Giant Aufeis—Unknown Glaciation in North-Eastern Eurasia According to Landsat Images 2013–2019

• Published in: Remote Sensing
• Main Authors: Olga Makarieva, Nataliia Nesterova, Andrey Shikhov, Anastasiia Zemlianskova, Dongliang Luo, Andrey Ostashov, Vladimir Alexeev
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2022
• Subjects: aufeis; aufeis runoff; water balance; large permafrost rivers; North-East of Russia; aufeis area dynamic; Science; Q; permafrost
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14174248; https://doaj.org/article/b1b888fec1c143bab15ea0dbc5358ee2

Based on the analysis of Landsat satellite images over the period of 2013–2019, the number (6683) and total area (4529 km 2 ) of giant aufeis fields (area ≥ 0.1 km 2 ) were estimated for the territory of North-Eastern Eurasia. The contribution of aufeis runoff to river streamflow in different seasons was calculated for 58 hydrological gauges (area 523–526,000 km 2 ). The contribution of aufeis and glaciers to water balance is compared. The aufeis resources vary from 0.4 to 4.25 km 3 (or 3.7–11 mm) for individual basins of large rivers. They are at least 10.6 km 3 in total or 5 mm of water depth on average for the study area. Aufeis annual runoff varies from 0.3 to 29 mm (0.1–22%, average 3.8%), with the share in winter runoff amount about 6–712% (average 112%) and the spring freshet 0.2–43% (average 7.1%). In general, the aufeis runoff exceeds the glacial runoff. The dynamics of aufeis formation are directly related to winter runoff, whose changes are observed in different parts of the cryosphere. The presented results are relevant for studying the impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle and its components in the permafrost regions of the Northern Hemisphere.