Vladimir Mikhalenko

• Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences

Atmospheric ammonia (NH3) is a key transboundary air pollutant that contributes to the impacts of nitrogen and acidity on terrestrial ecosystems. Ammonia also contributes to the atmospheric aerosol that affects air quality. Emission inventories indicate that NH3 was predominantly emitted by agriculture over the 19th and 20th centuries but, up to no...

The isotopic signature (δ18О, δ2Н, d-excess) of the ice of the Ushkovsky volcano in Kamchatka were studied. A new shallow ice core was obtained in 2022 in the Gorshkov crater. The 14 m long ice core was dated by counting annual layers, which were also compared with known eruptions in recent years. The upper 14 m of the glacier were formed over the...

Определены изотопные характеристики ледникового льда, полученного в ходе бурения в кратере вулкана Ушковский в 2022 г. Керн длиной 14 м датирован путём подсчёта годовых слоёв по положительным пикам значений δ 18 О и пепловым горизонтам. Полученные значения δ 18 О годовых слоёв не отражают связи с температурами воздуха, однако по величине дейтериево...

Identification of tephra and its allocation (association) with known eruptive events allows obtainng chronostratigraphic markers, on the basis of which an age scale for dating glacial strata can be developed. To determine the sources of ash in the ice core obtained in 2022 during drilling of glacier in the crater of the Ushkovsky volcano in Kamchat...

To investigate the historical levels of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) pollution in south-eastern Europe, a 182 m long ice core was extracted from Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus, Russia. This ice core contains a record of ammonium (NH4+) levels from ~1750 CE (Common Era) to 2009 CE. The NH4+ ice core record indicates a 3.5-fold increase of annual concentr...

Grigoriev ice cap, located in the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, has a rich history of firn and ice core drilling starting as early as 1962. Here we extend the exceptional record and describe an 18 m firn core, drilled in February 2018 on the summit of Grigoriev ice cap, at 4600 m a.s.l. The core has been analyzed for firn stratigraphy, major i...

As glacier degradation is intensifying worldwide, understanding how and when glacial runoff is important becomes imperative for economic planning and societal adaptation in response to climate change. This research highlights a probable emergence of new low-flow periods, ranging from one to several weeks, with an anticipated 50-90% reduction in run...

To reconstruct the history of organic carbon (OC) aerosol over south‐eastern Europe, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and its ¹⁴C signature (DO¹⁴C) were investigated along an ice core drilled at the Mount Elbrus (ELB) in Caucasus. In summer, compared to pre‐1945 levels, the DOC concentrations increased by 45% after 1960, the mean DO¹⁴C depletion in r...

In this study, we present a seasonally resolved accumulation record spanning from 1750 to 2009 Common Era (CE), based on a 181.8 m ice core obtained from the Elbrus Western Plateau in the Caucasus. We implemented various methods to account for uncertainties associated with glacier flow, layer thinning, and dating. Additionally, we applied a novel a...

Grigoriev Ice Cap, located in the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, has a rich history of firn and ice core drilling starting as early as 1962. Until now, the time series ended with a core drilled in 2007. Here we extend the exceptional record and describe an 18 m firn core, drilled in February 2018 on the summit of Grigoriev Ice Cap, at 4600 m a....

Received July 28, 2023; revised September 2, 2023; accepted October 2, 2023A study of the isotope signature of glacial ice in the Western Elbrus Plateau (the Caucasus) was made on the basis of five ice cores obtained in different years with high resolution. It was shown that the isotopic characteristics of ice are associated with the processes of a...

In this study, we present a seasonal-resolution accumulation record spanning the period from 1750 to 2009 Common Era (CE), based on a 181.8-m ice core obtained from the Elbrus Western Plateau in the Caucasus. We implemented various methods to account for uncertainties associated with glacier flow, layer thinning, and dating. Additionally, we develo...

As glacier degradation is intensifying worldwide, understanding how and when glacial runoff is important becomes imperative for economic planning and societal adaptation in response to climate change. This research highlights a probable emergence of new low-flow periods, ranging from one to several weeks, with an anticipated 50-90% reduction in run...

The aim of the work was to study the isotopic characteristics of precipitation to establish the dependence of δ18O values on temperature at the time of precipitation and to get closer to understanding the processes that form the isotopic signature of the Elbrus snow cover and glacial ice. The sampling of precipitation was organized at Azau station,...

