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Two Centuries of Lekhziri Glacier Evolution in the Georgian Caucasus and Recent Proglacial Lake Development
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DOI：10.3390/w18161970.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Mountain glaciers constitute sensitive indicators of climate variability and represent essential freshwater reservoirs for downstream ecosystems and societies. Although glacier change in the Greater Caucasus has been extensively investigated at regional scales, detailed long-term reconstructions of individual glacier systems remain comparatively scarce. In this study, we reconstruct two centuries of evolution of Georgia’s largest Lekhziri Glacier and document the recent formation of its proglacial lake. The Little Ice Age glacier extent (AD ~1820) was reconstructed from moraine complexes, whereas later glacier outlines were derived from historical topographic maps, Landsat, SPOT, PlanetScope, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data spanning 1890–2025. Glacier terminus elevation was analysed using the Copernicus Digital Elevation Model, whereas long-term climatic variability was evaluated from summer air temperature and winter precipitation records obtained from the local meteorological station. The results demonstrate that Lekhziri Glacier experienced substantial and accelerating retreat during the past two centuries. Glacier area decreased from 46.67 ± 2.53 km2 in ~1820 to 28.31 ± 0.62 km2 in 2025, representing a net reduction of −18.36 km2 (−39.34%) with an average annual decrease of −0.19% yr−1. Area loss accelerated markedly after 2000, reaching −0.66% yr−1 during 2000–2014 and −0.87% yr−1 during 2014–2025. Over the last two centuries, the glacier terminus retreated by approximately −4.78 km, equivalent to an average retreat rate of −32.4 m yr−1, while the terminus elevation migrated upward by nearly 600 m, from ~1718 to ~2317 m a.s.l. The glacier also underwent pronounced structural fragmentation after 2014, fundamentally altering its geometry and flow configuration. Concurrently, a proglacial lake first identified in 2019 with an area of 10,805 m2 expanded rapidly to 28,947 m2 in 2022 and 38,260 m2 in 2025, with its continued existence confirmed by UAV observations in 2026. Meteorological records indicate a persistent increase in summer air temperature since the mid-twentieth century, accompanied by a decline in winter precipitation, consistent with the observed acceleration of glacier recession. This study provides one of the most comprehensive reconstructions of glacier evolution to date for an individual glacier in the Greater Caucasus and contributes new insights into the changing dynamics of glacierized mountain landscapes under continued climate warming.
Keywords:
glacier mapping
Lekhziri Glacier
Georgian Caucasus
Little Ice Age
glacier terminus
remote sensing
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