Kidyaeva, Vera; Iudina, Viktoriia; Averina, Alena; Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina; Gubanov, Afanasy: Glacial lake inventory of the Caucasus, 2025: geographic identification, morphometric characteristic and GLOF hazard assessments [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.993983 (dataset in review)
Abstract:
This dataset presents a comprehensive tabular inventory of glacial lakes in the Caucasus region, compiled from remote sensing data acquired during the 2025 ablation season. The Caucasus is a hotspot of glacier retreat and associated glacial lake development, where the formation and expansion of glacial lakes pose increasing risks of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) to downstream communities and infrastructure. The tabular format of this inventory facilitates rapid analysis and seamless integration with GIS and statistical software. All lakes were mapped using satellite imagery (Sentinel-2) acquired during the 2025 ablation season. Lake boundaries were delineated manually to ensure accuracy, particularly for complex lake geometries and ice-contacting margins. Morphometric parameters were calculated from satellite data and a digital elevation model (DEM). Dam characteristics and hazard classifications were assessed through image interpretation and corroborated with published literature. The inventory includes proglacial, supraglacial, and periglacial lakes, each with comprehensive morphometric and physical characteristics: geographic identifiers (country, region, river basin), coordinates, elevation, area, perimeter, volume, dam material, ice presence, outflow type, shore hazard, lake typology, age, GLOF hazard classification (high/moderate/low), and documented historical GLOF events with dates and triggers.
References:
Chernomorets, Sergey S; Petrakov, Dimitry A; Aleynikov, Alexander A; Bekkiev, M Y; Viskhadzhieva, Karina; Dokukin, Mikhail D; Kalov, Ruslan; Kidyaeva, Vera; Krylenko, I N; Rets, Ekaterina P; Savernyuk, Elena A; Smirnov, Andrei (2018): The outburst of Bashkara glacier lake (Central Caucasus, Russia). On September 1, 2017. Kriosfera Zemli (Earth's Cryosphere), XXII(2), 61-70, https://doi.org/10.21782/EC2541-9994-2018-2(61-70)
Chernomorets, Sergey S; Petrakov, Dimitry A; Tutubalina, Olga V (2007): The outburst of a glacier lake on the north-eastern slope of Mount Elbrus on August 11, 2006: the forecast, event and after-effects. Materialy Glatsioloicheskikh Issledovaniy, 102, 211-215
Djappuev, D R; Gyaurgieva, M M; Khutuev, A M (2015): Analysis of actual and potential torrential (sill) danger near the village of Upper Balkaria of Kabardin-Balkar republic. News of the Kabardin-Balkar scientific center of RAS, 4, 36-44
Dokukin, Mikhail D; Shagin, S I (2014): The specific features of the behavior of glacial lakes with underground drain channels (analysis of multi temporal aerospace information). Kriosfera Zemli (Earth's Cryosphere), XVIII (2), 41-50
Kovalev, N V (1961): On debris fl ows on the northern slope of Central Caucasus. Proceedings of the Caucasian Expedition (by the program of the International Geophysical Year). Kharkov University Press, Kharkov, 3, 149-161
Krylenko, I V; Petrakov, Dimitry A; Tutubalina, Olga V; Cheromorets, S S; Zhuravleva, P G (2004): Dynamics of the Gerkhozhan-Su debris flow basin (Kabardino-Balkaria) following the catastrophe of July 18–25, 2000. Materialy Glyatsiologicheskikh Issledovaniy (Materials of Glaciological Research), 96, 159-166
Malneva, I V; Seinova, I B; Kononova, N K; Berkovchenko, S A (1990): Forecast of glacial debris flows in the central part of the Main Caucasian Ridge. Materialy Glyatsiologicheskikh Issledovaniy (Materials of Glaciological Research), 69, 50-55
Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina; Krylenko, I N; Kidyaeva, Vera; Gubanova, Alexandra; Yudina, Anna; Krylenko, I V; Drozdov, E D (in press): Dynamics of lakes near the Maliy Azau glacier on Elbrus over the past 20 years and their outburst in 2025. Ice and Snow, 66(2)
Poznanin, V L: Osobennosti mekhanizma formirovaniya proryvnykh glyatsial'nykh seley (na primere basseyna reki Temir v Dagestane) (Characteristics of the formation mechanism of glacial outburst debris flows: The Temir River basin in Dagestan) [dissertation]. Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, pp 145
Seinova, I B (1997): Debris flow processes in the Baksan River basin in the last millennium (Central Caucasus) [In Russian]. Moscow: VINITI, pp 295
Funding:
Russian Science Foundation, grant/award no. 25-77-10049: Outburst hazard assessment of mountain glacial lakes of the Central Caucasus under climate change using modelling and machine learning methods
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 43.136558 * Median Longitude: 42.628096 * South-bound Latitude: 41.868831 * West-bound Longitude: 40.242562 * North-bound Latitude: 43.845379 * East-bound Longitude: 47.162618
Date/Time Start: 2025-07-30T08:06:00 * Date/Time End: 2025-08-29T08:06:00
Event(s):
Comment:
The dataset covers:
* Geographic identification: unique geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude in WGS84 decimal degrees, and auxiliary UTM coordinates), elevation, lake name, country, region, and river basin.
* Morphometric characteristics: lake area (m²), lake perimeter (m), and lake volume (m³).
* GLOF hazard assessment (except for the extraglacial ones): integrated hazard classification (high, moderate, low), documented GLOF occurrence, dates, trigger mechanisms, consequences, and literature sources.
