Scientists Find That Central Asian Glaciers May Be at Risk

"The planet's glaciers melting at an accelerated rate is, for (hopefully) obvious reasons, cause for alarm. But most of the coverage of this phenomenon has focused on glacial melt in the Arctic Circle or in Antarctica. Those aren't the only places on Earth where you'll find glaciers, however, and a paper published earlier this month in Communications Earth & Environment puts the spotlight on a crisis happening in central Asia - specifically, the Pamir Mountains."

"The paper's authors note that the region is where "some of the world's last relatively healthy mountain glaciers" can be found. That's cause for celebration, right? Well, it might not be time to break out the sparkling wine just yet. The authors go on to write that "snowfall and snow depth have been substantially lower since 2018, leading to a decline in glacier health" - and go on to explore the wider implications of this situation."

"A few possibilities for why these glaciers have remained stable, at least until recently, are - according to the authors - "snowfall, summer cooling and reduced net energy." They note that determing the health of a glacier can be challenging for various reasons, including their sheer size. Using data recorded in Tajikistan beginning in 2021, the scientists working on this study came up with a system to model changes in the glaciers over time."

The Pamir Mountains host some of the world's last relatively healthy mountain glaciers, but peak snowfall and snow depth have been substantially lower since 2018. Reduced snowfall has driven a measurable loss of glacial mass. Potential historical stabilizers include snowfall patterns, summer cooling, and reduced net energy input. Glacier health assessment is difficult due to large sizes and data limitations. Instrumentation in Tajikistan beginning in 2021 enabled modeling of glacier change over time. Researchers remain uncertain whether recent declines represent a natural cycle inflection or the start of a longer-term trend. Additional historical data collection is required to clarify future trajectories.

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