During a joint expedition the glaciologists from Tomsk State University and the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences installed an automated weather station (AWS) on the surface of the Aktru glacier near the highest point of the North-Chuysky range - Aktru-Bash Mountain. This station contains modern high-precision sensors, including a sensor that records incoming and reflected solar radiation, as well as thermal radiation from the atmosphere and ice surface. The data obtained using the AWS will help identify the physical mechanisms of glacier degradation in Altai. The study is conducted with the support of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation and the Priority 2030 federal program.
- The sun is a key source of energy for the formation of glacier mass balance. Cloud cover, smoke, dust, aerosols, and other factors can alter the amount of this energy. The composition of the atmosphere, the amount of cloud cover, and its moisture content also determine the thermal radiation of the atmosphere. In order to give a physical explanation for the behavior of mountain glaciation, we need to understand how the characteristics of the radiation balance are changing against the background of modern climate change, explains Alexander Erofeev, head of the Glacioclimatology Laboratory at the Faculty of Geology and Geography of TSU. Equipment manufactured for us by our colleagues at the Institute of Geography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences will help us obtain the necessary data.
Photo by Alexander Erofeev
According to scientists, active glacier melting may occur not only due to a general increase in surface air temperature, but also due to changes in the components of the surface radiation balance and precipitation patterns.
- One of the latest reports from the World Meteorological Organization states that the situation varies greatly from region to region. At the same time, climatic features are also different: in some places, it may be temperature forcing, in others, increased cloud cover and precipitation, and in some places - droughts, notes Alexander Erofeev. The new device allows us considering the details of what is happening in such an important place as the Altai highlands and formulating the most scientifically proven hypothesis of active glacier melting.
We should add that, despite the difficulties, scientists managed to place the equipment in an optimal location. First, the AWS was installed directly above the surface of the glacier on a large rock. A special mast was designed and manufactured for this purpose at the Institute for Monitoring Climate and Environmental Systems. Second, the meteorological complex was placed at a high altitude-3,600 meters above sea level. This ensures the maximum openness of the horizon, meaning that the surrounding mountains do not cast shadows on the device and have virtually no effect on solar radiation parameters.
Image obtained using Google Earth
Scientists from the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who worked with glaciologists from TSU during the May expedition, consulted their colleagues on the ways to calculate the optimal location for installing the device.
- Data from AWS will be used not only in research conducted by the university glaciologists, but also as part of the task for developing parameterization of mountain glaciation and snow cover on Earth, which will eventually be implemented in the domestic Earth System Model of the Russian Academy of Sciences - Moscow State University. This model will significantly improve the accuracy of river flow and global sea level change simulations, as well as the regional climate response caused by mountain glaciers, says Pavel Toropov, head of the Glaciology Department at the Institute of Geography, meteorologist and glacioclimatologist.
It should be added that glacier melting is one of the most sensitive indicators of global environmental transformation. Glaciologists at TSU are monitoring several large sites in the Altai Mountains: the Left Aktru, Vodopadny, and Maly Aktru glaciers. Scientists use not only a large range of tools, but also unmanned aerial vehicles to obtain information on the nature and dynamics of changes. Based on aerial photography, they use special software to construct detailed maps and 3D models of retreating glacier tongues.
In 2025, scientists from TSU and the Institute of Geography assessed changes in the mass balance of the Aktru glaciers, which have the longest series of mass balance observations in North Asia. The monitoring results showed that in 2024, the surface of the Left Aktru glacier, with an area of 5.2 km, decreased by an average of 1,024 millimeters in water equivalent, which is 1.15 m of ice. If the trend continues, it will cause the imbalance in high-altitude ecosystems.
Glacier melting is one of the key research areas of the TSU strategic project "Global Changes on Earth: Climate, Ecology, Quality of Life," which Tomsk State University is implementing with the support of the Priority 2030 program. Technical cooperation with the Institute for Monitoring Climate and Environmental Systems SB RAS is supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant (No. 25-27-00409).
