CHAPTER
21
Satellite inventory of glaciers in Turkey
Mehmet Akif Sar|kaya and Ahmet Emre Tekeli
ABSTRACT
Today, the glaciers and rock glaciers of Turkey
occur in three different regions: (1) in the southeastern part of the Taurus Mountain range, (2)
along the coastal mountains of the eastern Black
Sea region, and (3) on high volcanoes and individual mountain ranges scattered across the
Anatolian Plateau. A total of 51 glaciers (including
an ice cap, 17 mountain glaciers, and 33 glacierets)
and 55 rock glaciers were detected from ASTER
imagery acquired between 2002 and 2011 as part
of the GLIMS project. Glaciers generally accumulate in the eastern part of the country, between the
latitudes of 37 N and 41 N, typically as remnants
of older glaciations, and occur at high elevations
where climate and topographic factors are favorable to sustain them. The largest single glacier in
Turkey is on Mt. Ağr| (Ararat), in eastern Turkey
and covers an area of 5.66 km 2 . The longest and
best preserved mountain glaciers are located in the
Southeastern Taurus Mountains and in the Eastern
Black Sea Mountains. Principal among them are
I_ zb|rak and Erinç Glaciers in the Buzul Mountains
(2.1 and 1.5 km in length, respectively) and Kaçkar
I Glacier in the Rize Mountains (0.93 km long).
Turkish glaciers have retreated significantly since
the beginning of the last century, and the rates of
retreat rates calculated from historical observations
are consistent with the general warming trend of the
past century.
21.1
INTRODUCTION
Glaciers are not among the first things usually associated with Turkey, but they do exist in several
mountain ranges (Kurter 1991, Çiner 2004).
Although they are relatively small in size and accumulate on high mountains that reach well above the
local snowline (above the equilibrium line altitude),
they are comprised of various shapes and types,
such as ice caps, mountain glaciers, and
glacierets. Presently, most Turkish glaciers are situated in the eastern part of the country (Fig. 21.1),
and they are usually considered remnants of more
extensive older glaciations (Erinç 1952), from which
they retreated to high-elevation cirques and slopes
where climate, orographic factors, and slope
orientation combine favorably to sustain them.
Glacial studies in Turkey started at the beginning
of the 20th century. Although the presence of
glaciers in the Anatolian Mountains initially
appears within the travel notes of several mid19th century European voyagers (Ainsworth 1842,
Hamilton 1843, Koch 1846, Palgrave 1872), the first
scientific studies were initiated by Maunsell (1901)
in the Buzul Mountains of southeastern Turkey and
466
Satellite inventory of glaciers in Turkey
Figure 21.1. Digital elevation model and locations of present glaciers and rock glaciers in Turkey.
by Penther (1905) on Mt. Erciyes in central
Anatolia. Later, several foreign and Turkish scientists conducted more comprehensive studies
between the 1930s and 1950s (Krenek 1932, Bobek
1940, Erinç 1952). Most recently, Kurter and
Sungur (1980), Kurter (1991), Çiner (2004), and
Sar|kaya (2012) presented detailed information
about the recent state of Turkish glaciers.
Although the existence and geographic distribution of Turkish glaciers are generally known, there
has to date been no study to enumerate and classify
individual Turkish glaciers. In this chapter, we present the most recent inventory of glaciers and rock
glaciers of Turkey by using ASTER (Advanced
Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection
Radiometer) image analysis combined with historical data obtained from the literature, as part
of the international Global Land Ice Measurement
from Space (GLIMS) project.
bridge between the continents of Asia, Europe, and
Africa. The Anatolian Peninsula forms the westernmost part of Asia before being divided from Europe
by the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.
Although Turkey belongs, geopolitically and culturally, to both Europe and Asia (Çakar 2002),
the physical geography and climate of Turkey are
characteristically more European than Asian. The
Taurus Mountains which lie along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey are considered to be in
the same orogenic belt as the European Alps
(Holmes 1931, Klemme 1958). Furthermore, the
past and present climate of Turkey was and is
greatly influenced by westerly weather systems
(Akçar and Schlüchter 2005; Sar|kaya 2009) rather
than those of Asia. Therefore, Turkish glaciers are
correlated with Alpine glaciostratigraphy (Erinç,
1952).
21.2.1 Topography
21.2
REGIONAL CONTEXT
Turkey is located in the eastern Mediterranean
region between 36 and 42 N and 26 and 45 E
(Fig. 21.1). Geographically, Turkey forms a natural
Turkey shows strong topographic contrasts compared with neighboring countries. Although Turkey
is a relatively high–altitude country (mean elevation
1,140 m asl), the average elevation of western
Turkey (800 m asl) is about half the average
Methods 467
elevation of the eastern part (1,600 m asl). The
increasing elevation from west to east, coupled with
the east being farther away from moisture sources,
increases climatic continentality towards the east.
Today, the western mountains experience a wetter
and warmer climate than eastern mountains. Additionally, Late Pleistocene snow line estimates in
Turkey support this continentality effect (Messerli
1967, Sar|kaya et al. 2008). During the Last
Glacial Maximum (21,000 years ago), the western
Anatolian Mountains had snow lines as low as
2,000–2,400 m asl, while in the eastern mountains,
snow line elevations were approximately 3,000–
3,200 m asl (Sar|kaya et al., 2008). Today, the
average elevations of snow lines in the western
and eastern part of the country are 3,000–3,500 m
asl and 3,600–3,700 m asl, respectively (Çiner 2004,
Sar|kaya 2009).
21.2.2 Climate
The diverse nature of the topography and convergence of climatic zones over Turkey results in significant variability in climatic conditions. Turkey is
situated between the temperate Mediterranean
climate influenced by North Atlantic cyclones
(Macklin et al. 2002) and midlatitude subtropical
high-pressure systems (la Fontaine et al. 1990).
Typically, there are three types of storm tracks that
carry moisture to Turkey (Akçar and Schlüchter
2005). The first type brings cold/humid air from
the polar North Atlantic via westerlies, contributing
mostly to winter precipitation in Turkey. The second type of storm track brings tropical hot/dry air
from the mid-Atlantic and/or North Africa with
additional moisture taken from the eastern Mediterranean. These storms usually produce spring–
summer precipitation in southwestern Anatolia.
