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www.the-cryosphere-discuss.net/5/855/2011/
doi:10.5194/tcd-5-855-2011
© Author(s) 2011. This work is distributed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Ideal climatic variables for the present-day geometry of the Gregoriev Glacier, Inner Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan, derived from GPS data and energy-mass balance measurements
1Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
2Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
3Department of Glacio-Climatology, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
4College of Science, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
5Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan
Abstract. We conducted 2 yr (2005–2007) of in situ meteorological and glaciological observations on the Gregoriev Glacier, a flat-top glacier within the Inner Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan. Differential GPS surveys reveal a vertical surface deletion at the summit of the glacier. Based on snow density data and an energy-mass balance model, we estimate that the annual precipitation and summer mean temperature required to maintain the glacier in the modern state are 289 mm and −3.85 °C at the glacier summit (4600 m above sea level, a.s.l.), respectively. The good agreement between the long-term estimated and observed precipitation at a nearby station in the Tien Shan (292 mm at 3614 m a.s.l. for the period 1930–2002) suggests that the glacier dynamics have been regulated by the long-term average accumulation. The glacier mass-balance, reconstructed based on meteorological data from the Tien Shan station for the past 80 yr, explains the observed fluctuations in glacier extent, particularly the negative mass balance in the 1990s.
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Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Fujita, K., Takeuchi, N., Nikitin, S. A., Surazakov, A. B., Okamoto, S., Aizen, V. B., and Kubota, J.: Ideal climatic variables for the present-day geometry of the Gregoriev Glacier, Inner Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan, derived from GPS data and energy-mass balance measurements, The Cryosphere Discuss., 5, 855-883, doi:10.5194/tcd-5-855-2011, 2011. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
