Articles | Volume 26, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-1001-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-1001-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Constantly renewing glacial lakes in the Kyrgyz Range, northern Tien Shan
Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Niigata city, 950-2181, Japan
Chiyuki Narama
Program of Field Research in the Environmental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata city, 950-2181, Japan
Related authors
Mirlan Daiyrov and Chiyuki Narama
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2245–2256, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2245-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2245-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In the Teskey Range of the Tien Shan (Kyrgyz Republic), four outburst flood disasters from short-lived glacial lakes in 2006, 2008, 2013, and 2014 caused severe damages in the downstream part. Short-lived glacial lakes grow rapidly and drain within a few months, due to closure and opening of an outlet ice tunnel in an ice-cored moraine complex at the glacier front. We investigated how short-lived glacial lakes store and drain water over short periods based on field survey and satellite data.
Kenshiro Arie, Chiyuki Narama, Ryohei Yamamoto, Kotaro Fukui, and Hajime Iida
The Cryosphere, 16, 1091–1106, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1091-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1091-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In recent years, seven glaciers are confirmed in the northern Japanese Alps. However, their mass balance has not been clarified. In this study, we calculated the seasonal and continuous annual mass balance of these glaciers during 2015–2019 by the geodetic method using aerial images and SfM–MVS technology. Our results showed that the mass balance of these glaciers was different from other glaciers in the world. The characteristics of Japanese glaciers provide new insights for earth science.
Mirlan Daiyrov and Chiyuki Narama
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2245–2256, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2245-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2245-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In the Teskey Range of the Tien Shan (Kyrgyz Republic), four outburst flood disasters from short-lived glacial lakes in 2006, 2008, 2013, and 2014 caused severe damages in the downstream part. Short-lived glacial lakes grow rapidly and drain within a few months, due to closure and opening of an outlet ice tunnel in an ice-cored moraine complex at the glacier front. We investigated how short-lived glacial lakes store and drain water over short periods based on field survey and satellite data.
Cited articles
Agarwal, V., Wyk de Vries, M. V., Haritashya, U. K., Garg, S., Kargel, J. S., Chen, Y., and Shugar, D. H.: Long-term analysis of glaciers and glacier lakes in the Central and Eastern Himalaya, Sci. Total Environ., 898, 165598, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165598, 2023.
Ageta, Y., Iwata, S., Yabuki, H., Naito, N., Sakai, A., Narama, C., and Karma.: Expansion of glacier lakes in recent decades in the Bhutan Himalayas, in: IAHS Publ., Wallingford, UK, 165–175, ISBN 978-1-901502-31-2, 2000.
Ahmed, R., Wani, G. F., Ahmad, S. T., Sahana, M., Singh, H., and Ahmed, P.: A review of glacial lake expansion and associated glacial lake outburst floods in the Himalayan region, Earth Systems and Environment, 5, 695–708, 2021.
Aizen, V. B., Kuzmichenok, V. A., Surazakov, A. B., and Aizen, E. M.: Glacier changes in the central and northern Tien Shan during the last 140 years based on surface and remote-sensing data, Ann. Glaciol., 43, 202–213, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756406781812465, 2006.
Atwood, D. K., Meyer, F., and Arendt, A.: Using L-band SAR coherence to delineate glacier extent, Can. J. Remote Sensing, 36, S186–S195, 2010.
Azisov, E., Hoelzle, M., Vorogushyn, S., Saks, T., Usubaliev, R., Esenaman uulu, M., and Barandun, M.: Reconstructed centennial mass balance change for Golubin Glacier, northern Tien Shan, Atmosphere, 13, 954, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13060954, 2022.
Blöthe, J. H., Halla, C., Schwalbe, E., Bottegal, E., Liaudat, D. T., and Schrott, L.: Surface velocity fields of active rock glaciers and ice-debris complexes in the Central Andes of Argentina, Earth Surf. Process. Landf., 46, 504–522, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5042, 2021.
Bolch, T.: Glacier area and mass changes since 1964 in the Ala-Archa Valley, Kyrgyz Ala-Too, northern Tien-Shan, Ice Snow, 129, 28–39, https://doi.org/10.15356/IS.2015.01.03, 2015.
Bolch, T., Rohrbach, N., Kutuzov, S., Robson, B. A., and Osmonov, A.: Occurrence, evolution and ice content of ice-debris complexes in the Ak-Shiirak, Central Tien Shan revealed by geophysical and remotely-sensed investigations, Earth Surf. Process. Landf., 44, 129–143, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4487, 2018.
