High altitude accumulation and preserved climate information in the western Pamir, observations from the Fedchenko Glacier accumulation basin

The accumulation region of Fedchenko Glacier represents an extensive snow reservoir in the Pamir Mountains feeding the longest glacier in Central Asia. Observed elevation changes indicate a continuous ice loss in the ablation region of Fedchenko Glacier since 1928, while the mass balance of the accumulation region is largely unknown. In this study, we show that accumulation varies considerably in the main accumulation basin, with accumulation rates up to 2400 mm w.e. a −1 in the West, decreasing to −1 in the center, although the elevation difference is