COORDINATES: 43° 12' N / 42° 46' E
Photo taken by Ye. A. Zolotaryov and V. V. Popovnin on 22 August 1992.
COORDINATES: 43° 12' N / 42° 46' E
Photo taken by Ye. A. Zolotaryov and V. V. Popovnin on 22 August
1992.
The valley-type glacier is located on the northern slope of the central section of the main Caucasus Ridge and extends from 3,830 to 2,700 m a.s.l. Its surface area is 3.10 km2 and the exposure is NW. Mean annual air temperature at the equilibrium line of the glacier at about 3,200 m a.s.l. is -3 to -4.5 °C and the glacier is temperate. Periglacial permafrost is highly discontinuous. Average annual precipitation as measured near the snout is about 1,100 to 1,200 mm but roughly three times the amount at the equilibrium line.
The 1993/94 winter was cool and meagre in precipitation, and accumulation was 13% below average. In summer dry and warm conditions prevailed, the melting season lasted much longer than usual (till mid-October) and ablation was 18% higher. Consequently, mass balance turned out to be strongly negative, having the lowest value for the last decade. The year 1994/95 was also characterized by a dry winter, but accumulation slightly exceeds its norm (by 6%) at the expense of heavy April snowfalls. Summer was moist and warm, the rate of melting corresponded to average and nearly equalized the amount of winter snow, resulting in an insignificant mass gain of 0.04 mm water equivalent. The year 1994/95 turned out to represent the stationary condition of the glacier as closely as no other year within the 28-year-long observation period.