Third, continental polar air masses transport dry/
cold air from northern latitudes that subsequently
condense on north Anatolian mountains after
taking up moisture over the Black Sea (Akçar
and Schlüchter 2005). Precipitation in Turkey is
strongly affected by local and subregional topography. The Taurus Mountains and the Black Sea
Mountains along the south and northeast coasts of
Anatolia, respectively, play an important role in the
distribution of moisture over the Anatolian Plateau.
The high altitudes of these mountain ranges create a
natural orographic barrier between coastal areas
and the interior, which results in a negative precipitation gradient towards the interior (Sar|kaya et
al. 2009).
21.3
METHODS
Analysis of Turkish glaciers via satellite imagery is
significantly constrained by their sizes. In some
cases, spatial resolution of ASTER data (nominally
15 m for VNIR bands) is sufficient to delineate
and classify the glaciers. However, for very small
glaciers (<0.1 km 2 ), identification was first made
using Google Earth imagery (average spatial resolution for Google Earth imagery that was examined
was 2.5 m). Minimum cutoff size for our glacier
inventory was 0.01 km 2 , which equates to ASTER
areas defined by 100 100 m or about 6 6 VNIR
image cells. All glaciers, including the population of
very small types identified with Google Earth, were
then classified using ASTER imagery, and various
parameters extracted for each including planimetric
area, length, aspect, terminus elevation, and central
location of the glacier (Paul et al. 2009).
A range of ASTER visible and near-infrared
(VNIR) and shortwave-infrared (SWIR) imagery
(ASTER product AST_L1BE—registered radiance
at the sensor, expedited) acquired between 2002 and
2011 were chosen from minimal cloud-free and
snow-free scenes to obtain glacial extents. Satellite
images were orthorectified using SilcAst 1.10 software (Sensor Information Lab. Corp., Ibaraki,
Japan). False-color composite images constructed
from ASTER bands 3-2-1, thresholding of VNIR–
SWIR band ratios (e.g., ASTER3/ASTER4) (Raup
et al. 2007), and the normalized differences snow
index (NDSI) (Keshri et al. 2009) were used to
classify glacial ice, after which glacier boundaries
were manually digitized. Digital elevation models
produced from ASTER data (using SilcAst software) were used to obtain elevation data. Delineation of glacier boundaries, measurements, and
collecting metadata were completed using ESRI’s
ArcGIS software.
The main error sources related to semiautomated
and manual detection of glaciers are due to the
presence of seasonal snow cover, clouds, and debris
cover within the various scenes (Racoviteanu et al.
2009). Selection of minimal cloud cover images
eliminated errors related to clouds. Misclassification of snow is another issue. For example, applying
an ASTER 3/ASTER 4 band ratio to classify
glacier ice often provides accurate, consistent, and
reproducible results (Paul and Kääb 2005),
although transient snowfields can be misclassified
as ice since snow has a similar VNIR–SWIR reflectance ratio to that of ice. For debris-free glaciers,
Paul and Andreasson (2009) estimated the uncer-
468
Satellite inventory of glaciers in Turkey
tainty in the separation of snowfields to be between
5 and 10%. Fortunately, such misclassifications can
be removed with a median filter, a thresholded
class-size filter, or manually. Another typical problem is the misclassification of debris-covered ice as
bedrock. This was partly mitigated by careful visual
examination of debris-covered glaciers in Google
Earth. Overall we believe that there is still roughly
a 10% error associated with areal estimates of the
glaciers.
21.4
OCCURRENCES OF GLACIERS
Currently, glaciers in Turkey occur in three different regions: (1) within the southeastern part of the
Taurus Mountain range, (2) along the coastal
mountains of the eastern Black Sea region and
(3) on high volcanoes and individual mountain
ranges scattered across the Anatolian Plateau
(Tables 21.1 and 21.2; Fig. 21.1; Kurter and Sungur
1980, Çiner 2004). Details of these regions and the
glaciers they contain are specified below and in
Online Supplement 21.1.
21.4.1 Glaciers in the Southeastern
Taurus Mountains
This is the most important glaciated region in
Turkey. Located in the far southeast corner of
the country, near the Iraq border, Turkey’s largest
mountain glaciers occur here. These mountains
contain the highest crests of the Taurus–Zagros
mountain range, which reach more than 4,000 m
asl. The Southeastern Taurus Mountains consists
largely of Paleozoic and Mesozoic metamorphic
and volcanic rocks (Wright, 1962) along with folded
Mesozoic limestone and Tertiary terrestrial sedimentary rocks (Alt|nl| 1966). The Taurus–Zagros
range enjoys a Mediterranean climate (Ünal et al.
2003); precipitation falls during fall, winter, and
spring months due to cyclonic disturbances that
travel along the Taurus range from the west (Butzer
1958) and Arabian anticyclones from the south
(Wright 1962).
Glaciers in this region occur in two different
mountain blocks known as the Buzul Mountains
(5) and the I_ kiyaka Mountains (6) (Fig. 21.1).
21.4.1.1
Buzul Mountains
The Buzul (‘‘glacier’’ in Turkish) Mountains, also
known as Mt. Cilo or the Hakkari Mountains
(37.49 N, 44.00 E), are located about 20 km north
of the Iraqi border. They contain the second highest
peak of Turkey, Uludoruk (Res ko) Tepe (4,135 m).
Average snow line elevation in the Buzul Mountains is currently estimated to be 3,600 m asl (Erinç
1952).
Here, 10 well-developed mountain glaciers were
delineated in two ASTER images taken on August
22, 2009 (Table 21.2; Online Supplement 21.1). At
Table 21.1. Turkish mountains and their glaciers and rock glaciers.
