Modern and Old Glaciers of Georgia

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IVANE JAVAKHISHVILI TBILISI STATE UNIVERSITY
VAKHUSHTI BAGRATIONI INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY
M O D E R N A N D
O L D G L A C I E R S
O F G E O R G I A
Tbilisi 2016

UDC (უაკ) 551.32(479.22)
T-54
Levan Tielidze. "Modern and old Glaciers of Georgia". Tbilisi 2016. 216
pages.
The ''Modern and old Glaciers of Georgia'' is the first monograph in English
language. The monograph is based on the author's several-year theoretical and field-
desk research results, which were obtained during the study of modern and old
glaciations of the Georgian Caucasus. As a result of these surveys the latest
materials on the modern glaciers morphology, morphometry and dynamics are
obtained.
The monograph also examines the variability of the valley glaciers after the Little
Ice Age maximum; glaciers dynamics during the historical period has been
identified. The reconstruction of glaciation in Late Pleistocene and Holocene has
been conducted based on detailed glacial-geomorphological observations.
The monograph in English language is prepared by a financial support of
Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation. "Glaciological Catalog of Georgia"
(№AR/151/9-102/13) is a winning project of the Call of National Science Grants in
Applied Research of the years of 2014-2016.
Any opinion expressed in this monograph belongs to the author and it may not
reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Editor: Doctor of Geographical Sciences, Professor.
Reviewer: Nino Lomidze, PhD student.
Translation and literary editor: Nino Chikhradze, PhD Alumni.
© Levan Tielidze, 2016.
Publishing House "Samshoblo"
ISBN 978-9941-0-8531-4
Ramin Gobejishvili

3
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
The historical overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
PART 1
MODERN GLACIERS OF GEORGIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Chapter 1
Main factors of the glaciers formation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
1.1
Orography and relief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
1.2
Climatic conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
Chapter 2
General description of the modern glaciers. . . . . . . . . . . .
25
2.1
Glaciers of the Bzipi River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
2.2
Glaciers of the Kelasuri River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
2.3
Glaciers of the Kodori River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
2.4
Glaciers of the Enguri River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42
2.5
Glaciers of the Khobistskali River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70
2.6
Glaciers of the Rioni River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
2.7
Glaciers of the Liakhvi River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
91
2.8
Glaciers of the Aragvi River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
93
2.9
Glaciers of the Tergi River basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
94
2.10
Glaciers of the Asa River basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
108
2.11
Glaciers of the Arghuni River basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
109
2.12
Glaciers of the Pirikita Alazani River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
110
Chapter 3
The morphological types, exposition, snow and firn line
location of the glaciers of Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
112
3.1
Morphological types of the glaciers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
112
3.2
Exposition of the glaciers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
115
3.3
Location of snow and firn lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
117
Chapter 4
Dynamics of the glaciers of Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
122

4
4.1
Dynamics of the glaciers in 1890-1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
122
4.2
Dynamics of the glaciers in 1946-1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
127
4.3
Dynamics of the glaciers in 1960-1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
130
4.4
Dynamics of the glaciers in 1960-2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
137
4.5
Valley glaciers reduction after the Little Ice Age maximum .
145
4.6
Studying the dynamics of the glaciers by the micro-stade
moraines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
154
PART 2
EVOLUTION OF GLACIATIONS IN THE LATE
PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
159
Chapter 1
Evolution of the glaciers in Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
160
1.1
Western Caucasus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
170
1.2
Central Caucasus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
177
1.3
Eastern Caucasus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
195
1.4
Southern Georgia’s highland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
202
1.5
Holocene glaciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
203
References
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
211

