Remote research on the variability of the thermokarst lake shorelines in the Altai permafrost region

This article presents a study into the shape variation of thermokarst lakes coastal boundaries carried out on six test sites in Eshtykol in the Altai Mountains. The authors describe the methodological issues of the statistical analysis of lake boundary variability with the help of satellite images. The authors show that the degree of lake shoreline variability is increasing with time. The study results can be used in modeling the fields of thermokarst lakes and research on thermokarst dynamics on permafrost territories in the conditions of climatic changes.