Using of dendrohronological data for reconstruction of glaciers fluctuations in Kuznetsk Alatau

To reconstruct the climate and glacier evolution during the last four centuries we made some dendrochronological research.We used samples of larches growing near the upper forest border in the upper reaches of the Hunul-Huzuh River (Tigertish mountaingroup) and in the upper reaches of the Middle Ters River (Kanym upland). Comparative analysis of our dendroscales with dendroscalesmade by P.A. Moiseev was made. To find the leading climatic factor that most influenced the growth of larch we made correlationanalysis with the data from meteostations ''Nenastnaya'' and ''Tsentralny Rudnik''. Weak correlation between growth indexes andtemperature in June-July was found. Weak correlation can be explained by the phenomenon of pseudo-aridity. To prove the hypothesisof pseudo-aridity we made soil research in the places where the samples were taken during the expedition in 2010. The results of the soilresearch prove that weak correlation between growth indexes and temperature indications from meteostations can be explained by thefact that the above mentioned meteostations are rather far from the place of research. Correlation analysis of dendroscales showed highsynchronism of growth fluctuation from year to year. The analysis of average plots showed connection between glaciers fluctuation andgrowth indexes. Years with low growth indexes correspond to high glacier activity in the region (glaciers growth and snow depositsincrease). After analysing the general 9-year smooth dendroscale it was found that the most comfortable conditions for glaciersevolution were at the end of the 17th and in the first part of the 18th centuries. In all the studied dendroscales we found the years ofminimum growth: 1692, 1713, 1732, 1750, 1756, 1759, 1768, 1775, 1785, 1792, 1835 1843, 1869, 1882 and 1884, 1893, 1907, 1912,1927, 1962, 1967, 1988, 1995. The highest growth indexes within 330 years were discovered in the 1950s and 1990s. During theseperiods we observed strong degradation of glaciers, up to their disappearance. Constructed dendroscale chronology was used for findingout the age of moraine banks of the glaciers Tronov and Karatash. Moraine complexes had been mapped beforehand and with the helpof phyto-indication and lichenometry we found 5 moraine banks of different age. The banks that are far from the glaciers can belong tothe Historical stage. The second external bank belongs to the Little Ice Age. The first three internal moraine banks can appear afterglacier degradation in the 19th-20th centuries.

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