Earth’s Cryosphere, 2024, Vol. XXVIII, No. 5, p. 12-17.

SURFACE AND GROUND WATERS IN TERRESTRIAL PERMAFROST REGION

CLASSIFICATION OF PERIGLACIAL LAKES OF SVALBARD

R.A. Chernov1,*, K.V. Romashova2

1 Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetnyj per. 29, Moscow, 119017 Russia
2 Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, Beringa St. 38, St. Petersburg, 199397 Russia
*Corresponding author; e-mail: rob31@mail.ru

A classification of periglacial lakes that formed in Svalbard after the Little Ice Age due to the reduction of glaciation is presented. The classification is based on three morphological features: the position of the lake relative to the boundaries of the glacier and the terminal moraine, contact with the glacier, and the damming condition. Combinations of these features allow us to distinguish five types of lakes. Based on the cartographic service of the Norwegian Polar Institute as of 2008–2012, 705 periglacial lakes of the archipelago were analyzed. Among them, glacier-dammed lakes make up 24%; moraine-dammed lakes, 22%; lakes in contact with the glacier front, 17%; thermokarst lakes over the moraine, 27%; and lakes in contact with the terminal moraine located beyond it, 10%. Dammed lakes and lakes in contact with glaciers compose about 90% of the total area of periglacial lakes in Svalbard. They are actively forming at present due to the destruction of ice banks and moraine ridges. Despite the differences in the relief, type of glaciation, climate, and the rate of glaciation reduction in different parts of the archipelago, the ratios between different types of periglacial lakes are similar. This attests to their common genesis and similar features of the moraine landscape. Noticeable differences appear in the ratio of moraine-dammed lakes and lakes in contact with mountain glaciers and cover glaciers. It is likely that during the further deglaciation of the archipelago, the distribution of these types of lakes will be preserved, which makes it possible to assess lake resources and identify potentially dangerous objects and objects of climate monitoring.

Keywords: periglacial lake, glacier, ice shores, terminal moraine, moraine-dammed lakes.

Recommended citation: Chernov R.A., Romashova K.V., 2024. Classification of periglacial lakes of Svalbard. Earth’s Cryosphere XXVIII (5), 12–17.

Received April 16, 2024
Revised June 14, 2024
Accepted August 24, 2024
Translated by V.A. Krutikova