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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

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.

Details

Title
The First Inventory of Rock Glaciers in the Zhetysu Alatau: The Aksu and Lepsy River Basins
Author
Kaldybayev, Azamat 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sydyk, Nurmakhambet 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Yelisseyeva, Alena 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Merekeyev, Aibek 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Nurakynov, Serik 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Zulpykharov, Kanat 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Issanova, Gulnura 3 ; Chen, Yaning 4 

 Institute of Ionosphere, 050020 Almaty, Kazakhstan; Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040 Almaty, Kazakhstan 
 Institute of Ionosphere, 050020 Almaty, Kazakhstan 
 Research Centre for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (Almaty), 050060 Almaty, Kazakhstan 
 State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China 
First page
197
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20724292
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2761198187
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.