5
The monograph is dedicated to the memory of
Dr. Ramin G. Gobejishvili (1941-2014) –
a famous Georgian geographer, glaciologist.
Preface
The monograph is based on the last several year research results, which were
obtained during the study of modern and old glaciations of the Georgian Caucasus.
As a result of these surveys the latest materials on the modern glaciers morphology,
morphometry and dynamics have been obtained, as well as on structure of moraines
and the river terraces, geodynamics of the relief, snow and firn lines location.
At various times, we conducted field surveys in almost every glacier basins in the
southern and northern slopes of the Georgian Caucasus. Apart from the field
researches, we used the remote sensing method. After processing the latest aerial
images (Landsat L5, L8 OLI, ASTER) by modern computer programs (ArcGIS,
ENVI, PCI Geomatica, Google Earth), we got the quite accurate information about
the glaciers difficult to access. This mainly refers to the glaciers that are located in
the temporarily occupied Abkhazeti and Tskhinvali region, where it is so far
impossible for us to conduct field research. During our research we also used the
traditional methods: glacio-geomorphological, cartographical, aerial image proces-
sing and petrographic.
The monograph includes a number of new statements and conclusions; among
them the following are essential:
1. Principally new numerical and qualitative characteristics of present glaciers
and their dynamics have been derived and full databases of Georgia’s modern
glaciation have been composed;
2. Valley glaciers fluctuation synchronicity has been revealed after the Little Ice
Age (LIA) maximum;
3. Reconstruction of the late Pleistocene (Wurmian) and Holocene glaciations
has been investigated. The maps of the distribution of the Late Pleistocene glaciation
of the Georgian Caucasus have been compiled.
The main theoretical statements and conclusions have been developed in the
Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography in Georgia. In 2014-2015 certain part
of the research has been performed in the United States of America, in the
Glaciology and Remote Sensing Laboratory of the Climate Change Institute of the
University of Maine, also, in 2015-2016 – in Canada, at the University of Northern
British Columbia.

6
Data obtained on present state and dynamics of the glaciers of Georgia can be
used for water supply and development of hydropower in the settlements of
mountainous areas. Quantitative data obtained on the present state of the nival-
glacial system is necessary for the design and construction of the tourist-recreational
objects in the high mountain zone, as well as for the development of tourism and
alpinism.
We hope that this monograph will be of great assistance for the general public
who is interested in any information about glaciers of Georgia.
Special thanks from the author to Ms. Nino Chikhradze for cooperation during
the preparation of the Book.
Author will accept all the topic-related comments with gratitude.
Levan Tielidze

7
The historical overview
Research of glaciers has a long history in the Caucasus. Great Georgian scientist
Vakhushti Bagrationi gives the first scientific information on the glaciers of Georgia
in the beginning of the 18th century ["There are big mountains, which have the
Caucasus to the North from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, the height of which is
of one day walking and the highest of it is permanently frosty, the length of the ice is
of k-l arm, and in summer it breaks and, if a man stays there, he cannot endure the
cold even for a short time; and the rivers flow under it, and the ice is green and red,
as a rock due to its age"] (Vakhushti, 1941).
After almost hundred years the foreign scientists began to describe the glaciers of
Georgia. Information about the glaciers of Georgia can be found in the works of G.
Abikh (1865), D. Freshfield (1869), G. Radde (1873), N. Dinik (1890), I.
Rashevskiy (1904), etc.
One of the first foreign travelers, who visited the Caucasus in the 19th century,
was Douglas Freshfield (1869). He wrote in the account of a visit in 1868 that the
Caucasus was known less than the Andes and Himalaya. Merzhbacher (1901, cited
Horvath 1975) found evidence of glacier advances in recent centuries in a valley of
the central Caucasus. Ruined buildings lay close to glacier tongue and local legends
and songs told of a glacier near Ushguli (the mountain village in Georgia), probably
the Khalde glacier, then six miles away from the village, having advanced and
destroyed all of it but for the church. The people still held an annual festival in
thanksgiving (Grove 1988), etc. All this information greatly assisted us in
determining the dynamics of the individual glaciers.
In the years of 1880-1910 the topographical surveying of the Greater Caucasus
was carried out. On the basis of the created maps K. I. Podozerskiy (1911) compiled
the first detailed catalog of the glaciers, which still has not lost its importance, but it
must be mentioned, that the errors were made during its compilation. A. L.
Reinhardt (1916, 1917) noted these errors further, who compiled the new catalogue
for many glacial basins of the investigated region and defined the location of the
snow line. The research conducted by A. Reinhardt is of high quality and more
reliable by its scientific value in comparison with its previous researchers.
Interesting researches were conducted by V. Rutkovskaya (1936) in connection
with the 2nd International Polar Year. In 1932-1933 the glaciation of the Enguri
River was studied and the dynamics (in the one-year period) of the individual
glaciers were identified.
In 1959 P. A. Ivankov gave us the total number and area of glaciers of the study
area based on the new topographic maps and the aeroimages of 1946. In the same

