Dendroecological analysis of the dynamics of Lake Mashej, Altai-Mountains, Siberia

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jürgen Herget
• Subject Area: Physical Geography
• Term: from 2014 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 270696064

Lake Mashej, located in the Siberian Altai Mountains, is formed by a dam consisting of a terminal moraine with a covering rockglacier and lateral rockfall debris. Until its outburst in July 2012, the lake developed during the last 400 years up to its maximum extension. Dead tree trunks within the temporary inundated lake basin loged the extension of the lake by the point of time of their death and the environmental conditions within their anual records. By dendroecological analysis of the already sampled tree trunks the development of the lake and the related climatological and environmental signals will be decoded. A previous random test indicated a significant amount of data inherited in the tree rings. In addition to the development of the lake itself, the data might fill a significant gap on the knowledge of the natural environmental development of the area located between Europe and the heart of Central Asia.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Burkhard Neuwirth