Buchelt, S., Kunz, J., Wiegand, T., and Kneisel, C.: Dynamics and internal structure of a rock glacier: Inferring relationships from the combined use of differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry, electrical resistivity tomography and ground-penetrating radar. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 49, 4743–4758, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5993, 2024.
Chen, M., Chen, Y., Fang, G., Zheng, G., Li, Z., and Li, Y.: Risk assessment of glacial lake outburst flood in the Central Asian Tienshan Mountains, Clim. Atmos. Sci., 7, 209, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00755-6, 2024.
Daiyrov, M. and Narama, C.: Formation, evolution, and drainage of short-lived glacial lakes in permafrost environments of the northern Teskey Range, Central Asia, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2245–2256, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2245-2021, 2021.
Daiyrov, M., Narama, C., Yamanokuchi, T., Tadono, T., Kääb, A., and Ukita, J.: Regional geomorphological conditions related to recent changes of glacial lakes in the Issyk-Kul basin, northern Tien Shan, Geosciences, 8, 99, https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8030099, 2018.
Daiyrov, M., Narama, C., Kääb, A., and Tadono, T.: Formation and outburst of Toguz-Bulak glacial lake in the north part of Teskey Range, Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan, Geosciences, 10, 468, https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10110468, 2020.
Daiyrov, M., Kattel, D. B., Narama, C., and Wang, W.: Evaluating the variability of glacial lakes in the Kyrgyz and Teskey Ranges, Tien Shan, Front. Earth Sci., 14, 112–119, 2022.
Erokhin, S.: Data report of glacial lakes in 2000–2008, in: Inventory of Glacial Lakes, Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic, Bishkek, 819 pp., ISBN 978-9967-23-948-4, 2008 (in Russian).
Erokhin, S.: Types of moraine complexes and Tien-Shan glaciation, Izvestiya NAS KR, Bishkek, 115–118, 2011 (in Russian).
Erokhin, S., Zaginaev, V., Meleshko, A., Ruiz-Villanueva, V., Petrakov, D. A., and Chernomorets, S. S.: Debris flows triggered from nonstationary glacier lake outbursts: The case of the Teztor Lake complex (Northern Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan), Landslides, 15, 83–98, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-017-0862-3, 2017.
Falatkova, K., Šobr, M., Neureiter, A., Schöner, W., Janský, B., Häusler, H., Engel, Z., and Beneš, V.: Development of proglacial lakes and evaluation of related outburst susceptibility at the Adygine ice-debris complex, northern Tien Shan, Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 301–320, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-301-2019, 2019.
Furian, W., Maussion, F., and Schneider, C.: Projected 21st-century glacial lake evolution in high mountain Asia, Front. Earth Sci., 10, 821798, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.821798, 2022.
Goldstein, R. M. and Werner, C. L.: Radar ice motion interferometry, in: Proc. 3rd ERS ESA Symp., ESA SP-414, Florence, Italy, 969–972, ISBN 978-9290922889, 1997.
Goldstein, R. M. and Werner, C. L.: Radar interferogram phase filtering for geophysical applications, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 4035–4038, 1998.
Hanshaw, M. N. and Bookhagen, B.: Glacial areas, lake areas, and snow lines from 1975 to 2012: status of the Cordillera Vilcanota, including the Quelccaya Ice Cap, northern central Andes, Peru, The Cryosphere, 8, 359–376, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-359-2014, 2014.
Iwata, S., Ageta, Y., Sakai, A., Narama, C., and Karma.: Glacial lakes and their outburst flood assessment in the Bhutan Himalaya, Glob. Environ. Res., 6, 3–17, 2002.
Izagirre, E., Casassa, G., Dussaillant, I., Miles, E. S., Wilson, R., Rada, C., Faria, S. H., and Antiguedad, I: Evolution of glacial lakes and southernmost GLOFs in the Cordillera Darwin and Cloue Icefields (Tierra del Fuego) between 1945–2024, Front. Earth Sci., 13, 1641167, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2025.1641167, 2025.
Janský, B., Šobr, M., and Erokhin, S. A.: Typology of high mountain lakes of Kyrgyzstan with regard to the risk of their rupture, Limnol. Rev., 6, 135–140, 2006.
Janský, B., Šobr, M., and Engel, Z., and Yerokhin, S.: High-altitude lake outburst: Tien-Shan case study, in: Evolution of geographical systems and risk processes in the global context, edited by: Dostál, P., Charles Univ. Prague, Faculty of Science, P3K Publishers, Prague, 113–127, ISBN 978-80-903587-8-2, 2008.
