Small glaciers in the Dinaric Mountains after eight years of observation: On the verge of extinction?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS.8092Keywords:
glacierets, snow patches, warming, winter precipitation, interannual variations, Dinaric MountainsAbstract
This study presents results from regular observation of permanent and summer-persisting firn-ice bodies in the highest parts of the Dinaric Alps. The sizes of six small glaciers and two snow patches on the Prokletije Massif (in Albania) and the Durmitor Massif (in Montenegro) were measured from 2011 to 2018. In recent years, specific cycles of interannual behavior have been observed: a year of considerable snow accumulation (a »recharge« phase), followed by two to four years of gradual decrease (a »wastage« phase). At present, the small glaciers studied exist in unbalanced conditions, which in the long term may lead to their degradation. Progressive warming makes short-term cycle minimums increasingly severe. Their retreat after the summer of 2017 was probably the most pronounced since the Little Ice Age, and small glaciers are on the verge of extinction.
Downloads
References
Burić, M., Micev, B., Mitrović, L. 2012: Atlas klime Crne gore. Podgorica.
Cerović, B. 1991: Durmitor i kanjon Tare. Beograd.
Colucci, R. R. 2016: Geomorphic influence on small glacier response to post Little Ice Age climate warming: Julian Alps, Europe. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 41-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3908
Colucci, R. R., Forte, E., Boccali, Ch., Dossi, M., Lanza, L., Pipan, M., Guglielmin, M. 2014: Evaluation of Internal Structure, Volume and Mass of Glacial Bodies by Integrated LiDAR and Ground Penetrating Radar Surveys: The Case Study of Canin Eastern Glacieret (Julian Alps, Italy). Surveys in Geophysics 36(2). DOI: 10.1007/s10712-014-9311-1
Colucci, R. R., Žebre, M. 2016: Late Holocene evolution of glaciers in the southeastern Alps Journal of Maps, 12-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2016.1203216
Del Gobbo, C., Colucci, R. R., Forte, E., Triglav Čekada, M., Zorn, M. 2016: The Triglav Glacier (South-Eastern Alps, Slovenia): Volume Estimation, Internal Characterization and 2000–2013 Temporal Evolution by Means of Ground Penetrating Radar Measurements. Pure Applied Geophysics 173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-016-1348-2
Dimitrijević, M. 1983: Osnovna geološka karta SFRJ , 1:100 000, List Gusinje. Savezni geološki zavod. Belgrade.
Djurović, P. 1999: Natural and anthropogenic influences as threats to pits in the Debeli namet glacier, Durmitor National park, Montenegro. Contribucion del estudio cientifico de las cavidades karsticas al conocimiento geologico. Malaga.
Djurović, P. 2009: Reconstruction of the Pleistocene glaciers on Mount Durmitor in Montenegro. Acta geographica Slovenica 49-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS49202
Djurović, P. 2011: Visokoplaninski kras Durmitora. Beograd.
Djurović, P. 2012: The Debeli Namet glacier from the second half of the 20th century to the present. Acta geographica Slovenica 52-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS52201
D'Orefice, M., Pecci, M., Smiraglia, C., Ventura, R. 2000: Retreat of Mediterranean glaciers since the Little Ice Age: Case study of Ghiacciaio del Calderone, Italy. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research 32-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1552451
Ducić, V., Burić, D., Luković, J., Stanojević, G. 2011: Promjene količine padavine u Podgorici u periodu 1951-2010. Glasnik Srpskog geografskog društva 91-2.
Gabrovec, M., Hrvatin, M., Komac, B., Ortar, J., Pavšek, M., Topole, M., Triglav Čekada, M., Zorn, M. 2014: Triglavski ledenik. Ljubljana.
Gachev, E. 2016: Klimatichni faktori za mezhdugodishnata dinamika na mikrolednik Snezhnika v Pirin. Proceedings of the Scientific conference „Geographical aspects of spatial planning and utilization in global change conditions”. Varshets.
Gachev, E. 2017: The Unknown Southernmost Glaciers of Europe. Glaciers evolution in a changing world. Zagreb. DOI: htttps://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.68899
Gachev, E., Mitkov, I. 2019: Small glaciers in Pirin (Bulgaria) and Durmitor (Montenegro) as glacio-karstic features. Similarities and differences in their behaviour. Quaternary International 504. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.03.032
Gachev, E., Stoyanov, K. 2012: Present-day perennial firn/ice patches in the mountains of the Western Balkan peninsula. Studia geomorphologica carpatho-balcanica 46.
Gachev, E., Stoyanov, K., Gikov, A. 2016: Small glaciers on the Balkan Peninsula: state and changes in the last several years. Quaternary International 415. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.10.042
Gądek, B. 2008: The problem of firn-ice patches in the polish tatras as an indicator of climatic fluctuations. Geographia Polonica 81-1.
Godišnjak meteoroloških i hidroloških podataka, 2010. Zavod za hidrometeorologiju i seizmologiju Crne Gore. Podgorica, 2019.
Godišnjak meteoroloških i hidroloških podataka, 2011. Zavod za hidrometeorologiju i seizmologiju Crne Gore, Podgorica, 2018.
Godišnjak meteoroloških i hidroloških podataka, 2012. Zavod za hidrometeorologiju i seizmologiju Crne Gore, Podgorica, 2014.
Godišnjak meteoroloških i hidroloških podataka, 2013. Zavod za hidrometeorologiju i seizmologiju Crne Gore, Podgorica, 2016.
Godišnjak meteoroloških i hidroloških podataka, 2014. Zavod za hidrometeorologiju i seizmologiju Crne Gore, Podgorica, 2016.
Godišnjak meteoroloških i hidroloških podataka, 2015. Zavod za hidrometeorologiju i seizmologiju Crne Gore, Podgorica, 2018.