Mountain name
Number of
glaciers/
rock
glaciers
Total
area
(km 2 )
Southeastern Taurus Mountains
Buzul Mountains
I_ kiyaka Mountains
Kavus s ahap Mountains
10/0
4/0
0/14
3.48
0.61
1.13
Coastal ranges of eastern Black Sea
Eastern Black Sea Mountains
Mt. Karaçal
6/21
0/4
Individual mountains
Mt. Ağr| (Ararat)
Mt. Erciyes
Mt. Süphan
Mercan Mountains
Esence Mountains
1/0
1/1
3/0
26/12
0/3
Highest peaks
Name
Latitude Longitude Elevation
( N)
( N)
(m)
Uludoruk Tepe
Dolampar Tepe
Hasanbes ir Tepe
37.4877
37.3105
38.2146
44.0012
44.2502
42.8563
4,135
3,794
3,503
0.68/3.38
1.07
Kaçkar Dağ|
Karaçal Dağ|
40.8354
41.3472
41.1614
41.983
3,932
3,415
5.66
0.06/0.94
0.23
0.8/1.23
0.27
Büyük Ağr| Dağ|
Büyük Erciyes Dağ|
Sand|k Tepe
Gedik Tepe
Kes is Dağ|
39.7018
38.5318
38.9309
39.4934
39.7836
44.2983
35.4469
42.8326
39.1669
39.7548
5,137
3,917
4,058
3,368
3,477
Occurrences of glaciers 469
Table 21.2. Turkish glaciers and rock glaciers.
Mountain name a
Subarea
Glacier (or rock glacier)
Type
Total
area
ASTER
Acquired
Granule
ID b
(km 2 Þ
Average
terminal
elevation
(m)
Southeastern Taurus Mountains
Buzul Mountains
Buzul Dğl.
Mountain
glacier
3.48
3,148
8/22/2009
(a), (b)
I_ kiyaka Mountains
I_ kiyaka Dğl.
Mountain
glacier
0.61
3,318
8/22/2009
(b)
Kavus s ahap Mountains
Hasanbes ir T. and
Kavus s ahap Dğl.
Rock
glacier
1.13
3,079
8/30/2006
(c)
Coastal ranges of Eastern Black Sea
Eastern Black Sea
Mountains
Mt. Karaçal
Soğanl| Dğl., Demirkap| Tepe,
Rock
Soğanl| Dğl., K|rklar Tepe,
glaciers,
Soğanl| Dğl., At Dağ|,
mountain
Rize Dğl., Verçenik Dağ|,
glaciers,
Rize Dğl., Tatos Dağ|,
and
Rize Dğl., Göller (Hunut) Dağ|, glacierets
Rize Dğl., Kaçkar Dağ| and
Rize Dğl., Alt|parmak Dağ|
4.06
3,041
8/29/2004
(d), (e)
Karaçal Dağ|
1.07
2,844
9/5/2009
8/4/2009
(f), (g)
Ice cap
5.66
3,781
9/6/2011
(h)
Rock
glacier
Individual mountains
a
b
Mt. Ağr| (Ararat)
Büyük Ağr| Dağ|
Mt. Erciyes
Aksu Valley and Üçker Valley
Glacieret
and rock
glaciers
1.00
3,205
8/6/2008
8/13/2008
(i), ( j)
Mt. Süphan
Krater, Sand|k Tepe
Glacieret
0.23
3,751
8/26/2008
(k)
Mercan Mountains
Avc| Dğl., Hel Tepe, Avc| Dğl.,
Mercan Dğl., Akbaba Tepe and
Mercan Dğl.
Glacieret
and rock
glaciers
2.03
2,923
8/28/2006
8/3/2006
(l), (m)
Esence Mountains
Kes is Tepe
Rock
glacier
0.09
3,159
10/7/2003
(n)
Place names were obtained from the General Command of Mapping of the Turkish Department of Defense.
(a) AST_L1A_00308222009080222
(b) AST_L1A_00308222009080231
(c) AST_L1A_00308302006080147
(d) AST_L1A_0030 8292004081915
(e) AST_L1A_00308292004081906
(f ) AST_L1A_00309052009081338
(g) AST_L1A_00308042009081343
(h) AST_L1A_00309062011075502
(i) from field observations and topographic maps (Sar|kaya et al. 2009) ( j) AST_L1A_00308132008083913
(k) AST_L1A_00308262008080821
(l) AST_L1A_00308282006081343
(m) AST_L1A_ 00308032006081958
(n) AST_L1A_0031 0072003081354
470
Satellite inventory of glaciers in Turkey
Figure 21.2. Glacier map of Buzul Mountains. (a) Subset of a false-color composite image mosaic (RGB, bands 3,
2, 1) of ASTER scenes AST_L1A_00308222009080222 and AST_L1A_00308222009080231 acquired on August
22, 2009. (b) Same scene but as a band ratio image (ASTER 3/ASTER 4). Manually derived glacier outline (red
line); 250 m interval contours (dashed white line).
least 20 additional glaciers have been identified by
Google Earth, but their small sizes (<0.05 km 2 )
precluded their classification from ASTER image
analysis. Glaciers in the Buzul Mountains generally
occur in north and east-oriented cirques and valleys
adjacent to high-elevation crests. The longest
among them are Erinç Glacier (named for the first
Turkish glaciologist S|rr| Erinç), three isolated
Uludoruk glaciers, and I_ zb|rak Glacier (named
for geographer R. I_ zb|rak. They are located on
the eastern side of the peak (Fig. 21.2). ASTER
image analysis indicates that I_ zb|rak Glacier has a
length of 2.1 km and extends down to an elevation
of 3,016 m asl. Erinç Glacier, the westernmost
glacier in the summit area, is 1.5 km long and
extends down to 3,354 m asl. The three Uludoruk
glaciers occur within three isolated cirques of the
main Uludoruk Valley and are named Uludoruk
West, Uludoruk Middle, and Uludoruk East,
according to their locations (Fig. 21.2). They have
lengths of 1.3, 0.9, and 1 km, and extend down to
3,270, 2,808, and 2,989 m asl, respectively. Four
unnamed glaciers identified in ASTER images have
lesser extents and are generally smaller than 0.2
km 2 .
