The Unified Accumulation: Ablation Field on Glaciers of the Northern Hemisphere

摘要

The cartographic investigation method, i.e., application of maps for scientific description and analysis of natural phenomena, is of great significance in cognition of the world [1]. In this connection, the World Atlas of Snow and Ice Resources published in 1997 provides possibilities for such an approach to investigation of ice systems [2-4]. The materials presented in this Atlas realize the idea of reflecting characteristics of spatially distributed objects (including glaciers and ice systems) in the form of fields (isoline maps) [5]. Glaciers may form various-rank ice systems. In [6], the authors proposed a hierarchy of glacier systems on the Earth. In the Atlas, the glaciological shell of the Earth (glaciosphere) is represented at different levels: global, regional, local, and single-glacier [3]. In each case, glaciers are united into a system corresponding to the particular investigation level. A peculiar feature of the cartographic presentation of the glacier system consists in the fact that the latter is formed by discrete objects (individual glaciers), while the researcher strives to show all the regularities characteristic of all glaciation. The climate and relief represent the main factors responsible for development of glaciation. Their natural characteristics are continuous; therefore, it would be logical to apply in the Atlas the field method for presentation of glacier systems on small-scale maps. In such maps, the regularities of the corresponding characteristics are most readily recognizable. In total, 32 parameters reflected in small-scale maps in the form of fields are used in the above Atlas.