Surficial geology and geomorphology of the Kumtor Gold Mine, Kyrgyzstan: human impacts on mountain glacier landsystems

Evans, D.J.A.; Ewertowski, M.; Jamieson, S.S.R.; Orton, C.

doi:10.1080/17445647.2015.1071720

Surficial geology and geomorphology of the Kumtor Gold Mine, Kyrgyzstan: human impacts on mountain glacier landsystems

Evans, D.J.A.; Ewertowski, M.; Jamieson, S.S.R.; Orton, C.

Authors

Professor David Evans d.j.a.evans@durham.ac.uk
Professor

M. Ewertowski

Professor Stewart Jamieson stewart.jamieson@durham.ac.uk
Professor

C. Orton

Abstract

A 1:50,000 scale map of the surficial geology and geomorphology of the mountain glacier landsystem and the human impacts of the Kumtor Gold Mine operations in the Akshiirak massif was compiled from a 0.5 m resolution pan-sharpened image from Digital Globe's WorldView-2 platform dated 5 September 2014. The map depicts 11 surficial geology units, 6 of which are classified according to natural genetic origins and 5 relating to recent human interference with glaciological and land surface processes. When compared to historical imagery the map records a number of important, not unrelated, cryospheric responses to mining activity, including: (a) the triggering of human-induced glacier speed-up events or surges due to dumping of mine spoil on receding and thinning glacier snouts; (b) the reactivation by internal creep of buried glacier ice due to the expansion of spoil dumping onto down valley areas of ice-cored moraine; and (c) accelerated ice drawdown and significant incursions of ice into the mine pit walls due to the artificial removal of substantial areas of glacier ablation zones.

Citation

Evans, D., Ewertowski, M., Jamieson, S., & Orton, C. (2016). Surficial geology and geomorphology of the Kumtor Gold Mine, Kyrgyzstan: human impacts on mountain glacier landsystems. Journal of Maps, 12(5), 757-769. https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2015.1071720

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 8, 2015
Online Publication Date	Aug 3, 2015
Publication Date	Oct 19, 2016
Deposit Date	Aug 27, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Aug 3, 2016
Journal	Journal of Maps
Publisher	Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	12
Issue	5
Pages	757-769
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2015.1071720
Keywords	Mountain glacier landsystem, Human impacts, Mining, Kyrgyzstan.

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Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Journal of Maps on 03/08/2015, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17445647.2015.1071720.