The First Inventory of Rock Glaciers in the Zhetysu Alatau: The Aksu and Lepsy River Basins

While rock glaciers (RGs) are widespread in the Zhetysu Alatau mountain range of Tien Shan (Kazakhstan), they have not yet been systematically investigated. In this study, we present the first rock glacier inventory of this region containing 256 rock glaciers with quantitative information about thei...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote Sensing
Main Authors: Azamat Kaldybayev, Nurmakhambet Sydyk, Alena Yelisseyeva, Aibek Merekeyev, Serik Nurakynov, Kanat Zulpykharov, Gulnura Issanova, Yaning Chen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022
Subjects:
rock glacier
inventory
Tien Shan
InSAR
Zhetysu (Dzhungar) Alatau
permafrost
Science
Q
First Rock
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15010197
https://doaj.org/article/089b247726a5433a9200db172372c394
Description
Summary:While rock glaciers (RGs) are widespread in the Zhetysu Alatau mountain range of Tien Shan (Kazakhstan), they have not yet been systematically investigated. In this study, we present the first rock glacier inventory of this region containing 256 rock glaciers with quantitative information about their locations, geomorphic parameters, and downslope velocities, as established using a method that combines SAR interferometry and optical images from Google Earth. Our inventory shows that most of the RGs are talus-derived (61%). The maximum downslope velocity of the active rock glaciers (ARGs) was 252 mm yr −1 . The average lower height of rock glaciers in this part of the Zhetysu Alatau was 3036 m above sea level (ASL). The largest area of rock glaciers was located between 2800 and 3400 m ASL and covered almost 86% of the total area. Most rock glaciers had a northern (northern, northeastern, and northwestern) orientation, which indicated the important role of solar insolation in their formation and preservation.

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