Merzbacher Lake
Lake Merzbacher is a high-altitude glacial-dammed lake on the western flank of Tengri-Too in the Central Tien Shan. It is located on the Sarydjas pasture in Engilchek rural district of Ak-Suu district of Issyk-Kul region at an altitude of 3304 meters above sea level. It is located in the western part of the Enilchek Valley, in the foothills of the North Enilchek Glacier. It is 2-3 km long, 1.1 km wide, four km2 in area and 60-70 m deep. The basin is located at an altitude of 3304 m above sea level. Icebergs float on the surface of the lake, blocked by glaciers. The lake is generally divided into two. The upper part is covered with ice and the lower part is wet. It lies at the confluence of the northern and southern branches of the Engilchek glacier and feeds on melting waters.
The lake is named after the German geographer Gottfried Merzbacher, whose expedition led the discovery of the lake in 1903. Formed at the end of the Little Ice Age (XIX century)
It has two basins, called the Upper and Lower Merzbacher Lake, separated by a height of 400 m and 3-4 km of ice river which also bears the name of Merzbacher. The lower, most part of the lake from the south is bounded by a glacial "dam". Every year (twice a year, in summer and winter), the lower part breaks into the valley of the Engilchek River, completely loses its waters, dumping them within 2-7 days through the under-ice canals. Water discharge in the Engilchek River now of discharge can exceed 1000 m³ / s. Breakthroughs often destroy bridges, roads, and other engineering structures downstream of rivers flowing from this lake, up to the Aksu River in China. At the moment of a breakthrough, from 0.06 to 0.07 cubic kilometres of water accumulates in the lake. According to research by scientists, breakthroughs occur when the water temperature in the lake rises to 10-15 degrees Celsius.
Lake Merzbacher joins the ranks of "drying up" lakes. However, other lakes around the world are on the verge of extinction. They are in Iceland, Switzerland and Greenland. Recent studies determined the period of extinction of Lake Merzbacher.
