Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2019

Presentation information

[E] Oral

M (Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary) » M-IS Intersection

[M-IS01] Environmental, socio-economic and climatic changes in Northern Eurasia

Sun. May 26, 2019 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM 304 (3F)

convener:Pavel Groisman(NC State University Research Scholar at NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Asheville, North Carolina, USA), Shamil Maksyutov(National Institute for Environmental Studies), Evgeny P Gordov(Institute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS), Dmitry A Streletskiy(George Washington University), Chairperson:Shamil Maksyutov(National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan), Pavel Groisman(NC State University, USA), Yoshihiro Iijima(Mie University, Japan)

2:45 PM - 3:00 PM

[MIS01-05] Changes in mountain glacier systems and the distribution of main climatic parameters on the territory of Russia (XX -XXI century)

*Tatiana Khromova1, Gennady Nosenko1, Valeria Popova1, Anton Muraviev1, Stanislav Nikitin1 (1.Institute of Geography Russian Academy of Sciences)

Keywords:mountain glaciers , climate change, Russia, glacier changes

Mountain glaciers are vital sources of water worldwide to many densely-populated regions including North Eurasia. Most glaciers are now shrinking, resulting in variable water supplies and sustained sea level rise. Rapid glacier change threatens water, energy and food security. Further glacier mass loss is likely in response to recent climate change, driven by global increases in air temperatures and the production of atmospheric pollutants. However, high altitudes and rugged topography generate regional weather systems that complicate the investigation of the relationship between climate and glacier change. Predictive models need to move beyond the state-of-the-art to couple advanced climate models with accurate representations of glacier processes, and more detailed and reliable data describing the state of mountain glaciers are required to constrain these models, both from monitoring individual glaciers and regional remote-sensing observations.

Glaciation exists on the territory of Russia for thousands of years. Glaciers are located now on islands and archipelagoes of Russian Arctic and in mountain regions of continental part of the country and currently cover the area of about 3,480,000 km². Now there are 18 mountain glacier regions on the territory of continental Russia. We present recent data on glaciers state and changes in these regions based on remote sensing and in situ studies and distribution of main climatic parameters that affect the existence of glaciers: summer air temperature and winter precipitation.

Acknowledgements. This presentation includes the results of research project No. 0148-2019-0004 of the Research Plan of the Institute of Geography, RAS and research project supported by the Russian Geographical Society (grant number 05/2017/RGS-RFBR).