%0 Journal Article
%T Ideal climatic variables for the present-day geometry of the Gregoriev Glacier, Inner Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan, derived from GPS data and energy-mass balance measurements
%A K. Fujita
%A N. Takeuchi
%A S. A. Nikitin
%A A. B. Surazakov
%J The Cryosphere Discussions
%D 2011
%I Copernicus Publications
%R 10.5194/tcd-5-855-2011
%X We conducted 2 yr (2005¨C2007) of in situ meteorological and glaciological observations on the Gregoriev Glacier, a flat-top glacier within the Inner Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan. Differential GPS surveys reveal a vertical surface deletion at the summit of the glacier. Based on snow density data and an energy-mass balance model, we estimate that the annual precipitation and summer mean temperature required to maintain the glacier in the modern state are 289 mm and  3.85 ¡ãC at the glacier summit (4600 m above sea level, a.s.l.), respectively. The good agreement between the long-term estimated and observed precipitation at a nearby station in the Tien Shan (292 mm at 3614 m a.s.l. for the period 1930¨C2002) suggests that the glacier dynamics have been regulated by the long-term average accumulation. The glacier mass-balance, reconstructed based on meteorological data from the Tien Shan station for the past 80 yr, explains the observed fluctuations in glacier extent, particularly the negative mass balance in the 1990s.
%U http://www.the-cryosphere-discuss.net/5/855/2011/tcd-5-855-2011.pdf