Cambridge, UK | 28 January 2013
Tracking Kyrgyzstan’s melting glaciers
High speed networks helping to forewarn of disasters
Climate change is having a major impact on Central Asia with retreating glaciers leading to large scale flooding, avalanches and mudslides, often with disastrous results.
International collaborative research
Understanding how the environment is altering through ongoing monitoring is key to coping with the effects of climate change. Only then is it possible to devise mitigation and adaptation strategies and create early warning systems to protect lives and livelihoods. Various initiatives have begun, involving glaciologists and geohazard experts across Central Asia and Europe.
This international collaborative research generates large amounts of data which needs to be shared, often in short timescales from remote locations. Consequently, the fight to mitigate climate change relies on high-speed research networks, such as GÉANT (in Europe) and CAREN (in Central Asia) to underpin these vital activities.
The Merzbacher monitoring station: a watchful eye on the Tien Shan glaciers
“Research networks are central to all of our work at CAIAG. Thanks to GÉANT and CAREN we can quickly share information with our European partners, speeding up the processing of monitoring data and enabling us to work together to predict the impact of climate change and protect our local environment.”
Dr Bolot Moldobekov, Co-Director of Central Asian Institute of Applied Geosciences (CAIAG).
Read the full story in CONNECT magazine or click here to view the full case study - GÉANT and CAREN tracking Kyrgyzstan’s melting glaciers
