Contemporary state of glaciers in Chukotka and Kolyma highlands

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this work is to assess the main parameters of the Chukotka and Kolyma glaciers (small forms of glaciation, SFG): their size and volume, and changes therein over time. The point as to whether these SFG can be considered glaciers or are in transition into, for example, rock glaciers is also presented. SFG areas were defined from the early 1980s (data from the catalogue of the glaciers compiled by R.V. Sedov) to 2005, and up to 2017: these data were retrieved from satellite images. The maximum of the SGF reduction occurred in the Chantalsky Range, Iskaten Range, and in the northern part of Chukotka Peninsula. The smallest retreat by this time relates to the glaciers of the southern part of the peninsula. Glacier volumes are determined by the formula of S.A. Nikitin for corrie glaciers, based on in-situ volume measurements, and by our own method: the average glacier thickness is calculated from isogypsum patterns, constructed using DEMs of individual glaciers based on images taken from a drone during field work, and using ArcticDEM for others.