CRYOPAM : Investigating high altitude cryosphere processes in the Pamir / by Dr. Joel Fiddes.

Permafrost is still a poorly understood phenomenon in High Mountain Asia. However, we know
from the European Alps that permafrost is thawing under climate change and causing severe slope
instabilities that threaten both lives and infrastructure. Lakes forming in mountain regions as
glaciers melt can catastrophically outburst as GLOFS due to failure of ice cored dams or flood
waves from permafrost slope failures. In addition, permafrost is starting to be recognized as a
potentially important water resource, particularly in arid regions where ground ice will persist long
beyond the disappearance of glaciers. Despite the importance of permafrost for both mountain
hazards and mountain hydrology we lack key knowledge throughout High Mountain Asia and
specifically throughout the Pamir. This project serves as a first effort to establish a long term
monitoring site in Tajikistan in collaboration with the Tajik Agency for Hydro-meteorology as well as
build local expertise in Government agencies and Tajik Academy of Sciences. A Phase 2 is planned
in 2020.