Glaciers in the Buzul Mountains were first
noticed by Ainsworth (1842). Later, Maunsell
(1901) photographed the Erinç Glacier in 1901.
This picture is considered the first photograph of
a Turkish glacier, and shows a thicker and broader
glacial tongue, which reached down to a lower elevation than that observed today. In 1937, Bobek
(1940) reported the terminal elevations of the Erinç
and Uludoruk Middle Glaciers as 2,600 and 2,550
m asl, which corresponds to glacier lengths of
approximately 3.3 and 4 km, respectively (Table
21.3). In 1948, Erinç (1952) visited the same glaciers
and noted that the Erinç Glacier had divided in two
and retreated up to 2,900 m asl. He also reported
the terminal elevation of Uludoruk Middle Glacier
at 2,750 m asl and proposed that the very fast
retreat rates were induced by rapid climatic
changes. ASTER imager analysis from 2009 shows
that these glaciers have continued to retreat since
the previous measurements of Erinç, albeit at a
much slower pace. The average horizontal retreat
rates of Erinç and Uludoruk Middle Glaciers are
calculated to have been 14.7 and 11.5 m yr1 ,
respectively, between 1948 and 2009.
21.4.1.2
I_kiyaka Mountains
The I_ kiyaka Mountains, also known as Mt. Sat
(37.31 N, 44.25 E) are located about 30 km south-
Occurrences of glaciers 471
Table 21.3. Observed retreats of glaciers in Buzul and I_kiyaka Mountains.
Observation
year
Erinç Glacier
Uludoruk Middle Glacier
Geverok Glacier
Terminal
elevation
(m)
Glacier
length
(km)
Terminal
elevation
(m)
Glacier
length
(km)
Terminal
elevation
(m)
Glacier
length
(km)
1937
2,600
3.3
2,550
4
3,010
1.5
1948
2,900
2.4
2,750
1.6
2009
3,354
1.5
2,808
0.9
east of the Buzul Mountains along the border of
Turkey and Iraq (Fig. 21.1). At 3,794 m asl,
Dolampar Tepe is the highest peak of the mountain
range. The snow line elevation in the I_ kiyaka
Mountains is about 3,500 m asl (Kurter 1991).
Although the glaciers in this mountain block have
smaller extents than the glaciers on the Buzul
Mountains, they are still detectable by ASTER
imagery. Four glaciers were identified on the same
ASTER scene taken on August 22, 2009 (Table
21.2; Online Supplement 21.1). All are located on
the northeast side of Dolampar Tepe. Geverok
Glacier is the largest of all with a length of 520
m, and descends down to an elevation of 3,284 m
asl. Three other unnamed glaciers are located
within the cirques adjacent to Geverok Glacier;
they all average 300 m in length.
In 1937, Hans Bobek also visited the I_ kiyaka
Mountains in the same trip to the Buzul Mountains,
and reported the terminal elevation of the Geverok
Glacier at 3,010 m asl, which corresponds to a
glacier length of about 1.5 km (Bobek 1940; Table
21.3). ASTER imagery acquired in 2009 shows that
it retreated approximately 1 km in 72 years, which
gives an average retreat rate of about 14 m yr1 .
21.4.2 Glaciers in the coastal ranges of
the eastern Black Sea
The Eastern Black Sea Mountains (also known as
the Pontic Mountains—Fig. 21.1) extend parallel
along the southeast coast of the Black Sea. They
contain several peaks above 3,000 m asl, with elevations generally increasing towards the east. These
mountains consist of Cretaceous volcanic rocks and
Tertiary granitic intrusions (Okay and Sahintürk
1997). The climate in the Eastern Black Sea Moun-
Reference
Bobek (1940)
Erinç (1952)
3,284
0.52
This study
tains is greatly affected by northerly incursions of
Siberian high-pressure systems, and characterized
by a yearlong humid climate due to orographicrelated precipitation, resulting from moist air
masses coming from the Black Sea (Akçar et al.
2007). Coastal areas of the eastern Black Sea region
are the wettest parts of Turkey, receiving more than
2 m of rainfall in a year. Snow line elevations in this
region vary greatly depending on the aspect of the
location. On the northern side of the mountains, the
snow line occurs at 3,100–3,200 m asl, while it is
reported at 3,500–3,550 m asl on the southern side
of the mountain (Erinç 1949, Çiner 2004), which is
due to the effects of humid air masses coming from
the north (Erinç 1952).
Glaciers in the Eastern Black Sea Mountains
occur in the Rize Mountains, a block that contains
the fourth highest peak of Turkey, Mt. Kaçkar
(40.84 N, 41.16 E, 3,932 m), located about 50 km
south of the city of Rize. Three mountain glaciers
and three glacierets were detected in this range from
the ASTER imagery taken on August 29, 2004
(Table 21.2; Online Supplement 21.1). Kaçkar I,
Kaçkar II and Kaçkar III Glaciers are located on
the northern side of Mt. Kaçkar. Kaçkar I Glacier
is the longest, about 930 m in length, and terminates
at an elevation of 3,140 m asl. Kaçkar II is located
300 m northeast of Kaçkar I, and is 410 m long. Its
tongue extends down to 3,177 m asl. Kaçkar III is
located in a separate cirque, 700 m northeast of
the others, and represents a small remnant of an
old glacier and is therefore classified as a glacieret.
Another documented glacier is located in a small
cirque on the southern side of Mt. Kaçkar. It is
named Krenek Glacier after Ludwig Krenek, the
glaciologist who discovered the glacier in 1931.
Krenek Glacier is 350 m long and its terminal elevation is at 3,597 m asl.
472
Satellite inventory of glaciers in Turkey
Table 21.4. Observed retreats of glaciers in Kaçkar Mountains.
Observation
year
Kaçkar I Glacier
Terminal
elevation
(m)
Glacier
length
(km)
Kaçkar II Glacier
Terminal
elevation
(m)
Glacier
length
(km)
Kaçkar III Glacier
Terminal
elevation
(m)
Glacier
length
(km)
1931
Krenek Glacier
Terminal
elevation
(m)
Glacier
length
(km)
3,460
0.95
Reference
Krenek (1932)
1948
2,850
1.75
2,940
1.1
3,000
0.91
Erinç (1949)
1975
2,900
1.5
2,990
1
3,130
0.8
Kurter (1991)
1993
3,000
1.3
3,080
0.7
3,100
0.5
Doǧu et al.
