Another team of Cluster 3, ‘Glacier, Snow, and Hydrology’, revisited the Kyzylsu catchment in the Jirgatol district of Tajikistan. Despite weather particularly unfriendly for the region, they collected the first complete yearly records for most of the instruments and stations installed in 2021 and maintained the instrument network of a site which aims to become a reference catchment for glacio-hydrological research in the region and a key site for PAMIR.
Loading the truck and final goodbye to Professor Kayumov before going up to the field, beautiful day and perfect conditions to drive up and set up base camp. © Achille Jouberton
Traditional yurt inhabited during grazing seasons. When one passes by, the locals always come to say hello. They are curious about what is being worked on in the nearby river. © Achille Jouberton
Downloading the pluviometer station data, and discovering with joy that it recorded the first complete year of data. © Achille Jouberton
Waking up to a few centimetres of snow – the first time since the team started doing expeditions to Kyzylsu. © Achille Jouberton
View of Jirgatol and the snowy mountains in the background – the team’s destination for the following 8 days. © Achille Jouberton
Maintenance of a time-lapse camera on the glacier moraine in snowy conditions. © Achille Jouberton
One of the rare moments of fair weather during the campaign, revealing spectacular and contrasting colours in the landscape. © Achille Jouberton
Walk across the pasture lands to retrieve water level loggers which were left in these lakes in previous years. © Achille Jouberton Flock of sheep on the top of a grassy hill. © Achille Jouberton
Typical lunch after a day of work. Whether it was noon or 4 pm, a warm lunch was always waiting in the kitchen tent. It was common to exchange food with the shepherds who had their base camp next to ours. They would provide fresh yoghurt and in return, they would get bread or a plate of cooked food. © Achille Jouberton