The data set presented represents 15 years of collection. It contains tree-ring width measurements from 64 sites of living trees and ten historical chronologies based on archaeological and construction wood up to year 572 CE, altogether 2909 tree-ring series and more than 450000 measured and cross-dated tree rings. It covers the vast territory of E...

An overview of modern studies on ice cores from nonpolar regions of the Earth is presented. As an example of complex research on the territory of Russia, a description of the main results of the study of ice cores from Elbrus is given. The seasonally resolved data on the chemical and isotopic composition of the Elbrus core cover 1774–2009 reconstru...

В условиях глобальных изменений климата и растущей антропогенной нагрузки на природную среду региональный мониторинг атмосферы приобрёл особую актуальность. В ряду источников информации о современном состоянии атмосферы ледники занимают особое место, поскольку имеют высокое временное разрешение получаемых данных и содержат комплексные сведения об а...

A nonparametric clustering method, the Bagging Voronoi K-Medoid Alignment algorithm, which simultaneously clusters and aligns spatially/temporally dependent curves, is applied to study various data series from the Elbrus region (Central Caucasus). We used the algorithm to cluster annual curves obtained by smoothing of the following synchronous data...

Glacier variations over the past centuries are still poorly documented on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus. In this paper, the change of Chalaati Glacier in the Georgian Caucasus from its maximum extent during the Little Ice Age has been studied. For the first time in the history of glaciological studies of the Georgian Caucasus, 10Be in...

Summary Glacier variations over the past centuries are still poorly documented on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus. In this paper, the change of Chalaati Glacier in the Georgian Caucasus from its maximum extent during the Little Ice Age has been studied. For the first time in the history of glaciological studies of the Geor- gian Caucas...

The Great Acceleration of the anthropogenic impact on the Earth system is marked by the ubiquitous distribution of anthropogenic materials throughout the global environment, including technofossils, radionuclides and the exponential increases of methane and carbon dioxide concentrations. However, personal care products as direct tracers of human do...

The results of meteorological observations, carried out in the framework of the international project Ice Memory on the Western plateau of the Elbrus Mountain during the Second drilling expedition (24.06–17.07.2018), are analyzed. The analysis of the field data made together with the assessment of the large-scale meteorological fields from the NCEP...

The response of very-high-elevation glaciated areas on Mont Blanc to climate change has been analysed using observations and numerical modelling over the last 2 decades. Unlike the changes at low elevations, we observe very low glacier thickness changes, of about -2.6 m on average since 1993. The slight changes in horizontal ice flow velocities and...

The glaciers near Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia, the highest peak between the Himalayas and the Andes, are the last remaining tropical glaciers in the West Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP). Here, we report the recent, rapid retreat of the glaciers near Puncak Jaya by quantifying the loss of ice coverage and reduction of ice thickness over the last 8 y. P...

This study reports on the glaciochemistry of a deep ice core (182 m long) drilled in 2009 at Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus, Russia. Radiocarbon dating of the particulate organic carbon fraction in the ice suggests that the basal ice dates to 280±400 CE (Common Era). Based on chemical stratigraphy, the upper 168.6 m of the core was dated by counting...

Ice cores are one of the most valuable paleo-archives. Records from ice cores provide information not only about the amount of dust in the atmosphere, but also about dust sources and their changes in the past. In 2009, a 182 m long ice core was recovered from the western plateau of Mt Elbrus (5115 m a.s.l.). This record was further extended after a...

The isotopic composition of oxygen of the snow-and-firn and snow thickness on the Eastern peak of Elbrus had been studied. In 2006–2008, a number of snow samples were taken in the near-peak area of Elbrus to analyze the isotopic composition of them. The drilling was performed at the crater of the Eastern peak in 2006 (64 samples) while in 2017 the...

The response of very high elevation glaciated areas on Mont Blanc to climate change has been analyzed using observations and numerical modeling. Unlike the changes at low elevations, we observe very low glacier thickness changes, of about −2.6 m on the average since 1993. The slight changes in horizontal ice flow velocities and submergence velociti...

This study reports on the glaciochemistry of a deep ice core (182 m long) drilled in 2009 at Mount Elbrus (43°21′ N, 42°26′ E; 5115 m above sea level) in the Caucasus, Russia. Radiocarbon dating of the particulate organic carbon fraction in the ice suggests a basal ice age of ~ 1670 ± 400 cal yr BP. Based on chemical stratigraphy, the upper 168.6 m...

