Djankuat Glacier Station in the North Caucasus, Russia: a Database of complex glaciological, hydrological, meteorological observations and isotopes sampling results during 2007-2017

Ekaterina P. Rets, Viktor V. Popovnin, Pavel A. Toropov, Andrew M. Smirnov, Igor V. Tokarev, Julia N. Chizhova, Nadine A. Budantseva, Yurij K. Vasil’chuk, Maria B. Kireeva, Alexey A. Ekaykin, Anna V. Kozachek, Alexander A. Aleynikov, Natalia L. Frolova, Anatoly S. Tsyplenkov, Alexey A. Poliukhov, Sergey R. Chalov, Maria A. Aleshina, Ekaterina D. KornilovaThe study presents a dataset on the long-term complex glaciological, hydrological, meteorological observations and isotopes sampling in an extremely underreported alpine zone of the North Caucasus. The Djankuat research basin is of 9.1 km2, situated on elevations between 2500 – 4000 m, by 30% covered with glaciers. The biggest in the basin Djankuat glacier was chosen as representative of the central North Caucasus during the International Hydrological Decade and is one of 30 ‘reference’ glaciers in the world that have annual mass-balance series longer than 50 years (Zemp et al, 2009). The dataset covers 2007-2017 and contains the result of yearly measurements of snow thickness and density; dynamics of snow and ice melting; measurements of water runoff, conductivity, turbidity, temperature, δ18O, δ2H on the main gauging station with a one-hour or several-hours step depending on the parameter; data on δ18O and δ2H sampling of liquid precipitation, snow, ice, firn, groundwater in different parts of the watershed regularly in time during the melting season; precipitation amount, air temperature, relative humidity, shortwave incoming and reflected radiation, longwave incoming and outcoming radiation, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction – measured on several automatic weather stations within the basin with 15 min – one-hour step; gradient meteorological measurements. The observations were held during the ablation period June-October and were interrupted in winter. The dataset can be useful for developing and verifying hydrological, glaciological and meteorological models for high elevation territories, to study impact of climate change on hydrology of mountain regions, using isotopic and hydrochemical approaches to study mountain territories.