8
year P. Kovalev (1961) described the glaciers in details and carried out their
labeling.
Much work has been conducted by D. Tsereteli for the study of the glaciers of
Georgia, who in 1937 together with Al. Aslanikashvili surveyed several glaciers and
in 1963 gave us the dynamics of the glaciers during the period of 1937-1960.
Particularly should be mentioned the great and versatile work, which was done
by the Glaciological Laboratory of Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of Geography, the
multiannual work of which is summarized in the 1975 year’s edition of the Catalog
of Glaciers, as well as by the Hydrographical Division of the Hydro-Meteorological
Institute, which published the work about the Glaciers of the Greater Caucasus
(Editors: V. Tsomaia and E. Drobishev, 1970).
It should be also noted the many years research of various glaciers in the major
river basins by R. Gobejishvili. It can be considered his honor that after the 1990s
the glaciological studies have not been stopped in Georgia.
L. Maruashvili, D. Ukleba. T. Kikalishvili, G. Kurdghelaidze, D. Tabidze, R.
Khazaradze, O. Nikolaishvili, V. Tsomaia, O. Drobishev, R. Shengelia, R.
Gobejishvili, K. Mgeladze, T. Lashkhi, Sh. Inashvili, N. Golodovskaia, L.
Serebruanny, A. Orlov, O. Nadirashvili, N. Zakarashvili, A. Rekhviashvili, O.
Samadbegishvili and others studied the glaciers of Georgia according to the river
basins.
Glacial-geomorphological works were being carried out from 1968 (R.
Gobejishvili). The largest glaciers of the different river basins were surveyed by the
photo-theodolite method, such as: Zopkhito-Laboda, Kirtisho, Brili, Chasakhtomi,
Edena, Khvargula, Boko, Buba, Tbilisa, Adishi, Chalaati, Dolra, Kvishi, Ladevali,
Shkhara, Namkvani, Koruldashi, Marukhi, Klichi and the cirque type glaciers of the
Klichi basin.
Finally, we would like to say, that since 30s of the 20th century until now the
observation on the Western, Central and Eastern Caucasus glaciers in Georgia has a
nearly continuous nature. Glaciology group of the Vakhushti Bagrationi Institute of
Geography is still conducting the constant monitoring of the glaciers of Svaneti,
Abkhazeti, Racha and Kazbegi Caucasus.

9
Introduction
The glaciers are indivisible part of the environment and are a good indicator of
the past and current climate change (Tielidze et al., 2015a). Alpine glaciers are an
important component of the global hydrologic cycle. Glaciers can help to regulate
stream flows in regions where water is stored during cold wet times of the year and
later released as melt water runoff during warm dry conditions (Beniston, 2003; Earl
and Gardner, 2016). The most serious impact of vanishing mountain glaciers
undoubtedly concerns the water cycle from regional to global scales. Glacier melting
will probably dominate sea level rise during our century (Meier et al., 2007).
Distribution and diversity of glaciers on the Earth determine their grouping in
separate regions by foreseen of the external conditions of existence of glaciers. Such
zoning allows us to better understand the characteristics of glaciers’ regime and the
synchronism of their action in different regions, as well as to relate the distribution
of glaciers to the general circulation of the atmosphere and the relief orography.
19 regions have been distinguished on the Earth based on Randolph Glacier
Inventory (RGI) (Pfeffer et al., 2014), which is intended for the estimation of total
ice volumes and glacier mass changes at global and large-regional scales. It is
supplemental to the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space initiative (GLIMS).
Production of the RGI was motivated by the preparation of the Fifth Assessment
Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5) (GLIMS
Technical Report). As a result of the mentioned inventory, the Caucasus is presented
together with the Middle East (as one region) (Fig. 1), but the Caucasus is much
larger than the Middle East by the modern glaciation size and it will be interesting if
we consider it as a separate region in our work.
The Caucasus Mountains are aligned west-northwest to east-southeast between
40-44° N and 40-49° E and span the borders of Russia, Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan. They consist of two separate mountain systems: the Greater Caucasus
extends for ~1300 km between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, whilst the Lesser
Caucasus runs parallel but approximately 100 km to the south. The Caucasus
mountains originate from collision between the Arabian plate to the south and the
Eurasian plate to the north and the region is tectonically active with numerous small
earthquakes (Stokes, 2011).
According to location the Greater Caucasus is divided into three parts: Western,
Central and Eastern. The borderline among them runs near the meridians of the
Mount Elbrus (5642 m) and the Mount Kazbegi (5033 m). In the mountainous
system of Caucasus the highest is the Central Caucasus. Several peaks are higher

