers' shrinkage
in the Northern and Southern massifs of the
Suntar-Khayata Range, North-East Siberia,
on the basis of expedition data, archived
air-photo images of the 1940-s and 1970-s,
and evidence of glacial changes in the Chersky
Range from literary sources (Koreisha, 1991,
Sheiknman, 1987). For Glaciers 29-31, located
within the Northern Massif, values of linear
regression for the following time slices:
1957-1970-2001 were defined. These values
for, in particular, Glacier 31 were compared
with mass losses in the same periods: the
ratio was quite stable (equals 1.1/10 years).
This argues for rather high inertia of Suntar-Khayata
glaciers. Glaciers 29-31 of the same massif
shrank from the Little Ice Age (LIA) until
1973 as much as 50-150 m; those in the Southern
Massif (No. 141-154) showed bigger shrinkage
- 100-200 m. The reason lies in difference
of climatic conditions, which influenced
these glacier groups. The latter are partly
under Pacific cyclonic activity: winter temperatures
are much higher, and precipitation is heavier,
making the Southern Massif glaciers warmer
(and easier to shrink) than those of theNorthern
Massif.
The shrinkage of glaciers in the Cherskiy
Range from the LIA until 1972 reached 300m
for the Obruchev Glacier (one of the biggest
within the range) and 250 m for the Sumgin
Glacier, which are comparable with the shrinkage
of the Suntar-Khayata Northern Massif glaciers.
