Earth’s Cryosphere, 2011, Vol. XV, No. 2, p. 70-80

REASONS FOR THE METACHRONOUS CHARACTER OF THE DYNAMICS OF ICE MASS BALANCE IN THE GLACIATED REGIONS OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

V.M. Fedorov

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Department of Geography, 119991, Moscow, Leninskie Gory, Russia, ipyf@mail.ru

The analysis of the reconstruction of the dynamics of the mass balance of glaciers and of the instrumental mass balance measurements at 125 glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere revealed methachronous dynamics of the balance of 9 glaciated regions of the Northern Hemisphere in the 20th century. The correlation analysis between the dynamics of the mass balance in the glaciated regions and the macrocirculation characteristics of climate demonstrated that the duration of the action of the groups of the atmospheric circulation was responsible for the methachronous dynamics and determined its spatial and temporal structure.

Key words: Glaciers, the mass balance, atmospheric circulation, reconstruction.

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