CR
Cryospheric Sciences

Levan Tielidze

Levan Tielidze is Research Fellow at Monash University within Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF), Australia. He uses remote sensing and in situ methods to study modern glaciers in linkage to ongoing climate change. His research interests also include reconstructing the dynamics of past glaciers and ice sheets through the tools of glacial geomorphology and cosmogenic nuclide dating. Contact email: tielidzelevan@gmail.com. Bluesky: ‪@levantielidze.bsky.social‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ Linkdin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levan-tielidze-017488a7/

Tracking the Footprints of a Vanishing Glaciers in the Greater Caucasus

Aerial image showing the climate change impact on small glaciers in the central Greater Caucasus, Georgia. Slopes are extensive deposits of moraines and loose rock debris, left behind by retreating glaciers. A small glacial lake (near the center-bottom of the image) fed by meltwater from the surrounding ice and snow was developed after glacier retreat [Credit: Levan Tielidze].

In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about his recent glacier study from the Greater Caucasus. By combining geomorphology, remote sensing, and historical cartography, the team reconstructed nearly 200 years of glacier and climate change across one of the world’s most dynamic cryospheric frontiers. Glaciers’ transformation provides a high-resolution archive of post-Little Ice Age …[Read More]

A Scientific Quest from Australia to Antarctica

A group of 10 individuals forming the team for the fieldwork

In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about his participation in a scientific expedition to Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, during the 2024–2025 field season. The journey, commencing in Australia and passing through South Africa, led him to the “surreal” and “awe-inspiring” Antarctic landscape. The team, a collaborative effort from Monash University, and the University …[Read More]

Hidden Ice of the Greater Caucasus

Hidden Ice of the Greater Caucasus

In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about the first inventory of rock glaciers from the Greater Caucasus as an important basis for further research of geomorphology and palaeoglaciology in this region. What are Rock Glaciers? Rock glaciers are distinctive geomorphological landforms of frozen debris that are supersaturated with ice. The low ice velocity …[Read More]

Enigmatic Climatic Event: Antarctic Cold Reversal

Enigmatic Climatic Event: Antarctic Cold Reversal

In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about the insight into the response of mountain glaciers to the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR) event in New Zealand to better understand the climatic history of the Southern Hemisphere during the last deglaciation. The ACR was a cold period occurred in the Southern Hemisphere during the transition …[Read More]

A new glacier chronology from New Zealand

A new glacier chronology from New Zealand

In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about the new glacier history from the Southern Alps of New Zealand, an important piece of information to better understand the climatic history of Earth during the Quaternary, the current geologic period. Quaternary glaciations Geochronological dating of glacial moraines is useful for determining the extent and timing …[Read More]

Massive melting of Caucasus glaciers

Massive melting of Caucasus glaciers

The Caucasus is one of the most studied glacierized regions in the world (see previous Cryoblogs on Caucasus glaciers here and here). In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about the health of the Greater Caucasus glaciers. His first study published this year indicates that the rate of decline in glacier extent between 2000 …[Read More]

The new glacial geomorphological map from New Zealand

The new glacial geomorphological map from New Zealand

Geomorphological maps are a fundamental tool to represent landforms and understand how different morphological elements and agents shaped a natural landscape. They are also important as background information for many fields of research including ecology, forestry and of course, glaciology. In this week’s blog, Levan Tielidze tells us about the importance of mapping glacial geomorphology, …[Read More]

Climate Change & Cryosphere – How the Chalaati Glacier (Georgian Caucasus) changed since the Little Ice Age

Climate Change & Cryosphere – How the Chalaati Glacier (Georgian Caucasus) changed since the Little Ice Age

Chalaati Glacier is one of the largest glaciers in the Greater Caucasus and has undergone expansive mass loss. In this week’s blog post, Levan Tielidze tells us about Chalaati Glacier variations in the past centuries. His recent study was conducted based on surface exposure dating technique, dendrochronology (tree ring analysis), lichenometry, and satellite imagery. They …[Read More]