For almost two years now, scientists from all over the world have launched on a daring mission. On the global scale, they are probing the so-called Karakoram anomaly, where glaciers in Pakistan’s Karakoram region appear to defy global warming by growing. This intensive conservation-related expedition took place in eastern Tajikistan. The team sought to obtain salt cores that contain important information about the unusual behavior of these glaciers, particularly in relationship to their peers in Greenland and the Himalayas.
The full team behind the work, which consisted of researchers from Switzerland, Japan, the United States and Tajikistan. They hiked the entire length above the Kon-Chukurbashi ice cap, ascending to elevations higher than 5,800 meters. There, they successfully drilled two ice cores, each 105 meters long. Their eventual disclosure these cores will show unprecedented climatic variations over thousands of years.
Insights into the Karakoram Anomaly
The Karakoram anomaly is a stellar example of the incredible resiliency of glaciers in this region. Indeed, some of these glaciers have increased in mass over the last few decades – counter to the global trend of retreat. Greenland and the Alps recently have experienced more ice loss than gain. By comparison, research has concluded that most of the glaciers in the Karakoram, Tian Shan, Kun Lun, and Pamir mountain regions are stable or even growing.
Evan Miles, glaciologist and chief scientist, explains the purpose of the expedition. An associate at the Swiss universities of Fribourg and Zurich, he provided ample detail on this surprising phenomenon.
“This whole region is globally unique because over the last 25 years, these glaciers have shown very, very limited mass loss and even mass gain,” – Evan Miles
Understanding this anomaly is crucial. The researchers hope that through studying ice cores from these glaciers, they can learn more about what the climate has been like in the past.
“In order to understand that, we really, really need to have a longer time period of records of both temperature and precipitation at the glacier sites,” – Evan Miles
The expedition’s discoveries will improve our understanding of local climatic patterns. Finally, they will use data to illustrate how these retrofits can vary dramatically from global averages.
The Expedition and Its Goals
The latest expedition was facilitated by the Ice Memory Foundation with support from the Swiss Polar Institute. In 2021, a consortium of French, Italian, Swiss universities, and research centers created the foundation. Its mission is to protect and promote the study of glaciers around the globe.
During their four-day journey across Tajikistan, the scientists faced considerable challenges as they traversed rugged terrain in four-wheel drives before continuing on foot to reach their drilling site. Each ice core drilled will be analyzed in laboratories worldwide, carefully revealing the chronological data locked inside those cores.
One of the cores will go to Japan for more detailed study. The other core will be kept securely in a new underground sanctuary in Antarctica, where winter temperatures can drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius. This intentional conservation is critical to enabling future scholarship.
The Bigger Picture of Glacier Research
The biggest challenges and risks facing the world today, including the effects of climate change on glaciers, are more important and relevant than ever. Thomas Stocker, president of Ice Memory, sounded the alarm on what Earth’s glaciers may one day look like.
“We will probably lose 90% of our glacier mass on Earth,” – Thomas Stocker
His remark underscores the importance of actions just like this expedition. There’s an increasing emphasis on studying and protecting glacial landscapes that are endangered by human impacts.
“So we are trying to help preserve a thing that is threatened by human action,” – Thomas Stocker
On the ground this expedition will provide invaluable data that will further our understanding of the Karakoram anomaly. It will guide important conversations about climate resilience and adaptation planning.