Embryonic glaciers on the Balkan peninsula: state and changes in the last several years

Abstract

Mountain glaciers are among the best natural indicators of short-term climatic variations. Although presently there are no classical glaciers on the Balkan peninsula, mountains in this part of Europe comprise a number of small but permanent firn-ice patches, which can be categorized as embryonic glaciers. They are subdivided into: typical glacierets (most of them) and small glaciers (a hybrid form between glacierets and cirque glaciers). Most of these features have survived the warming since the end of the Little Ice Age, and are considered to have persisted for at least five centuries without a complete melt (Grunewald et al., 2008; Gachev, Stoyanov, 2013).

Researches in the last several years (Milivojević et al.. 2008; Hughes, 2007, 2009; Djurović, 2009, 2012; Gachev et al., 2009 and others) revealed the presence of embryonic glaciers in just three mountain ranges throughout the Balkan peninsula: Prokletije mountains (in Albania), Durmitor (in Montenegro) and Pirin (in Bulgaria) (fig. 1). They are all located in north and northeast facing strongly shaded cirque bottoms of carbonate bedrock (limestone, marble) at altitudes from 2035 to 2620 m a. s. l., and usually have areas from less than 1 ha to 5 - 6 ha.