All lakes were mapped using satellite imagery (Sentinel-2) acquired during the 2025 ablation season. Lake boundaries were delineated manually to ensure accuracy, particularly for complex lake geometries and ice-contacting margins.
The dataset is intended to support research on glacier-lake interactions, GLOF hazard assessment, and water resource management in the Caucasus. It provides a baseline for monitoring future lake changes and contributes to regional disaster risk reduction efforts.
The lake hazard assessment is based on six criteria, each assigned a certain number of points. The total score determines the overall hazard level.
Distance to glacier (m)
– ≤200 m: 2 points
– 200-500 m: 1 point
– >500 m: 0 points
Dam material
– Ice, moraine with ice: 2 points
– Moraine: 1 point
– Moraine and bedrock, bedrock and rockbar: 0 points
Surface outflow
– Present: 0 points
– Absent: 1 point
Shore Collapse Hazard
– Landslide/rockfall hazard: 1 point
– No hazard: 0 points
Area (m²)
– ≥20 000: 2 points
– 10 000-20 000: 1 point
– <10 000: 0 points
Age (years)
– ≤25: 1 point
– >25: 0 points
The total score is summed across all six criteria, and the hazard level is determined as follows:
High hazard (1): total score >6 points
Moderate hazard (2): total score 3-5 points
Low hazard (3): total score ≤2 points
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ORDINAL NUMBER | Ord No | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Geocode – Unique identifier of the lake. | ||
| 2 | LATITUDE | Latitude | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Geocode | ||
| 3 | LONGITUDE | Longitude | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Geocode | ||
| 4 | UTM Easting, Universal Transverse Mercator | UTM east | m | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | UTM east number where the lake is located | |
| 5 | UTM Northing, Universal Transverse Mercator | UTM north | m | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | UTM north number where the lake is located | |
| 6 | UTM Zone, Universal Transverse Mercator | UTM Zone | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | UTM zone number where the lake is located | ||
| 7 | Lake | Lake | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Geographic name of the lake, if available. | ||
| 8 | Identification | ID | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Glacier identifier according to World Glacier Inventory. | ||
| 9 | Identification | ID | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | The names of glaciers from the USSR Glacier Catalog and names widely used in scientific publications. | ||
| 10 | Country | Country | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Country where the lake is located. | ||
| 11 | Region, political | Reg political | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Region or administrative unit. | ||
| 12 | River | River | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | River in whose valley the lake is located, or the outflow river. | ||
| 13 | ELEVATION | Elevation | m a.s.l. | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Geocode – Absolute elevation of the lake water surface. Determined from topographic maps of the General Staff of the USSR (Soviet military topographic maps) at scale 1:100,000. | |
| 14 | Type | Type | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Type based on position relative to glacier: proglacial (in front of glacier), supraglacial (on glacier surface), periglacial (near glacier, often in permafrost zone). | ||
| 15 | Material | Material | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Visual interpretation | Dam material. Determined visually from Sentinel‑2 satellite imagery. | |
| 16 | Ice presence | Ice | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Visual interpretation | Determined visually from Sentinel‑2 satellite imagery if the lake is located sufficiently close to the glacier, or if a moraine dam with steep slopes. | |
| 17 | Surface outflow | Surf outfl | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Visual interpretation | Determined visually from Sentinel‑2 satellite imagery. | |
| 18 | Shore collapse hazard | Shore hazard | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Visual interpretation | Determined visually from Sentinel‑2 satellite imagery by identifying steep slopes, exposed bedrock, ice, or rock walls above the lake shoreline. | |
| 19 | Years | Years | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Determined through multi‑temporal analysis: presence was verified on Soviet topographic maps from before 1980 (scale 1:100,000), then on satellite imagery from the 2000, 2018, and 2025. Age class is assigned based on the earliest observation. Estimated from remote sensing data, field evidence, or literature. Since its formation. | ||
| 20 | Lake, perimeter | Lake perim | m | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Length of the lake shoreline (perimeter). | |
| 21 | Distance to glacier | Distance glacier | m | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Distance from the lake shoreline to the front of the glacier. | |
| 22 | Lake surface area | Lake area | m2 | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | ||
| 23 | Lake volume, below depth | Lake vol below depth | m3 | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Calculated | Water volume calculated using empirical formula: V = 0.58 × Area^1.62 (derived from bathymetric measurements of glacial lakes in the Caucasus) |
| 24 | Hazard classification | Hazard class | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Integrated assessment of the GLOF. See also dataset comment. | ||
| 25 | Occurrence | Occur | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | From literature | Presence of a documented GLOF event for this lake in historical or instrumental records. | |
| 26 | Date of determination | Date deter | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | From literature | Date(s) of documented GLOF events. May include exact date, year, or period if documented in literature or archival sources. | |
| 27 | Trigger mechanism | Trigger | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Trigger mechanism that caused the GLOF. | ||
| 28 | Observation | Obs | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Consequences of the GLOF event: infrastructure damage, casualties, changes in the river valley, debris flow deposits, etc. | ||
| 29 | Reference/source | Reference | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Literature source (article, report, archival data) from which GLOF information was obtained | ||
| 30 | Comment | Comment | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | |||
| 31 | Global navigation satellite system | GNSS | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Name of the satellite that data were used for lake mapping and parameter measurement | ||
| 32 | DATE/TIME | Date/Time | Pavlyukevich, Ekaterina | Geocode – Date of the survey. |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
8712 data points
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