ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Cryospheric Sciences
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1611054
The Influence of Natural Factors on the Spatial Distribution of Aufeis in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Provisionally accepted
Ulambayar Ganbold1,2*
Dai Nakamura1
Dashtseren Avirmed2,3
Tatsuya Watanabe1Jambaljav Yamkhin4Byambabayar Ganbold5Temuujin Khurelbaatar2Tsogt-Erdene Gansukh2Otgonjargal Dagvadorj1- 1Faculty of Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kitami Institute of Technology, Kitami, Japan
- 2Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences (MAS), Ulan Bator, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- 3UNESCO Chair of Environmental Sciences in Eastern Central Asia, Mongolian Academy of Sciences (MAS), Ulan Bator, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- 4Geocryo LLC, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- 5School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Geography, National University of Mongolia, Sükhbaatar, Mongolia
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Aufeis is a recurring natural phenomenon in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, that significantly affects local communities and urban infrastructure during winter. Despite its annual occurrence, the processes and natural factors influencing aufeis formation remain poorly understood. This study investigates the long-term dynamics of aufeis formation and the natural factors controlling its extent and distribution. Landsat satellite imagery from 2009 to 2024 was analyzed to assess multiyear changes in aufeis extent, and drone imagery was employed to map the monthly dynamic changes in aufeis during the winter of 2023-2024. The results show that aufeis typically forms in November, reaches a peak in March, and completely melts by May. Over the past 14 years, aufeis areas ranged from 0.01 km 2 to 0.03 km 2 . However, in the winter of 2023-2024, the aufeis expanded to 0.04 km 2 , with significant encroachment into settlement areas, causing notable damage. This shift in spatial distribution is attributable to changes in ground surface temperature induced by thick snow cover that functioned as thermal insulation and allowed spring water to flow beneath the snow and accumulate in low-lying areas. Furthermore, variations in annual precipitation and geological conditions influenced the extent of aufeis.
Keywords: Aufeis, spatial distribution, n-factor, Snow cover, remote sensing, ert
Received: 13 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ganbold, Nakamura, Avirmed, Watanabe, Yamkhin, Ganbold, Khurelbaatar, Gansukh and Dagvadorj. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ulambayar Ganbold, Faculty of Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kitami Institute of Technology, Kitami, Japan
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