An international team of researchers conducted an expedition on the ice cap of Kon-Chukur-Bashi, located at an altitude of about 5,810 meters. The results show that this glacier is increasing in size, despite climate change leading to the reduction of glaciers worldwide. This data was published in the popular science magazine Popular Mechanics.
During the study, scientists extracted two ice cores, each over 100 meters long. One of the samples was sent to Antarctica to the underground storage of the Ice Memory Foundation for long-term preservation of climate information, while the second was sent to the Institute of Low Temperature Science at Hokkaido University in Japan. Professor Yoshinori Iizuka will analyze it to determine the reasons for the unusual resilience of this glacier.
The researchers hope that the information contained in these ice samples, covering up to 30,000 years of climate data, will help better understand the reasons for the growth of Kon-Chukur-Bashi and its potential impact on other glaciers in the future.
The ice cap of Kon-Chukur-Bashi is located in the Sarykol Ridge, in eastern Tajikistan, in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, near the border with China.
The glacier formed on the slopes of the mountain of the same name, which reaches an altitude of 5,811 meters above sea level.
The region is characterized by a high-altitude plateau, a harsh continental climate, and a low population density. Access to the ice cap is primarily possible for scientific expeditions due to its remoteness and challenging climatic conditions.
