Wed Dec 17 10:20:22 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and rewritten news article based on the provided text:
Summary:
A team of Japanese scientists at Hokkaido University are analyzing ice core samples taken from the Kon-Chukurbashi ice cap in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. This area is unique because its glaciers have resisted melting, even growing slightly. The scientists hope that studying these ice cores, some potentially dating back 10,000 years, will reveal the reasons behind this “Pamir-Karakoram anomaly” and provide insights that can help protect or even revive glaciers elsewhere, as thousands of them face vanishing over the next years. The research involves meticulous analysis of the ice’s density, structure, and composition to reconstruct past climate conditions and environmental factors.
News Article:
Pamir Glacier Holds Key to Climate Change Survival, Say Scientists
Sapporo, Japan – December 17, 2025 – In a race against time, scientists at Hokkaido University’s Institute of Low Temperature Science are meticulously analyzing ice core samples from a unique glacier in Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountains. This glacier, located in the Pamir-Karakoram region, presents a baffling anomaly: while most glaciers around the world are rapidly melting, this one has resisted the trend, even showing signs of growth.
Led by Professor Yoshinori Iizuka, the team is studying ice cores extracted from the Kon-Chukurbashi ice cap at an altitude of 5,810 meters. The goal is to understand the mechanisms behind the glacier’s resilience and potentially apply that knowledge to other glaciers facing imminent destruction from global warming.
“If we could learn the mechanism behind the increased volume of ice there, then we may be able to apply that to all the other glaciers around the world, potentially even helping revive them,” said Professor Iizuka.
The ice cores, some of which may contain ice dating back as far as 10,000 years, provide a valuable record of past climate conditions. By analyzing the density, structure, and composition of the ice layers, scientists can reconstruct temperature fluctuations, precipitation patterns, and even air quality from centuries ago. Clues such as volcanic deposits and isotopes within the ice offer markers of past events and environmental changes.
“Information from the past is crucial,” Iizuka emphasized. “By understanding the causes behind the continuous build-up of snow from the past to the present, we can clarify what will happen going forward and why the ice has grown.”
The team hopes their research, with first findings expected next year, can help unlock the secrets held within the Pamir glacier and offer innovative solutions to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change on glaciers worldwide. A sister core is preserved in Antarctica as well for potential future insights.
The research is funded by the Ice Memory Foundation and the Swiss Polar Institute, the study exemplifies a global collaboration to protect Earth’s vital resources for future generations.
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