Janský, B., Šobr, M., and Engel, Z.: Outburst flood hazard: Case studies from the Tien-Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan, Limnol-Ecol. Manage. Inland Waters, 40, 358–364, 2010.
Javed, M., Böhner, J., and Hasson, S.: Mapping Glacial Lakes in the Western Himalayas Using an Enhanced Breakpoint Method and CubeSat Imagery, PFG – Journal of Photogrammetry, Remote Sens. and Geoinf. Science, 93, 401–419, 2025.
Kääb, A. and Haeberli, W.: Evolution of a high-mountain thermokarst lake in the Swiss Alps, Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res., 33, 385–390, https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2001.12003445, 2001.
Kattel, D. B., Mohanty, A., Daiyrov, M., Wang, W., Mishra, M., Kulenbekov, Z., and Dawadi, B.: Evaluation of glacial lakes and catastrophic floods on the northern slopes of the Kyrgyz Range, Mountain Research and Development, 40, 3, https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-19-00068.1, 2020.
Komori, J., Gurung, D. R., Iwata, S., and Yabuki, H.: Variation and lake expansion of Chubda Glacier, Bhutan Himalayas, during the last 35 years, Bull. Glaciol. Res., 21, 49–55, https://web.seppyo.org/bgr/pdf/21/BGR21P49.pdf (last access: 19 February 2026), 2004.
Kunz, J., Ullmann, T., and Kneisel, C.: Internal structure and recent dynamics of a moraine complex in an alpine glacier forefield revealed by geophysical surveying and Sentinel-1 InSAR time series, Geomorphology, 398, 108052, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.108052, 2022.
Kunz, J., Buchelt, S., Wiegand, T., Ullmann, T., and Kneisel, C.: Thrust moraines and rock glaciers: Relationships between subsurface structures and morphodynamics in Swiss glacier forefields dominated by glacier-permafrost interactions, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1671, 2025.
Maksimov, E. V.: Climate Change and Mountain Glaciation in the New Era, Proc. Russian Geogr. Soc., 114, 2, 1982.
Maksimov, E. V. and Osmonov, A. O.: Features of modern glaciation and glacier dynamics of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too, Natl. Acad. Sci. Kyrgyz Rep., Tian Shan Phys.-Geogr. Stn. Inst. Geol., Bishkek, Ilim, 200 pp., ISBN 5-8355-0845-X, 1995.
Marchenko, S. S., Gorbunov, A. P., and Romanovsky, V. E.: Permafrost warming in the Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia, Glob. Planet. Change, 56, 311–327, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2006.07.023, 2007.
Mool, P. K., Bajracharya, S. R., and Joshi, S. P.: Inventory of Glaciers, Glacial Lakes and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, Monitoring and Early Warning Systems in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region: Nepal, ICIMOD & UNEP RRC-AP, ISBN 978-92-9115-331-2, https://doi.org/10.53055/ICIMOD.1018, 2001.
Nagai, H., Ukita, J., Narama, C., Fujita, K., Sakai, A., and Tadono, T.: Evaluating the scale and potential of GLOF in the Bhutan Himalayas using a satellite-based integral glacier-glacial lake inventory, Geosciences, 7, 77, https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7030077, 2017.
Narama, C., Severskiy, I., and Yegorov, A.: Current state of glacier changes, glacial lakes, and outburst floods in the Ile Ala-Tau and Kungöy Ala-Too ranges, northern Tien Shan Mountains, Ann. Hokkaido Geogr., 84, 22–32, https://doi.org/10.7886/hgs.84.22, 2009.
Narama, C., Duishonakunov, M., Kääb, A., Daiyrov, M., and Abdrakhmatov, K.: The 24 July 2008 outburst flood at the western Zyndan glacier lake and recent regional changes in glacier lakes of the Teskey Ala-Too range, Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 10, 647–659, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-10-647-2010, 2010.
Narama, C., Daiyrov, M., Tadono, T., Yamamoto, M., Kääb, A., Morita, R., and Ukita, J.: Seasonal drainage of supraglacial lakes on debris-covered glaciers in the Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia, Geomorphology, 286, 133–142, 2017.
Narama, C., Daiyrov, M., Duishonakunov, M., Tadono, T., Sato, H., Kääb, A., Ukita, J., and Abdrakhmatov, K.: Large drainages from short-lived glacial lakes in the Teskey Range, Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 983–995, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-983-2018, 2018.
Niederer, P., Bilenko, V., Ershova, N., Hurni, H., Yerokhin, S., and Maselli, D.: Tracing glacier wastage in the Northern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan/Central Asia) over the last 40 years, Climatic Change, 86, 227–234, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-007-9288-6, 2008.