10
than 5000 m (e.g. Elbrus, Dikhtau, Shkhara massif and Kazbegi). It is in this section
the Europe’s highest peak Elbrus (5642 m) with its glacial complex.
Figure 1. First-order regions of the Randolph Glacier Inventory (version 4.0).
1. Alaska; 2. Western Canada and US; 3. Arctic Canada North; 4. Arctic Canada South; 5.
Greenland Periphery; 6. Iceland; 7. Svalbard; 8. Scandinavia; 9. Russian Arctic; 10. North
Asia; 11. Central Europe; 12. Caucasus and Middle East; 13. Central Asia; 14. South Asia
West; 15. South Asia East; 16. Low Latitudes; 17. Southern Andes; 18. New Zealand; 19.
Antarctic and Subantarctic (Pfeffer et al., 2014).
The Caucasus Mountains are characterised by strong longitudinal gradients that
produce a maritime climate in the west and a more continental climate in the east.
Trends in precipitation, for example, reveal that westernmost areas typically receive
around three to four times as much as eastern areas (Horvath and Field, 1975). The
southern slopes are also characterized by higher temperatures and precipitation,
which can be up to 3000-4000 mm in the southwest (Volodicheva, 2002). Much of
this precipitation falls as snow, especially on windward slopes of the western
Greater Caucasus, which are subjected to moist air masses sourced from the Black
Sea (Stokes, 2011).
According to the conditions of relief, the northern slope of the Caucasus is more
favorable for formation of glaciers than the southern one. This is contributed by high
hypsometry and extremely partitioned slopes, gorges and depressions, represented
by wide cirques of Wurm period.
In the Caucasus the current number of glaciation is ~2000 with a total area of
~1100 km2 and volume ~68 km3 (Radi et al., 2014). ~33% of the glaciers of the
Caucasus is located in Georgia (Fig. 2). These Glaciers are an important source of

11
water for agricultural production in Georgia, and runoff in large glacially-fed rivers
(Kodori, Enguri, Rioni, Tskhenistskali and Nenskra) supplies several hydroelectric
power stations. Glacial melt waters are one of the main factors in river runoff
formation in the mountainous areas of Georgia. It is necessary to know Glacial
waters daily volatility for mountaineering, tourism and mountainous areas of
livestock and other sectors of operation. Glacier melt water is also important in
terms of water supply in the mountainous regions of Georgia. In the mountainous
regions (Svaneti, Kazbegi, Racha and Abkhazeti), in addition to the tourist -
recreational purposes, a great role owned the glacial landscapes in the development
of the recreational facilities.
Figure 2. Georgian Caucasus glacier outlines (in red) derived from Landsat 8
(panchromatic) imagery.
Also glacier outburst floods and related debris flows are a significant hazard in
Georgia and in the Caucasus (Bogatikov et al., 2003). Unfortunately, such hazards
are relatively common in this region and have led to major loss of life. In September
20 of 2002, for example, Kolka Glacier (North Ossetia) catastrophic ice-debris flow
killed over 100 people (Evans et al., 2009), and in May 17 of 2014, Devdoraki
Glacier (Georgia) catastrophic rock-ice avalanche and glacial mudflow killed nine
people. Future trends in glaciers variations are thus a topic of considerable interest
to the region.

211
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The authors of the photos used in the Book: Levan Tielidze, Ramin
Gobejishvili and Fabiano Ventura. The photos of the glaciers made by the Italian
photographers Vittorio Sella and Mor Von Dechy in the 19th century and the 19th-
20th centuries photos of the glaciers kept in the fund of the Museum of Geography
at Tbilisi State University are also used.
The authors of the maps used in the Book are: Ramin Gobejishvili and Levan
Tielidze.
In the front cover page: Chalaati glacier, 1890. Photo by Vittorio Sella.
In the back cover page: Tviberi glacier, Upper - 1884. Photo by Mor Von Dehcy,
Lower - 2011. Photo by Levan Tielidze.