I studied the changes in the surface area of selected snowfields in the Martuljek mountains: Snowfield beneath Grlo and Oltar, Snowfield between Oltar and Velika Ponca, Kotli between Velika and Mala Ponca, Špik ravine and Snowfield Pod srcem. I used 16 photographs of the Martuljek mountains taken between 2005 and 2024, four of them were taken in 2023 and three in 2024. For the processing, I used the InterORI software, which enables an interactive method of orientation of individual photographs by using DTM and single photograph. I analysed changes in the surface area of the snowfields over the years, with a detailed examination of the melting periods in the summer of 2023 and partly in the summer of 2024. I compared my results with previously measured snowfield surfaces of the Martuljek mountains, Snowfield Skedenj under Prisojnik, Triglav glacier and Skuta glacier. Among the five snowfields studied, the largest is Snowfield beneath Grlo and Oltar, and the smallest is Snowfield Pod srcem. The smallest snowfield had already disappeared by mid-August 2023 and 2024. The other snowfields generally persist until at least the end of August. From July to August, the snowfields decrease by approximately 50%. The surface area of snowfields that persist until the end of the melting period decreases by approximately 90% compared to their size in June. The comparison of changes in the snowfields in the Martuljek group and snowfield Skedenj under Prisojnik allowed us to estimate the average annual temperature of the current year based solely on study of the area changes in these snowfields during a specific melting period and knowing the average annual temperature at Kredarica. This confirms the long-known fact that snowfields and glaciers serve as natural indicators of long-term climate parameter changes.
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