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🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan /Environment & Climate

Ala-Archa glacier loses about 1.4 meters of ice in one month

From 24.kg · () Russian

Translated from Russian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • An expedition to the Adygene Research Station in Kyrgyzstan’s Ala-Archa Gorge recorded about 1.4 meters of melting near a glacier’s tongue in one month.
  • Glaciologists said melting in lower areas can reach 4 to 5 meters during the full melt season, which generally runs from May through September.
  • The team also measured glacier movement and surveyed nearby lakes, two of which experts consider potentially dangerous if they burst.

A glacier in Kyrgyzstan’s Ala-Archa Gorge lost about 1.4 meters of ice near its tongue in just one month, according to measurements taken during an expedition to the Adygene Research Station.

The expedition ran from August 16 to 19 and brought together a seven-woman team assembled by documentary director and producer Tynymgul Eshieva. Many participants had never taken part in a high-altitude trek. They walked about 11 kilometers from Ala-Archa to the research station before beginning the scientific work.

Working with glaciologist Gulbara Omorova of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, the participants studied the glacier’s structure, melting processes and geomorphological changes. They installed three ablation rods to measure melting and changes on the glacier’s surface. Omorova said melting in lower-lying areas can reach 4 to 5 meters over the full ablation season, which usually lasts from about May to the end of September.

It was important for us not just to bring the participants to the mountains. We wanted to give them the opportunity to see scientific work from the inside, to understand how specialists monitor glaciers, record changes, and collect data.

— Tynymgul EshievaThe expedition organizer explained the project’s educational purpose.

The team also used GPS to measure glacier movement and examined lakes at the glacier’s foot. The station area contains four large lakes and several smaller ones, including glacial and thermokarst lakes. Experts consider two potentially dangerous if they burst. Participants carried out bathymetric measurements on the largest lake by boat, using an echo sounder to map its depth and underwater relief.

Eshieva said the project aimed to give participants direct experience of how specialists monitor glaciers, document changes and collect scientific data. Participant Rakhbar Khomidova, who traveled from Tajikistan, said the voice of glaciers should be heard not only by scientists but by everyone.

The voice of glaciers must be heard not only by scientists, but by each of us. After all, their history is the

— Rakhbar KhomidovaA participant from Tajikistan emphasized the wider public’s role in paying attention to glaciers; the quotation ends mid-sentence in the provided text.
About this summary

Originally published by 24.kg in Russian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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