Ponomarenko, P. N.: Atmospheric precipitation of Kyrgyzstan, Hydrometeo Publ. House, Leningrad, 134 pp., 1976.
Quincey, D. J., Richardson, S. D., Luckman, A., Lucas, R. M., Reynolds, J. M., Hambrey, M. J., and Glasser, N. F.: Early recognition of glacial lake hazards in the Himalaya using remote sensing datasets, Glob. Planet. Change, 56, 137–152, 2007.
Sakurai, N., Narama, C., Daiyrov, M., Esenamanov, M., Usekov, Z., and Inoue, H.: Simultaneous drainage events from supraglacial lakes on the southern Inylchek Glacier, Central Asia, Journal of Glaciology, 68, 209–220, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.77, 2021.
Sandwell, D. T., Myer, D., Mellors, R., Shimada, M., Brooks, B., and Foster, J.: Accuracy and resolution of ALOS interferometry: Vector deformation maps of the Father's Day intrusion at Kilauea, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 46, 3524–3534, https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2008.2000634, 2008.
Schlögl, M., Gutjahr, K., and Fuchs, S.: The challenge to use multi-temporal InSAR for landslide early warning, Nat. Hazards, 112, 2913–2919, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05289-9, 2022.
Shatravin, V. I.: Reconstruction of Pleistocene and Holocene glaciations in the Tien-Shan from new starting positions, in: Climate, Glaciers and Lakes: Journey to the Past, Ilim, Bishkek, 26–46, 2007.
Shatravin, V. I. and Stavisski, J. S.: Methodological bases for the identification of settling factors during detailed studies of high-altitude lakes, Selevye Potoki, Hydrometeolog. Publ. House, 83–92, ISBN 978-5-286, 1984.
Strozzi, T., Kääb, A., and Frauenfelder, R.: Detecting and quantifying mountain permafrost creep from in situ inventory, space-borne radar interferometry and airborne digital photogrammetry, Int. J. Remote Sens., 25, 2919–2931, https://doi.org/10.1080/0143116042000192330, 2004.
Usubaliev, R. and Erokhin, S.: Formation of high-mountainous lakes as a consequence of the degradation of the modern glaciation of the Tien Shan, in: Materials of glaciological studies, 103, 134–137, 2007.
Usubaliev, R., Chen, X., and Osmonov, A.: The geography of glaciation of the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, in: Physical geography of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, Turar Publ. House, 133–210, ISBN 978-5-4470-0132-2, 2013.
Werner, C., Wegmüller, U., Strozzi, T., and Wiesmann, A.: Gamma SAR and interferometric processing software, in: ERS-ENVISAT Symp., Gothenburg, Sweden, edited by: Sawaya-Lacoste, H., ESA Publ. Div., Noordwijk, ISBN 92-9092-690-2, 2000.
Yamada, T.: Glacier lake and its outburst flood in the Nepal Himalaya, Data Center for Glacier Research, Japanese Society of Snow and Ice, Monograph No. 1, Tokyo, https://www.seppyo.org/en/publications/bgr/monograph/ (last access: 24 January 2026), 1998.
Zaginaev, V., Ballesteros-Cánovas, J., Matov, E., Petrakov, D., and Stoffel, M.: Reconstruction of glacial lake outburst floods in northern Tien-Shan: Implications for hazard assessment, Geomorphology, 269, 75–84, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.06.028, 2016.
Zaginaev, V., Falatkova, K., Jansky, B., Sobr, M., and Erokhin, S.: Development of a potentially hazardous pro-glacial lake in Aksay valley, Kyrgyz Range, northern Tien Shan, Hydrology, 6, 3, https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology6010003, 2019.
Zhang, T., Wang, W., An, B., and Wei, L.: Enhanced glacial lake activity threatens numerous communities and infrastructure in the Third Pole, Nat. Commun., 14, 8250, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44123-z, 2023.
Short summary
Glacial lakes in the Kyrgyz Range, northern Tien Shan, have nearly doubled from 1968 to 2021 as glaciers shrank by 31%. Lake turnover was remarkably high: of the 274 lakes mapped in 1968, 190 had disappeared by 2000, yet 154 new ones emerged, followed by 175 more by 2021. Continuous lake renewal in the Kyrgyz Range results from the combined effects of glacier retreat, glacier‑moraine complex (GMC) expansion, and buried-ice melt which caused surface subsidence and formation of new under warming.
Glacial lakes in the Kyrgyz Range, northern Tien Shan, have nearly doubled from 1968 to 2021 as...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint