ИСТИНА

Almost all glaciers in the mountainous areas of the world have receded over the past few decades. The process of glacier retreat leads to the landscape change in the glacier zone and to the increased risks of hazards and natural disasters associated with the melting of glaciers. All these processes have social and economic consequences requiring close attention. We present a review of the results of estimates of changes in glaciers of Caucasus over the 20th and 21st centuries. The sources for the estimates include satellite imagery, topographic maps, field research results, as well as the available scientific publications. The area of the glaciers in the Caucasus decreased in the second half of the 20th century by an amount of 18% to 28%. The first decade of the 21st century is characterized by an intensification of the reduction in the area of glaciers. Over that time the glaciers of the Central Caucasus decreased by 5.0 ± 2.4%. The results of the analysis demonstrate that the changes in the main climatic factors, i.e. air temperature and precipitation, determine the general trend in glacier changes. The summer temperatures in the Caucasus have increased by 1.5ºC / 67 years. From other hand there is an increase in precipitation, which can partly compensate for the influence of the summer warming. The magnitude and the rate of contraction of a particular glacier depend on a number of factors: the size of the glacier, its morphology, the exposure, presence of a moraine cover and glacier feeding conditions.