Ice cores are one of the most valuable paleo-archives. Records from the ice cores can provide information not only about the amount of dust in the atmosphere but also about dust sources and its changes in the past. A 182 m long ice core has been recovered at the western plateau of Mt. Elbrus (5115 m elevation) in 2009. This record was extended with...

The continuing global warming causes a significant reduction and vanishing of glaciers in the tropics. The glaciers in Africa, New Guinea, and Venezuela can completely melt during next decade under current trend in climate change.

Two liverwort and two moss species were recorded from the outer side on the Eastern crater rim of Mt. Elbrus at 5590 m, on bare spot free of snow and ice about 10 × 20 m heated by geothermal activity. They are Marsupella boeckii, which is recorded for the first time for Caucasus, M. cf. funckii recorded for the first time for Kabardino-Balkarian Re...

В результате исследований последних лет было построено 59 хронологий ширины годич- ных колец сосны, ели и дуба для территории ЕТР продолжительностью 120–250 лет, что значительно превышает длину инструментальных наблюдений. Используя древесину из археологических раскопок и старых строений, с помощью перекрестного датирования были получены хронологии...

In 2015-2016 during the research expeditions of Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences the study of stable water isotopes (¹⁸O and D) was conducted on glaciers of Novaya Zemlya. As a result, first data on isotopic composition of seasonal snow cover and glacial ice of different ages were obtained and its connection to recent climate ch...

Data collected between 1974 and 2016 from snow pits and core samples from two Peruvian ice fields demonstrate the effect of the recent warming over the tropical Andes, augmented by El Niño, on the preservation of the climate record. As the 0oC isotherm is approaching the summit of the Quelccaya ice cap in the Andes of southern Peru (5670 masl), the...

Reproducible climate reconstructions of the Common Era (1 CE to present) are key to placing industrial-era warming into the context of natural climatic variability. Here we present a community-sourced database of temperature-sensitive proxy records from the PAGES2k initiative. The database gathers 692 records from 648 locations, including all conti...

A 181.8 m ice core was recovered from a borehole drilled into bedrock on the western plateau of Mt El'brus (43∘20′53.9′′ N, 42∘25′36.0′′ E; 5115 m a.s.l.) in the Caucasus, Russia, in 2009 (Mikhalenko et al., 2015). Here, we report on the results of the water stable isotope composition from this ice core with additional data from the shallow cores....

Black carbon (BC), emitted by fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning, is the second largest man-made contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide (Bond et al., 2013). However, limited information exists on its past emissions and atmospheric variability. In this study, we present the first high-resolution record of refractory BC (rBC, incl...

First-ever ice core drilling at Mt. Kazbek (Caucasus Mountains) took place in the summer of 2014. A shallow ice core (18 m) was extracted from a plateau at 4500 m a.s.l. in the vicinity of the Mt. Kazbek summit (5033 m a.s.l.). A detailed radar survey showed that the maximum ice thickness at this location is 250 m. Borehole temperature of -7 C was...

In 2011 four ice cores were extracted from the summit of Alto dell'Ortles (3859 m), the highest glacier of South Tyrol in the Italian Alps. This drilling site is located only 37 km southwest from where the Tyrolean Iceman, ∼ 5.3 kyrs old, was discovered emerging from the ablating ice field of Tisenjoch (3210 m, near the Italian–Austrian border) in...

Black carbon (BC), emitted by fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning, is the second largest man-made contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide (Bond et al., 2013). However, limited information exists on its past emissions and atmospheric variability. In this study, we present the first high-resolution record of refractory BC (rBC, incl...

In 2011 four ice cores were extracted from the summit of Alto dell'Ortles (3859 m), the highest glacier of South Tyrol in the Italian Alps. This drilling site is located only 37 km southwest from where the ~5.2 kyrs old Tyrolean Iceman was discovered emerging from the ablating ice field of Tisenjoch (3210 m, near the Italian-Austrian border) in 199...

A 181.2 m ice core was recovered from a borehole drilled into bedrock on the western plateau of Mt. Elbrus (43°20’53.9’’ N, 42°25’36.0’’ E; 5115 m a.s.l.) in the Caucasus, Russia, in 2009 (Mikhalenko et al., 2015). Here, we report on the results of the water stable isotope composition from this ice core in comparison with results from shallow ice c...

The temperature and radiation regimes of the Elbrus mountain area were reconstructed for summer seasons of 1948–2013 using observational data obtained by expeditions of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Geography of the Lomonosov Moscow State University together with NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. This made pos...