(1993)
2004
3,140
0.93
3,177
0.41
3,332
0.39
In 1931, the terminal position of Krenek Glacier
was at 3,460 m asl (Krenek 1932), which corresponds to an 950 m long glacier (Table 21.4).
Based on this, the 2004 ASTER images indicate
that an 600 m horizontal retreat occurred between
1931 and 2004 (about 8.2 m per year). More
extensive studies have been conducted on Kaçkar
I, II, and III Glaciers for the last 50 years
(Table 21.4). Erinç (1949) reported the terminal
elevations of these glaciers according to his field
observation in 1948 as 2,850, 2,940, and 3,000 m
asl, and the lengths as 1.75, 1.1, and 0.91 km,
respectively. Later, Kurter (1991) using 1975
Landsat data reported that these glaciers’ termini
had retreated to 2,900, 2,990, and 3,130 m asl,
and their lengths had diminished to 1.5, 1, and
0.8 km, respectively. Additional onsite measurements of Kaçkar I, II, and III glaciers by Doğu et
al. (1993) indicated terminal elevations occuring
at 3,000, 3,080, and 3,100 m asl respectively, and
Çiner (2004) calculated the lengths of these
glaciers from the maps of Doğu et al. (1993) as
1.3, 0.7, and 0.5 km, respectively. These historical
data, combined with our measurements from the
2004 ASTER scene, reveal that Kaçkar I, II,
and III Glaciers retreated at a rate of about 14.6,
12.3, 9.3 m per year, respectively, between 1948 and
2004.
Another glacierized region in the Rize Mountains
is the Alt|parmak Mountains in the northeast part
of the range. Here, two glacierets, named Lazgediǧi
and Avucur Glaciers, have been identified. They
have an average length of 600 m, and reach an
average elevation of 3,000 m asl.
3,618
0.35
This study
21.4.3 Glaciers on individual mountains
21.4.3.1
Mt. Ağr| (Ararat)
Mt. Ağr|, the highest mountain of Turkey, also
known as Mt. Ararat (39.70 N, 44.30 E, 5,137 m
asl) is located in the easternmost part of Turkey
near the Iranian and Armenian borders (Fig.
21.1). After Mt. Damavand (5,670 m asl) in Iran,
and Mt. Elbrus (5,642 m asl) located between
Russia and Georgia, Mt. Ağr| is the third highest
mountain in the Middle East. It is a dormant composite calc-alkaline stratovolcano consisting of two
distinct volcanic cones: Büyük Ağr| (Greater
Ararat) and Küçük Ağr| (Lesser Ararat, 3,896 m
asl). The plain surrounding Mt. Ağr| is at an elevation of 1,700 m asl, and the elevation of the snow
line is estimated to be 4,300 m asl (Klaer 1965,
Kurter and Sungur 1980).
The summit region of Büyük Ağr| is covered by
an ice cap (Fig. 21.3; Sar|kaya 2012), which is the
largest single glacier in Turkey. Measurements
derived from high-quality ASTER imagery on
September 6, 2011 show that the ice cap and glaciers
cover an area of 5.66 km 2 , with a perimeter of 10
km (Sar|kaya, 2012). Of the 21 outlet glaciers emerging from the ice cap, the longest is on the northwest flank and measures approximately 2.5 km in
length from the center of the ice cap. Overall, the ice
cap displays strong asymmetry with respect to the
summit area in both north–south and east–west
directions. In the north, the ice cap extends down
to an elevation of 4,250 m asl. By contrast, the mass
of ice on the southern slopes is much smaller and
the elevation of the ice margin is much higher
Occurrences of glaciers 473
Figure 21.3. Glacier map of Mt. Ağrl (Ararat). (a) Subset of a false-color composite image (RGB, bands 3, 2, 1) of
ASTER scene AST_L1A_00309202002080259 acquired on September 20, 2002. (b) Same scene but as a band
ratio (ASTER 3/ASTER 4). Manually derived glacier outline (red line); 500 m interval contours (dashed white line)
(from Sarlkaya, 2012). Figure can also be viewed as Online Supplement 21.2.
(4,600 m asl). This asymmetry is probably due to
variable insolation resulting from the different slope
aspects (Sar|kaya 2012). Additionally, the ice cap is
more prominent on the western side than the eastern. This west–east asymmetry is most likely due to
the prevailing pattern of moisture delivery in this
region, from the west to east, which results in a rain
shadow and lower precipitation on the eastern side
of the mountain. However, the elevation of the ice
margin is similar in both the west and the east
(4,200 m asl; Fig. 21.3b), probably reflecting
similar insolation conditions. There is no evidence
of glacial development on the lesser peak, Küçük
Ağr|.
Based on field observations in the late 1950s, 11
glaciers once emanated from the summit, descending down to 3,900 m asl on the north-facing slope
and 4,200 m asl on the south-facing slope
(Blumenthal 1958). Birman (1968) reported that
the ice cap descended down to 4,500 m asl on the
western slope and 3,700 m asl on the northern slope
according to clinometer sightings of the glaciers
taken at a distance in 1963. A Landsat MSS image
from August 30, 1976 shows the ice cap covering
about 10 km 2 and extending down to 4,100 m asl in
the northwest (Kurter 1991). Recently, Sar|kaya
(2012) has analyzed areal change in the Mt. Ağr|
ice cap between 1976 and 2011 and reported a
29% loss of ice cap total area, indicating an average
rate of ice loss of about 0.07 km 2 per year in 35
years. This rate is consistent with the general trend
of retreat of other Turkish glaciers (Fig. 21.4).
21.4.3.2
Mt. Erciyes
Mt. Erciyes (38.53 N, 35.45 E, 3,917 m) is the
westernmost glaciated mountain in Turkey (Fig.
