Employees of the Scientific Center for Arctic Studies and Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov made a complete geodetic survey of the surface of the IGAN glacier, the largest in the Polar Urals, and took readings from the recorders installed in April. This will help track the dynamics of snow melting, according to the portal of the government of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
“Yamal and Moscow scientists have started an annual cycle of observations of glaciers. To conduct a comprehensive laboratory analysis during the summer expedition, ice samples were taken and seven more recorders were installed at a depth of four to six meters,” said Alexander Shein, leading researcher in the cryosphere sector of the Arctic Research Center, as quoted by the portal.
According to him, by the end of this year, in addition to analyzing the unique material taken during drilling of the glacier in the spring, scientists will process geodetic survey data and build digital models of the surface of the IGAN glacier for each of the five years of observation.
“This will make it possible to predict its future changes under the influence of climate,” Shein noted.
This year, favorable weather conditions allowed scientists to complete the planned amount of work, as well as conduct research on the Anuchin and Photogeodesist glaciers. The data obtained confirm the continued decrease in their size, the report says. At the same time, the level of the moraine lake into which part of the IGAN glacier descends remained unchanged, which, according to scientists, is a favorable fact.
“Ice reserves on glaciers are decreasing, however, changes show that they are coming into equilibrium with the modern climate. They adapt and decrease in size, but continue to exist,” explained Mikhail Ivanov, senior researcher at the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University, whose words are quoted in the message.
The Arctic Research Center has been observing glaciers in the Polar Urals since 2017. For the first time in the history of research, IGAN was drilled in April 2023, 91 meters of core were selected and the glacier bed was reached.
IGAN is the largest glacier in the Polar Urals. It was opened in 1953 and was named after the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
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