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Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

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Project • CRRP2017-05MY-Demberel

Climatogenic Transformation of the Alpine Landscapes in Mongolian and Russian Altai

Climate change affect the world’s mountain regions and may jeopardize the important services (drinking water supplies, hydropower generation, agricultural suitability) provided by the mountains. This is especially important for mountain areas located within the boundaries of several countries, for example, the Altai Mountains that stretch over four countries (China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia). Furthermore, research addressing the relations between climate changes and a dynamic alpine landscape is currently becoming more relevant in connection with the need for reliable predictive conclusions. The goal of this project is a quantitative estimation of climatic changes (past and present) in the Mongolian and Russian Altai and their reflection in spatio-temporal changes of the mountain landscapes and the identification of irreversible changes in their morphological structure. Project results are the quantification of relations between climatic parameters and changes in landscape structure of mountain glacial basisn, instrumental and remote monitoring of the state of the nival-glacial and cryogenic landscapes, the dynamics of slope processes and detailed data observations of snow, soil and vegetation of the test polygons. These findings will be the basis for the development of regional policies and of intergovernmental cooperation, taking into account the interest of local communities.