21.1). It is located in the Central Anatolia region,
20 km south of the city of Kayseri (1,068 m) and
rises about 3,917 m asl (Sar|kaya et al., 2009). Mt.
Erciyes is a dormant stratovolcano composed of
several lava flows and pyroclastic sequences (Sen
et al. 2003). The most up-to-date snow line was
estimated at 3,550 m asl by Sar|kaya et al. (2009).
Among all Turkish glaciers having time series of
their length changes (Fig. 21.4), the longest time
series is for a remnant of a valley glacier on the
north face of the summit of Mt. Erciyes, known
as Erciyes Glacier (Fig. 21.5). This glacier has been
extensively studied by our group (Sar|kaya et al.
2003, 2009). ASTER imagery is insufficient for
remote-sensing analysis of Erciyes Glacier because
of its small size, semi-permanent snow cover, and
persistent problematic shadowing around the peak
area. So, for our purposes we will instead provide
relatively recent field observations conducted in
August 2008 by Sar|kaya et al. (2009). The glacier
occupied an area of 0.055 km 2 , had a length of 260
474
Satellite inventory of glaciers in Turkey
Erciyes Glacier has been visited by many scientists since the beginning of the last century (Table
21.5). In 1902, Penther (1905) reported that the
glacier was 700 m long and descended down to
an elevation of 3,180 m asl (Sar|kaya et al. 2009).
Later, Bartsch (1935), Erinç (1951, 1952), Klaer
(1962), Messerli (1964), Güner and Emre (1983),
and Sar|kaya et al. (2003, 2009) visited the glacier
and reported its changing length and terminus position. Repeated measurements of glacier length
between 1902 and 2008 revealed a mean retreat rate
of about 4.2 m per year (Fig. 21.4; Sar|kaya et al.
2009).
Figure 21.4. Observed retreats of Turkish glaciers.
m, and a lower margin at 3,450 m asl. It contained
deep crevasses below the peak at 3,650 m asl, and
the lower part of the glacier, at 3,450–3,480 m asl,
was covered by debris (Sar|kaya et al. 2009).
21.4.3.3
Mt. Süphan
Another volcanic cone that still hosts glaciers today
is Mt. Süphan (38.93 N, 42.83 E, 4,058 m), which
is located 15 km north of Lake Van (1,645 m asl)
(Fig. 21.1). It is the third highest point in Turkey,
and rises more than 2,400 m from lake level. Mt.
Süphan is an isolated dormant stratovolcano
Figure 21.5. The Erciyes glacier, looking southeast on August 9, 2006 (photo by M.A. Sarlkaya). Figure can also
be viewed as Online Supplement 21.3.
Occurrences of glaciers 475
Table 21.5. Observed retreat of Erciyes Glacier.
Observation
year
Table 21.6. Observed retreat of Hlzlr Glacier on
Mt. Süphan.
Erciyes Glacier
Terminal Glacier
elevation length
(m)
(km)
Reference
Observation
year
H|z|r Glacier
Terminal Glacier
elevation length
(m)
(km)
1902
3,180
0.7
Penther (1905)
1930
3,250
0.651
Bartsch (1935)
1950
3,300
0.55
Erinç (1951)
1958
3,350
0.467
Klaer (1962)
1962
3,380
0.415
Messerli (1964)
1983
3,400
0.38
Güner and Emre
(1983)
2001
3,420
0.3
Sar|kaya et al. (2003)
2008
3,450
0.26
Sar|kaya et al. (2009)
1950
3,400
1.5
Erinç (1971)
2003
3,750
1.2
Deniz et al. (2003)
2008
3,887
1.08
This study
21.4.3.4
capped by a silicic dome (Y|lmaz et al. 1998). The
elevation of the snow line on Mt. Süphan is between
3,700 and 4,000 m asl, with an average of 3,850 m
asl (Kurter 1991).
Three glaciers were detected on Mt. Süphan from
ASTER imagery taken on August 26, 2008 (Table
21.2; Online Supplement 21.1). The largest, H|z|r
Glacier, is located on the north-facing interior slope
of the summit crater, and occupies an area of 0.11
km 2 . It is 1.08 km long and descends down to 3,887
m asl. The other two glaciers on Mt. Süphan are
located on the exterior northern side of the summit
crater. They are 530 and 280 m long, and descend to
3,659 and 3,706 m asl, respectively.
Based on his studies from the 1950s, Erinç (1971)
reported the length of the H|z|r Glacier as 1.5 km,
with the terminus extending down to 3,400 m asl
(Table 21.6). Deniz et al. (2003) indicated that the
glacier was 1.2 km long, and terminated at 3,750 m
asl as at 2003. Based on these measurements, the
glacier retreated 420 m in about 60 years at an
average horizontal retreat rate of 7 m per year.
Similar measurements were reported by Yavasl|
and Kirami (2008) using Landsat images taken
between 1977 and 2000. They calculated Mt.
Süphan glaciers receding in area by about 75%,
probably due to the increased trend of air temperatures in the region (Yavas l| and Kirami, 2008).
Reference
Mercan Mountains
The Mercan Mountains, also known as the Munzur
Mountains (39.49 N, 39.17 E) are located between
the cities of Erzincan and Tunceli, in eastern Anatolia (Fig. 21.1). They are oriented in a southwest–
northeast direction. The highest peak in the mountain range is Gedik Tepe (3,368 m asl). On the
northeastern part of the range lies the Munzur Valley, an old U-shaped glacial valley that separates
the Mercan Mountains from the Avc| Mountains,
another extensively glaciated mountain range in the
region. Due to its proximity and sharing the same
glacial origin, the glaciers in the Avc| Mountains are
here grouped with the Mercan Mountains. Both
mountain groups are located in the encompassing
Eastern Taurus Range and largely consist of a series
of Jurassic–Cretaceous limestone (Alt|nl| 1966).
The most up-to-date snow line elevation on the
Mercan Mountains was reported at around
3,600–3,700 m asl (Çiner, 2004).
