Caucasus glaciers debris cover inventory for 2000 and 2020

The current stage of glaciation degradation is also manifested in the intensification of the input of lithogenic material to the glacier surface. Surface deposits significantly affect the ablation of glacier ice, which directly affects the glacier runoff and the glacier mass balance. For the entire Greater Caucasus, the moraine boundaries were determined using semi-automated methods [Scherler et al., 2018; Herreid & Pellicciotti, 2020; Tielidze et al., 2024, etc.]. This database presents the results of manual interpretation of the moraine cover boundaries as of 2000 (according to Landsat-7 data) and 2020 (Sentinel-2). The buffer method was used to assess the accuracy of determining the area of moraine-covered ice. As a result, from 2000 to 2020, the number of glaciers with noticeable moraine cover increased from 763 (34% of the number of glaciers in the Caucasus) to 1274 (58%), and their area - from 132.5 ± 8.6 km² (8-9% of the glacier area) to 163.9 ± 5.9 km² (14-15%). Due to the active degradation of glaciation, the activity of the lithogenic material input from the rocky surroundings of glaciers increased. The gradual rise of the kinematic boundary of the supply of glaciers in the Caucasus, characteristic of the modern evolutionary stage, leads to a characteristic tendency: over time, the melting of the first portions of moraine material along the flow line onto the daytime surface of the glacier is recorded higher and higher upstream, which is what we see when comparing 2000 and 2020 debris. The projection of the moraine cover during the retreat of glaciers often leads to the damming of the periglacial area and the formation of dangerous lakes.