The temperature and radiation regimes of the Elbrus mountain area were reconstructed for summer seasons of 1948–2013 using observational data obtained by expeditions of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Geography of the Lomonosov Moscow State University together with NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. This made pos...

A 182 m ice core was recovered from a borehole drilled into bedrock on the western plateau of Mt. Elbrus (43°20´53.9'' N, 42°25´36.0'' E; 5115 m a.s.l.) in the Caucasus, Russia, in 2009. This is the first ice core in the region that represents a paleoclimate record that is practically undisturbed by seasonal melting. Relatively high snow accumulati...

Geography. Environment. Sustainability, 02 (8), 2015, 4-12

The results of the isotopic investigations of several ice cores obtained at the Western Plateau of Mt. Elbrus (the Caucasus) are presented. There is a distinct seasonal cycle in the isotopic composition record in these cores. Mean annual and seasonal values of the isotopic composition and accumulation rate were reconstructed for 89 years (1924–2012...

A 182 m ice core has been recovered from a borehole drilled through the glacier to the bedrock at the Western Plateau of Mt Elbrus (43°20′53.9″ N, 42°25′36.0″ E; 5115 m a.s.l.), the Caucasus, Russia, in 2009. This is the first ice core in the region which represents a paleoclimate record practically undisturbed by seasonal melting. Relatively high...

The paper presents preliminary results and interpretation from an ongoing research project in the Novy Afon and Abrskil caves of Abkhazia. The research have demonstrated that δ18O and δD analyses of drip and ground waters in two caves in the South-Western Caucasian region allows to better understand interaction between isotopic composition of preci...

We present and discuss the chronology of dust deposition events documented by the shallow firn and ice cores extracted on the Western Plateau, Mt. Elbrus (5150 m a.s.l.) in 2009, 2012 and 2013. Snow and ice samples were analysed for major ions and minor element concentrations including heavy metals. Dust layers are formed on the surface of the glac...

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013AGUFMGC13A1045G

The first record of dust deposition events on Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Mountains derived from a snow pit and a shallow firn core is presented for the 2009-2012 period. A combination of isotopic analysis, SEVIRI red-green-blue composite imagery, MODIS atmospheric optical depth fields derived using the Deep Blue algorithm, air mass trajectories derived u...

Ice cores from low latitudes can provide a wealth of unique information about past climate in the tropics, but they are difficult to recover and few exist. Here, we report annually resolved ice core records from the Quelccaya ice cap (5670 meters above sea level) in Peru that extend back ~1800 years and provide a high-resolution record of climate v...

Dust aerosol transported to the high mountains and is deposited and stored in snow pack and glacier ice. Present and past records of dust stored in glaciers provide valuable information on frequency of deposition events, source regions and atmospheric pathways of mineral dust. The Caucasus Mountains, located between the Black and the Caspian seas i...

A record of dust deposition events between 2009 and 2012 on Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Mountains derived from a snow pit and a shallow ice core is presented for the first time for this region. A combination of isotopic analysis, SEVIRI red-green-blue composite imagery, MODIS atmospheric optical depth fields derived using the Deep Blue algorithm, air mass...

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AGUFMPP21B2002G

During autumn 2011 we extracted the first ice cores drilled to bedrock in the eastern European Alps from a new drilling site on the glacier Alto clell'Ortles (3859 m, South Tyrol, Italy). Direct ice core observations and englacial temperature measurements provide evidence of the concomitant presence of shallow temperate firn and deep cold ice layer...

Glaciological and geophysical studies have been accomplished at the western Elbrus ice-firn plateau in 2005 and 2007. As a result, detailed maps of the ice thickness and bedrock were obtained using radio-echo sounding at the plateau. The radar data set was acquired using low- frequency monopulse ice-penetrating radars VIRL-2, and VIRL-6 in 2005 and...

Two ice cores (118.4 and 214.7 m in length) were collected in 2000 from the Puruogangri ice cap in the center of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) in a joint US–Chinese collaborative project. These cores yield paleoclimatic and environmental records extending through the Middle Holocene, and complement previous ice-core histories from the Dunde and Guliya i...

We use a two-dimensional flowline model to study the flow of the Gregoriev ice cap, Tien Shan, central Asia. The model takes into account the transverse change of glacier width, data on the measured thickness of the glacier, the surface velocity at the glacier front, and mass-balance measurements in 1987 and 1988. The calculated ice velocity varies...