Glaciers in the Mercan Mountains are generally
very small in size (<0.1 km 2 ). ASTER images
acquired on August 3 and 28, 2006 were used to
identify the glaciers in the region and detected 26
unnamed glacierets (Table 21.2; Online Supplement
21.1). The glacierets are probably remnants of an
extensive older valley glacier system and they are
generally located on the steep slopes of northernfacing cirques where there is yearlong shadowing.
The longest glacieret in the Avc| Mountains is
located on the northeast slope of Hel Tepe (3,345
m); it is 310 m long, terminating at an elevation of
2,995 m. The largest glacieret in the main Mercan
Mountain range is 500 m long, descending down to
2,820 m asl.
476
21.5
Satellite inventory of glaciers in Turkey
ROCK GLACIERS
Although debate continues on the inclusion or
exclusion of rock glaciers within the overall spectrum of glacier types, they are included in this
inventory to serve as a baseline for future studies.
The occurrence, description, and methodical identification of rock glaciers is also covered in several
sections of Chapter 23 of this book by Bishop et al.
(‘‘Remote sensing of glaciers in Afghanistan and
Pakistan’’).
Turkey’s rock glaciers mainly occur in the eastern
part of the country. As in the case of the other
glacier types discussed in this work, they are classified in three geographic groups; (1) within the
southeastern Taurus Range (only in the Kavus s ahap Mountains), (2) along the eastern Black Sea
region (in the Soğanl|, Rize, and Karaçal Mountains), and (3) within the individual mountains of
Erciyes, Mercan, and Esence (Fig. 21.1, Tables 21.1
and 21.2). Descriptions of rock glaciers within these
geographic groups are outlined below, and all measurement information is tabulated in Online Supplement 21.1 and summarized in Table 21.2.
Rock glaciers for this study were largely identified based on their distinctive surface geometry as
observed in satellite imagery. Primary characteristics include their lava flow–like morphology, nested
circular rock crests, and steep frontal margins.
Although the largest rock glaciers in Turkey clearly
show ice close to their headwalls, it is not apparent
whether the ice is also present under debris-covered
parts close to the tongue area. So, for these
instances, we consider these rock glaciers to have
resulted from transformation from older mountain
glaciers.
ASTER imagery. Google Earth was used to identify
their locations followed by an ASTER scene
acquired on August 30, 2006, which was used for
follow-up analysis to measure the dimensions. Four
of the fourteen rock glaciers were located on the
northern cirques of Hasanbes ir Tepe, the others
were scattered across the Kavus sahap Mountains.
The longest rock glacier was about 920 m, and terminated at an elevation of about 2,975 m asl. The
others had generally lesser extents with an average
length of about 400 m. The average terminal elevation of rock glaciers in the mountain was 3,078 m
asl.
21.5.2 Soğanll Mountains
The Soğanl| Mountains (40.52 N 40.44 E) are
located 40 km inland between the cities of Trabzon
and Bayburt, on the western part of the Eastern
Black Sea Mountains (Fig. 21.1). There are three
high peaks called Demirkap| Tepe (3,376 m asl),
K|rklar Tepe (3,354 m asl) and Mt. At (3,395 m
asl), home to the most recently reported glaciers.
In the Soğanl| Mountains, eight rock glaciers
were identified from ASTER imagery acquired on
August 29, 2004 . Although they were mostly small
(0.6 km long) and covered partly by snow, their
nested crescent-like rock ridges were clearly identified. They are generally located on the northern
slopes of the highest peaks. The longest rock glacier
in the Soğanl| Mountains was located near K|rklar
Tepe. It was about 910 m long, and extended down
to 2,828 m asl. Mt. At had three rock glaciers with
an average length of about 700 m. The average
terminal elevation of rock glaciers in the Soğanl|
Mountains was approximately 2,920 m asl.
21.5.1 Kavussahap Mountains
21.5.3 Rize Mountains
The Kavus sahap Mountains, also known as Mt.
I_ htiyars ahap (38.21 N, 42.86 E) are located about
20 km south of Lake Van (Fig. 21.1), between the
towns of Gevas and Bahçes ehir in the southeastern
Taurus Range. Hasanbes ir Tepe (3,503 m asl) is the
highest peak in this mountain range. The most upto-date snow line elevation on these mountains was
about 3,400 m asl (Kurter 1991; Çiner 2004).
Fourteen rock glaciers were identified on the
north-facing valleys of the Kavuss ahap Mountains
(Online Supplement 21.1). They were generally
small in size (<0.15 km 2 ) as opposed to other
glaciers in the Southeastern Taurus Mountains;
thus, it is difficult to delineate the outlines from
Another important region for rock glaciers in the
Eastern Black Sea Mountains is the Rize Mountains (40.84 N, 41.16 E) (Fig. 21.1). Thirteen rock
glaciers were classified from ASTER imagery taken
on August 29, 2004. The largest were found on Mt.
Kaçkar where there were seven rock glaciers located
on the northern side of the mountain. The longest
of them, Dübe, was 1.19 km in length, terminated at
an elevation of 2,947 m asl, and covered an area of
about 0.64 km 2 .
Other regions where rock glaciers are found in
the Rize Mountains are Mt. Verçenik, Mt. Tatos,
and the Göller (Hunut) Mountains in the western
part of the range, and the Alt|parmak Mountains in
5
5
Summary and conclusion 477
the northeastern part of the region. Mt. Verçenik,
Mt. Tatos, and the Göller (Hunut) Mountains had
four rock glaciers with an average length about 500
m, and average terminal elevations of about 3,100
m asl. In the Alt|parmak Mountains, two unnamed
rock glaciers were detected. They had an average
length of about 720 m and reached an average
elevation of about 2,880 m asl.
this region. Seven unnamed rock glaciers were identified in the Avc| Range of the Mercan Mountains
(Online Supplement 21.1). The average length of
rock glaciers on the mountain was about 450 m
and their average terminal elevation was about
2,890 m asl. On the main Mercan Range, there were
five unnamed rock glaciers with average lengths of
about 600 m and average terminal elevations at
2,860 m asl.
