Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
First geophysical and shallow ice core investigation of the Kazbek plateau glacier, Caucasus Mountains. / Kutuzov, Stanislav S.; Mikhalenko, Vladimir N.; Grachev, Alexi M.; Ginot, Patrick; Lavrentiev, Ivan I.; Kozachek, Anna V.; Krupskaya, Victoria V.; Ekaykin, Alexey A.; Tielidze, Levan G.; Toropov, Pavel A.
In: Environmental Earth Sciences, Vol. 75, No. 23, 1488, 01.12.2016.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - First geophysical and shallow ice core investigation of the Kazbek plateau glacier, Caucasus Mountains
AU - Kutuzov, Stanislav S.
AU - Mikhalenko, Vladimir N.
AU - Grachev, Alexi M.
AU - Ginot, Patrick
AU - Lavrentiev, Ivan I.
AU - Kozachek, Anna V.
AU - Krupskaya, Victoria V.
AU - Ekaykin, Alexey A.
AU - Tielidze, Levan G.
AU - Toropov, Pavel A.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - First-ever ice core drilling at Mt. Kazbek (Caucasus Mountains) took place in the summer of 2014. A shallow ice core (18 m) was extracted from a plateau at ~4500 m a.s.l. in the vicinity of the Mt. Kazbek summit (5033 m a.s.l.). A detailed radar survey showed that the maximum ice thickness at this location is ~250 m. Borehole temperature of −7 °C was measured at 10 m depth. The ice core was analyzed for oxygen and deuterium isotopes and dust concentration. From the observed seasonal cycle, it was determined that the ice core covers the time interval of 2009–2014, with a mean annual snow accumulation rate of 1800 mm w. eq. Multiple melt layers have been detected. δ18O values vary from −25 to −5‰. The dust content was determined using a particle sizing and counting analyzer. The dust layers were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Dust can be separated into two categories by its origin: local and distant. Samples reflecting predominantly local origin consisted mainly of magmatic rocks, while clay minerals were a characteristic of dust carried over large distances, from the deserts of the Middle East and Sahara. The calculated average dust flux over three years at Kazbek was of 1.3 mg/cm2 a−1. Neither δ18O nor dust records appear to have been affected by summer melting. Overall, the conditions on Kazbek plateau and the available data suggest that the area offers good prospects of future deep drilling in order to obtain a unique environmental record.
AB - First-ever ice core drilling at Mt. Kazbek (Caucasus Mountains) took place in the summer of 2014. A shallow ice core (18 m) was extracted from a plateau at ~4500 m a.s.l. in the vicinity of the Mt. Kazbek summit (5033 m a.s.l.). A detailed radar survey showed that the maximum ice thickness at this location is ~250 m. Borehole temperature of −7 °C was measured at 10 m depth. The ice core was analyzed for oxygen and deuterium isotopes and dust concentration. From the observed seasonal cycle, it was determined that the ice core covers the time interval of 2009–2014, with a mean annual snow accumulation rate of 1800 mm w. eq. Multiple melt layers have been detected. δ18O values vary from −25 to −5‰. The dust content was determined using a particle sizing and counting analyzer. The dust layers were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Dust can be separated into two categories by its origin: local and distant. Samples reflecting predominantly local origin consisted mainly of magmatic rocks, while clay minerals were a characteristic of dust carried over large distances, from the deserts of the Middle East and Sahara. The calculated average dust flux over three years at Kazbek was of 1.3 mg/cm2 a−1. Neither δ18O nor dust records appear to have been affected by summer melting. Overall, the conditions on Kazbek plateau and the available data suggest that the area offers good prospects of future deep drilling in order to obtain a unique environmental record.
KW - Dust content
KW - GPR
KW - Ice cores
KW - Mountain glaciers
KW - Mt. Kazbek
KW - Oxygen isotopes
KW - The Caucasus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85002584436&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12665-016-6295-9
DO - 10.1007/s12665-016-6295-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85002584436
VL - 75
JO - Environmental Earth Sciences
JF - Environmental Earth Sciences
SN - 1866-6280
IS - 23
M1 - 1488
ER -
ID: 61460867