19th Century The extent of glaciers in northern Suya, part of the mountain range of the Great Altai Mountains in Siberia, has shrunk to half of what it was in the 19th century, Petersburg State University reported on Friday.
“Since the mid-19th century, we have found that the glaciers have shrunk by more than half – and more than in the rest of the Altai,” the university’s report said. Geology and Mineralogy under the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Altai State University.
According to Dmitry Kanyushkin, a professor at the Department of Physical Geography and Landscape Planning at St. Petersburg University, the rate of glacier melting in the region has increased over the past decade.
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“Until 2010, the Maacheï glacier, where we conducted research, was retreating at 6 to 7 meters per year, but its edge is now retreating at an average of 14 meters per year,” warned the scientist, as quoted in the press release.
According to the results of the study, the melting of glaciers not only contributes to the expansion of forest cover, but it also affects economic activities and threatens people. This natural phenomenon leads to water mass changes in mountain rivers throughout the year, increasing the risk of floods, gravity instability, erosion and landslides, it noted.
Nearly two hundred glaciers are found in the central part of the North Chua Range, covering a total ice area of 175 km2.
The Maacheï glacier, covering an area of 19.25 km2, forms the river of the same name.
North Suya joins South Suya to form the Suya Alps: a mountain system famous for ten large glaciers popular among mountaineers.
With MAP