21.5.4 Karaçal Mountains
Several rock glaciers have been identified within the
Karaçal Mountains (shown as Mt. Karçal on some
maps) (41.35 N, 41.98 E, 3,415 m asl) in the Eastern Black Sea Mountains. Mt. Karçal is located to
the east of the Rize Mountains close to the Turkey–
Georgia border (Fig. 21.1), 25 km northeast of the
city of Artvin. Since it is 60 km from the main
Eastern Black Sea Mountains, it is considered part
of a different mountain subgroup. No earlier data
or reports exist about rock glaciers on this mountain.
However, four rock glaciers were identified from
ASTER imagery taken on September 9, 2009 and
August 4, 2009 (Table 21.2; Online Supplement
21.1) on the east and northeast side of Mt. Karçal.
The largest two were 1.56 and 1.36 km long, and
extended down to elevations of about 2,740 and
2,803 m asl, respectively. They showed very well–
developed crescent-like nested rock ridges, and
clear ice was observed on the accumulation area.
The other two rock glaciers were about 465 m long
and extended down to an average elevation of 2.917
m asl.
21.5.7 Esence Mountains
The Esence Mountains (39.78 N, 39.75 E) are
located northeast of the city of Erzincan, about
50 km north of the Mercan Mountains (Fig.
21.1). They lie parallel to the Euphrates River,
oriented in an east–west direction. The highest peak
is called Mt. Kes is (3,477 m asl) and consists of a
mafic ophiolite series, mainly composed of serpentine, diabase, and gabbro (Alt|nl|, 1966). The elevation of the snow line was about 3,600–3,700 m asl.
Three unnamed rock glaciers were detected here
from ASTER imagery taken on October 7, 2003.
The longest was located on the northern cirque of
Mt. Kes is and was about 720 m in length. It showed
very well–developed crescent-like debris lobes on its
surface and terminated at an elevation of about
3,130 m asl. The other two rock glaciers were
located on the northeast and east sides of Mt. Kesis
and were about 450 and 160 m long, respectively.
Their terminal elevations were at 3,190 and 3,157 m
asl, respectively.
21.6
21.5.5 Mt. Erciyes
On the eastern side of Mt. Erciyes (38.53 N,
35.45 E, 3917 m asl) in the Üçker Valley, Sar|kaya
et al. (2009) reported an active rock glacier based on
field observations in 2008. This was the single
largest rock glacier in Turkey. The Üçker rock
glacier can easily be delineated from the ASTER
image acquired on August 13, 2008. It occupied an
area of about 0.94 km 2 between elevations of 2,960
and 3,350 m asl, and was about 1.59 km long.
21.5.6 Mercan Mountains
Rock glaciers in the Mercan Mountains (39.49 N,
39.17 E) are generally small in size (<0.1 km 2 ).
ASTER images acquired on August 3 and August
28, 2006 were used to identify the rock glaciers in
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Glaciers and rock glaciers of present day Turkey
have been identified and analyzed from several
ASTER images acquired between 2002 and 2011
as part of the international GLIMS project. The
inventory presented here was collected from seven
different mountains and mountain ranges located
between 37 N and 41 N, mostly in the higher eastern part of the country. These include the Buzul,
I_ kiyaka, Eastern Black Sea, and Mercan Mountains
and the Ağr| (Ararat), Erciyes, and Süphan volcanoes. In this chapter, 17 mountain glaciers, 1 ice
cap, and 33 glacierets (51 features in total), as well
as 55 rock glaciers have been analyzed.
The total area of glaciers is estimated to be 11.52
km 2 , with the greatest concentration occurring in
the Southeastern Taurus Mountains (36% by area).
The ice cap on Mt. Ağr| covers 5.66 km 2 and on its
478
Satellite inventory of glaciers in Turkey
own constitutes nearly half of the total glaciated
area of Turkey. The longest mountain glaciers in
Turkey are also located in the Southeastern Taurus
Mountains; principal among them is I_ zb|rak
Glacier located in the Buzul Mountains, which is
2.1 km long and covers 0.92 km 2 . There are many
glacierets in Turkey, which are probably remnants
of earlier glacial stages. They are generally small in
size (<0.2 km 2 ) and located on the high steep northern slopes of mountain peaks where they are protected from direct solar irradiation.
The total area of the 55 identified rock glaciers is
about 8 km 2 . They generally occur in the eastern
part of the country in the Kavuss ahap, Soğanl|,
Rize, Karaçal, Erciyes, Mercan, and Esence Mountains. The largest rock glacier, Üçker, is located on
the eastern side of Mt. Erciyes (Sar|kaya et al.,
2009). It is about 1.59 km long and occupies an
area of about 0.94 km 2 between the elevations of
2,960 and 3,350 m asl.
Turkish glaciers show significant retreats, at least
since the beginning of the 20th century (Fig. 21.4).
Maximum retreat rates have occurred in the Southeastern Taurus and in the Eastern Black Sea Mountains with averages of 27.2 and 11.1 m per year,
respectively. The retreat rates are somewhat lower
on Mt. Erciyes, 4.2 m per year, and on Mt. Süphan,
7.2 m per year. The ice cap on Mt. Ağr| has also
significantly suffered from the general shrinking
trend. Its total area has decreased by 29% since
1976, a recessional rate of 0.07 km 2 per year
(Sar|kaya, 2012). The general shrinking trend of
Turkish glaciers is consistent with the behavior of
other glaciers around the world (Oerlemans 2005)
and with the general warming trend observed in the
past century (IPCC 2007). This work represents an
inventory-type study that documents the current or
last known status of Turkish glaciers and rock
glaciers. Future work should concentrate on field
observation and mass balance determinations of
these glaciers to determine the cause(s) of their
retreat.
21.7
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We thank the editors of this book for inviting us to
write this chapter. We are also grateful to Jeff
Olsenholler for his help during preparation of
ASTER imagery, and to Michael P. Bishop and
John F. Shroder (University of Nebraska-Omaha)
for providing a workplace to study these glaciers.
ASTER data courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/
Japan Space Systems, the U.S./Japan ASTER
Science Team, and the GLIMS project.
21.8
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