Rock glaciers, Zailiysiky Range, Kungei Ranges, Tienshan, Kazakhstan

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Entry ID

ggd501

Summary

The Zailiyskiy Alatau is the northernmost parallel latitudinal ranges of the Northern Tien Shan. The highest point of this range is the Talgar peak (4973 m a.s.l.). The central part of the range is strongly glaciated; 380 glaciers of total area about 510 sq. km occur here. There are 504 rock glaciers in the Zailiyskiy Alatau Range. On the morphological signs, 429 of this amount of total area 49.77 sq. km are considered to be active. The best studied rock glaciers are concentrated in the central part of the northern slope of the Zailiyskiy Alatau in basins of the Bolshaya (Big) and Malaya (Small) Almatinka rivers. The investigations of rock glaciers of the Northern Tien Shan started in 1923 by geodetic observations of Russian glaciologist N.N.Palgov near the front of the Gorodetsky rock glacier (Zailiyskiy Alatau). The observations were repeated in 1946, 1960, 1977 and 1994 using the theodolite 2T2 of 1'' accuracy. (Gorbunov et al., 1994). The following parameters of each rock glacier were measured. Location (river basin, geographic extent); Type (morainic/lobate); Activity (active/inactive); Size (length, width), m; Area, sq. km; Orientation; Elevation of the source, m a.s.l.; Elevation of the front, m a.s.l. Since 1975, the investigations of rock glaciers of the Northern Tien Shan are carrying out by the Kazakhstan Alpine Permafrost Laboratory. In order to determine regularities in the distribution of rock glaciers, an inventory using aerial photographs and maps of 1 to 100 000 scale was carried out (Gorbunov, 1979, Titkov, 1988). These data are presented on the CAPS Version 1.0 CD-ROM, June 1998.

Geographic Coverage

 

Spatial Coordinates:
N: 43.25°     S: 42.917°     E: 77.083°     W: 76°    

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 1923-01-01
Stop Date: 1994-01-31

Location Keywords

  • Continent Asia Southcentral Asia Kazakhstan Bolshaya and Malaya Almatinka Rivers, Zailiyskiy Alatau Range, Northern Tienshan

Science Keywords

  • Cryosphere Frozen Ground Rock Glaciers
  • Land Surface Frozen Ground Rock Glaciers

Ancillary Keywords

  • Remote Sensing
  • Rock Glaciers

Data Center

National Snow and Ice Data Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org

Data Center Personnel

Name: NSIDC User Services
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA

NSIDC Frozen Ground Data Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/fgdc/

Data Center Personnel

Name: NSIDC FGDC User Services
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA

World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/wdc/

Data Center Personnel

Name: NSIDC USER SERVICES
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA

Personnel

Aldar P. Gorbunov
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Fax: 7 3272 618102
Email: ingeo@kazmail.asdc.kz
Contact Address:
PO Box 138
City: Almaty
Postal Code: 480091
Country: Kazakhstan

Eduard V. Seversky
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Fax: 7 3272 618102
Email: ingeo@kazmail.asdc.kz
Contact Address:
PO Box 138
City: Almaty
Postal Code: 480091
Country: Kazakhstan

Sergei Marchenko
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Fax: 7 3272 618102
Email: ingeo@kazmail.asdc.kz
Contact Address:
PO Box 138
City: Almaty
Postal Code: 480091
Country: Kazakhstan

Mihail V Popov
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Contact Address:
Country: Russia

Sergei S Titkov
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Contact Address:
Country: Russia

Reference

Gorbunov,A.P. (1979). Rock glaciers of the Zailiyskiy Alatau Range. In 'Cryogenic Processes of Kazakhstan and Middle Asia'. Institute of Geocryology, Yakutsk, p. 5-34 (in Russian). Gorbunov, A.P., Seversky, E.V., Titkov, S.N. (1994). Geocryological research in the eastern part of the Northern Tien Shan. - Annual report of Kazakhstan Alpine Permafrost Laboratory. Institute of Geocryology, Yakutsk, 29 p.p. (in Russian, not published). Gorbunov, A.P. and Titkov, S.N. (1989). Rock Glaciers of the Central Asia Mountains. Institute of Geocryology, Yakutsk, 164 p.p. (in Russian). Gorbunov, A.P., Titkov, S.N. and Polyakov, V.G. (1992). Dynamics of rock glaciers of the Northern Tien Shan and the Djungar Alatau, Kazakhstan. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. Vol. 3, p. 29-39. Titkov, S.N. (1979). Movement of rock glaciers of the Zailiyskiy Alatau Range. In 'Cryogenic Processes of Kazakhstan and Middle Asia'. Institute of Geocryology, Yakytsk, p. 34-42 (in Russian) Titkov, S.N. (1988). Rock glaciers and glaciation of the Central Asia Mountains. In Permafrost: Proceedings 5th International Conference, Vol. 1. Tapir Publishers, Trondheim, p. 259-262.

Metadata Name and Version

Metadata Name: CEOS IDN DIF
Metadata Version: 9.7

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