World Day for Glaciers - 21 March

– Currently, the glaciers of Kyrgyzstan are studied by our institute, the Institute of Water Problems and Hydropower of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Hydrometeorological Service under the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Department of Avalanche and Glaciology conducts monitoring.

– When did the first studies begin?

– The study of the glaciers of Kyrgyzstan began in the late 40s - 50s of the last century. We can say that the study of the glaciers of Central Asia began in Kyrgyzstan during the Soviet Union. It would be correct to say that the study of mountain glaciers began in the Soviet Union in 1947-1948, after the establishment of the Tien Shan high-altitude station in the village of Pokrovka (now Kyzyl-Suu) on Yssyk-Kul. The first observations were made there on the Kara-Batkak glacier, and ongoing studies are being conducted to this day. We can say that it began in Kyrgyzstan from there as well. Later, in the 60s, the Kyrgyz hydrometservice began studying the Golubin glacier in the Ala-Archa watershed, and during the Soviet period specialists from Tashkent began studying the Abramov glacier in the Alai range. Thus, Kyrgyzstan began by conducting observations and studies in three places.

– How many glaciers are there in Kyrgyzstan now?

The number of glaciers in Kyrgyzstan is known for sure, now there are about 10 thousand large and small glaciers. If we compare it with the 70s of the last century, their number has increased. Previously, there were about 8 thousand, but now it has increased. Large glaciers have split into two or three, and their overall area has decreased. Are glaciers degrading due to global warming. If the area used to be 8 thousand square kilometers, now it is about 6.5 thousand square kilometers.

– Which of them can you name the largest?

– The largest glaciers in Kyrgyzstan are located in the Yssyk-Kul region and the Chon-Alai Range. The largest glaciers are located in the Central Tien Shan, in the high mountainous areas around Khan-Tengri and Jenish Peak. The largest glacier is considered to be the South Enilchek, its length is about 60 km, then there is the North Enilchek, its length is more than 30 km, and the Kayindy Glacier is 25-29 km long.

– How long has the area of ​​glaciers been decreasing? 

– There are 2-3 reasons for the formation of glaciers. The first is climatic reason, then relief, the height of the mountains. If we look at the evolution of glaciers, in the past they either advanced, expanded, or retreated. The current shrinkage of glaciers is called the Little Ice Age. Our glaciers have been retreating since the middle of the 15th century. At that time, they reached their maximum volume, and previously they were even larger.

Basically, a very intensive shrinkage and melting of glaciers has been observed since the 70s of the last century. Since then, glaciers have been decreasing in only one direction. Until then, the mass balance of glaciers was positive one year and negative the next, but since the mid-70s, their mass balance has been only negative, decreasing.

– Are there local reasons for the decrease in the area of ​​glaciers?

– Temperatures are rising, and glaciers have been melting intensively in the last 5 years. The main reason for the decrease is global warming.

And local climatic features also have an impact. Our mountains, in general the mountains of Central Asia, surrounded by the Kara-Kum, Kyzyl-Kum and Takla-Makan deserts, our glaciers are once again exposed to a negative factor. So, factors of a global scale and regional scale are having an impact.

Recently, glaciers have been polluted. They are melting more intensively due to pollution. Because various dust and chemicals fall on the glaciers, which affect the rapid melting of the glaciers. We can say that this is a local factor.

– To what extent do mining companies have an impact?

– Mining companies cannot fail to have an impact, they also have an impact. They have an impact especially there. Dust from equipment in a quarry operating near a glacier can fall on the glaciers, pollute the glacier and have an impact, but only on a local scale, on 1-2 glaciers located nearby.

– What is the CAIAG' contribution to glacier conservation?

– Our institute is primarily involved in glacier monitoring. We select representative glaciers in all regions of Kyrgyzstan and conduct mass balance checks there. Our contribution includes glacier studies, inventorying them, and determining the number and area of ​​remaining glaciers. In 2018, we created the catalog for Kyrgyzstan’ glaciers. Our goal is to study glaciers, monitor and evaluate them, and then prepare forecasts. We provide scientific support, developing a scientific basis for determining how long they will last and how much they will change.

– What can citizens of Kyrgyzstan do to conserve glaciers?

– Citizens must use glaciers properly and behave appropriately to preserve them, especially in the mining industry. Mining activities, which extract various minerals and destroy the surrounding environment, inevitably impact glaciers. We must prevent this; our task is to minimize their negative impact.

Laws are currently being developed, and non-governmental organizations, working with the public, are proposing draft laws and trying to contribute to the preservation and protection of glaciers. I also provide advisory assistance on such projects.

– Why did you choose glaciers as your research topic?

– As a student, I completed a two-year internship in the Department of Hydrometeorology of the Faculty of Geography at the Yssyk-Kul station (Kara-Batkak Glacier). Since then, I've been interested, and after graduating, I went there to work and study glaciers.

For information:

Ryskul Abdyzhakypovich Usubaliev graduated from the Department of Hydrometeorology of the Faculty of Geography of the Kyrgyz State University in 1984. He completed his postgraduate studies at the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic and defended his PhD dissertation on "Tien Shan Glaciers: Their Current State, Evolution, and Geochemistry."

1984-1987 – Worked at the Hydro-meteorological Center,

1987-1990 – a secondary school,

1990-1992 – the Yssyk-Kul Regional Committee for Nature Protection and the Inter-regional Computing Center for Environmental Research,

1992 – the Tien Shan High-Altitude Physical-Geographical Station of the Geographic Department of the M.M. Adyshev Geological Institute.

1992-2007 – the Laboratory of Glaciology and High-Altitude Lakes of the Geographic Department of the Geological Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Since 2007 – Head of the Climate, Water, and Natural Resources Department at the CAIAG, where he works as a senior research worker.

R.A. Usubaliev studied and observed glaciers in the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai Mountains. He is researching a new area of ​​Tien Shan glaciology: glacial geochemistry. His research has been published in over 80 scientific papers.

Link:

Catalogue of Glaciers of Kyrgyzstan, edition: 31.01.2024 - https://caiag.kg/images/2_department/2022/Catalogue_of_glaciers_Kyrgyzstan_2018_Edition_01_2024_RU.pdf