A total of 11 ice cores to a maximum depth of 460 m have been obtained over the past 3 years from high-altitude glaciers on the saddle of Mount Bona and Mount Churchill in Alaska (designated B-C), and on Quelccaya ice cap and Nevado Coropuna in Peru. Ice coring was conducted using an intermediate-depth drilling system. The system includes an electr...

From 1990 to 2003 five shallow ice cores were recovered from the summit of the Gregoriev Ice Cap (41.98° N; 77.916° E; 4609 m asl) in the Tien Shan, Central Asia. The 1990 ice core was analyzed for stable isotopes, microparticle concentrations, major ions and total Beta-activity. The 2001 and 2003 cores were analyzed for stable isotopes and concent...

We develope two-dimensional flowline model to study an ice flow of the Gregoriev Ice Cap (Tien-Shan, Central Asia). The model, which takes into account the transverse change of glacier width, is tuned by data on measured surface velocity at the glacier front and the mass balance measurements in 1987 and 1988. The ice flow velocity varies from 0 to...

Ice-core records from tropical and mid-latitude glaciers are presented from the point of recent warming. Glacier wastage has been pervasive during the last century: small glaciers in tropics are disappearing, net mass balance during the past 40 years are mainly negative. Considerable enrichment of isotopic composition has been market in the upper h...

Six ice cores from Kilimanjaro provide an ∼11.7-thousand-year record of Holocene climate and environmental variability for eastern equatorial Africa, including three periods of abrupt climate change: ∼8.3, ∼5.2, and ∼4 thousand years ago (ka). The latter is coincident with the “First Dark Age,” the period of the greatest historically recorded droug...

Ice cores that were recovered from the summit of Sajama mountain in Bolivia provide carbon-14–dated tropical records and extend to the Late Glacial Stage (LGS). Oxygen isotopic ratios of the ice decreased 5.4 per mil between the early Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum, which is consistent with values from other ice cores. The abrupt onset and t...

Antifreeze thermal electric drills have a long history of ice drilling in temperate, subpolar and polar glaciers. Shallow, intermediate and deep ice cores have been obtained in Arctic, Antarctic and on high elevation glaciers. Many merits and drawbacks of antifreeze thermal technology have been discovered over the past 25 years. A modified version...

Glaciers of both the Arctic and mid-latitude mountain systems within Eurasia have retreated intensively during the past century. Measured and reconstructed glacier mass balances show that glacier retreat began around the 1880s. The mean annual mass-balance value for 1880–1990 was −480 mm a−1 for glaciers with maritime climatic conditions, and −140...

Glaciers of both the Arctic and mid-latitude mountain systems within Eurasia have retreated intensively during the past century. Measured and reconstructed glacier mass balances show that glacier retreat began around the 1880s. The mean annual mass-balance value for 1880-1990 was -480mm a-1 for glaciers with maritime climatic conditions, and -140 m...

The spatial extrapolation of data from ice cores depends on the complexity of the glacier system where the drilling site is located. The correlation between net mass balance, bn , of a specific point and of the whole glacier is different for each point. Analysis of net mass balance of Tuyuksu glacier in the Tien Shan, central Asia, confirms that th...

Presents the record from 1950 to 1993 preserved in microparticle and nitrate concentrations and oxygen-isotopic ratios. Annual temperatures from local high-altitude meteorological stations, along with the annual Huascaran isotopic record, show a warming trend over the last two decades. This paper demonstrates the establishment of a time-scale for t...

Over the period of more than 30 years the mass balance observations have been carried on the several representative glaciers of the Tien Shan. But these data are not sufficient to explain the asynchronous degradation of the glaciation in different parts of the mountains. Special field observations were undertaken to study asynchronous changes in ma...

The total area of glacierization of the Tien Shan in the boundary area of the USSR is about 8000 km2. The computation of mass balance was determined for this area in 12 river basins. In computation procedure, the vertical profile of snow accumulation in these regions and exponential dependence of variation of ablation with altitude are used. Thus t...

Simultaneous monitoring of mass balance fluctuations of and runoff from Tien Shan glaciers - Volume 16 - M.B. Dyurgerov, V.N. Mikhalenko, M.G. Kunakhovitch, S.N. Ushnurtsev, Liu Chaohai, Xie Zichu, Zhang Wanchang, Wang Chunzi

The total area of glacierization of the Tien Shan in the boundary area of the USSR is about 8000 km ² . The computation of mass balance was determined for this area in 12 river basins. In computation procedure, the vertical profile of snow accumulation in these regions and exponential dependence of variation of ablation with altitude are used. Thus...