ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2020, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 91-97

Rock glaciers of mountain structures in northeastern Yakutia

V.M. Lytkin 1 
1 Melnikov Permafrost Institute SB RAS, Yakutsk, Russia
Accepted: 17.06.2020
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2020-17-4-91-97
Rock glaciers are common forms of relief of the periglacial belt of many mountain structures in the world. They are potential sources of water in arid and semi-arid regions and therefore their analysis is important in assessing water reserves. Mountain structures in the northeast of Yakutia have optimal conditions for the formation of rock glaciers, but they have not yet been studied in this regard. In this paper, for the first time, we present a detailed list of rock glaciers in this region. Using geoinformation mapping based on remote sensing data of the Earth within the Chersky, Verkhoyansk, Momsky and Suntar-Khayat ranges, 4503 rock glaciers with a total area of 224.6 km2 were discovered. They are located within absolute altitudes from 503 to 2496 m. Their average minimum altitude was at 1456 m above sea level, and the maximum at 1527 m. Most of these formations are located on the sides of the trough valleys and form extended sloping types of rock glaciers. The distribution of rock glaciers over the mountain ranges is heterogeneous, 55 % of the decrypted formations are located in the Chersky Range, 12.2 % in the Verkhoyansk Range, 11.7 % in the Suntar-Khayat Range, and 5.5 % in the Momsky Range.
Keywords: rock glacier, remote sensing, permafrost, inventory
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