Godišnjak meteoroloških i hidroloških podataka, 2016. Zavod za hidrometeorologiju i seizmologiju Crne Gore, Podgorica, 2019.
Godišnjak meteoroloških i hidroloških podataka, 2017. Zavod za hidrometeorologiju i seizmologiju Crne Gore, Podgorica, 2019.
Godišnjak meteoroloških i hidroloških podataka, 2018. Zavod za hidrometeorologiju i seizmologiju Crne Gore, Podgorica, 2019.
Grunewald, K., Scheithauer, J. 2008: Klima- und Landschaftgeschichte Sudosteuropas. Rekonstruktion anhand von Geoarchiven im Piringebirge (Bulgarien). Berlin.
Grunewald, K., Scheithauer, J. 2010: Europe’s southernmost glaciers: response and adaptation to climate change. Glaciology 56-195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3189/002214310791190947
Grunewald, K., Scheithauer, J. 2011: Landscape development and climate change in Southwest Bulgaria (Pirin Mountains). Dordrecht. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9959-4
Grunewald, K., Scheithauer, J., Gikov, A. 2008: Mikrolednitsi v Pirin planina. Problems of Geography 1-2.
Hohenwarter, G. 2013: The Eiskar – 115 years of measurements at the southernmost glacier in Austria. Meteorologica 12-2.
Hughes, P. D. 2007: Recent behaviour of the Debeli Namet glacier, Durmitor, Montenegro. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1537
Hughes, P. D. 2008: Response of a Montenegro glacier to extreme summer heatwaves in 2003 and 2007. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography 90-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0459.2008.00344.x
Hughes, P. D. 2009: Twenty-first century glaciers in the Prokletije mountains, Albania. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research 41-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-41.4.455
Hughes, P. D. 2010: Little Ice Age glaciers in the Balkans: low altitude glaciation enabled by cooler temperatures and local topoclimatic controls. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 35-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1916
Hughes, P. D., Woodward, J. C. 2008: Timing of glaciation in the Mediterranean mountains during the last cold stage. Journal of Quaternary Science 23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1212
Hughes, P. D., Woodward, J. C., van Calsteren, P. C., Thomas, L. E. 2011: The glacial history of the Dinaric Alps, Montenegro. Quaternary Science Reviews 30, 23-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.08.016
Internet 1: www.meteo.co.me (15. 1. 2020).
Internet 2: www.monstat.org (15. 1. 2020).
Kern, Z., Surányi, G., Molnár, M., Nagy, B., Balogh, D. 2007: Investigation of natural perennial ice deposits of Durnitor Mts., Montenegro. Proceedings of the 2nd workshop in ice caves. Demanovská dolina.
Lipar, M., Pérez, A. M., Tičar, J., Pavšek, M., Gabrovec, M., Hrvatin, M., Komac, B., Zorn, M., Zupan Hajna, N., Zhao, J.-X., Ferk, M. 2020: Subglacial carbonate deposits as a potential proxy for glacier’s existence. The Cryosphere. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-82
Lopez-Moreno, J., Revuelto, J., Rico, I., Chueca-Cía, J., Julián, A., Serreta, A., Serrano, E., Vicente-Serrano, S., Azorin-Molina, C., Alonso-González, E., García-Ruiz, J. 2016: Thinning of the Monte Perdido Glacier in the Spanish Pyrenees since 1981. The Cryosphere 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-681-2016
Milivojević, M., Menković, L., Ćalić, J. 2008: Pleistocene glacial relief of the central part of Mt. Prokletije (Albanian Alps). Quaternary International 190-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2008.04.006
Mirković, M. 1983: Geološki sastav i tektonski sklop Durmitora, Pivske planine i Volujka. Geološki glasnik 5.
Nicod, J. 1968: Premières recherches de morphologie karstique dans le massif du Durmitor. First studies of karst morphology in the massif of Durmitor. Meditérrannée 9-3.
Pavšek, M. 2007: Ledenik pod Skuto kod pokazatelj podnebnih sprememb v slovenskem delu Alp. Dela 28.
Pecci, M., D’Agata, C., Smiraglia, C. 2008: Ghiacciaio del Calderone (Apennines, Italy): the mass balance of a shrinking glacier. Geografia Fisica e Dinamica Quaternaria 31.
Popov, V. 1964: Nabljudenia varhu snezhnika v tsirkisa Golemia Kazan – Pirin planina. Izvestia na Geografskia institut 8.
Roth von Telegd L. 1923: Das albanisch-montenegrinische Grenzgebiet bei Plav (Mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Glazialspuren). Beiträge zur Geologie von Albanien, Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie 1. Stuttgart.
Santin, I., Colucci, R. R., Žebre, M., Pavan, M., Cagnati, A., Forte, E. 2019: Recent evolution of Marmolada glacier (Dolomites, Italy) by means of ground and airborne GPR surveys. Remote Sensing of Environment 235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.111442
Serrano, E., González Trueba, J., Sanjosé, J., Del Río, L. 2011: Ice patch origin, evolution and dynamics in a temperate high mountain environment: The Jou Negro, Picos de Europa (NW Spain). Geografiska Annaler Series A Physical Geography 93-2. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00006.x.
Wilkinson, R. 2011: A multi-proxy study of late holocene environmental change in the Prokletije Mountains, Montenegro and Albania. Ph.D thesis, University of Manchester. Manchester.
Zemp, M., Paul, F., Hoelzle, M., Haeberli, W. 2008: Glacier fluctuation in the European Alps, 1850–2000: an overview and a spatio-temporal analysis of available data. Darkening Peaks: Glacier Retreat, Science, and Society. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-9024
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
