Glaciers are made up of fallen snow that, over many years, compresses into large, thickened ice masses. Glaciers form when snow remains in one location long enough to transform into ice. What makes glaciers unique is their ability to move. Due to sheer mass, glaciers flow like very slow rivers. Some glaciers are as small as football fields, while others grow to be dozens or even hundreds of kilometers long.

Monographs and brochures

The Glaciers of Central Asia: A Disappearing Resource (2011) 

Papers

Dietz A.J., Conrad C., Kuenzer C. Gesell G., Dech S. - Identifying Changing Snow Cover Characteristics in Central Asia between 1986 and 2014 from Remote Sensing Data (2014) 

Hagg W., Mayer C., Lambrecht A., Kriegel D., Azizov E. - Glacier changes in the Big Naryn basin, Central Tian Shan (2012) 

Knoche M., Merz R., Lindner M., Weise S.M. - Bridging Glaciological and Hydrological Trends in the Pamir Mountains, Central Asia (2017) 

Lutz A.F., Immerzeel W.W., Gobiet A., Pellicciotti F., Bierkens M.F.P. - New climate change scenarios reveal uncertain future for Central Asian glaciers (2012) 

Osmonov A., Bolch T., Xi C., Kurban A., Guo W. - Glacier characteristics and changes in the Sary-Jaz River Basin (Central Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan) – 1990–2010 (2013) 

Regulatory and procedural guidelines and reference information

Catalogue of Pamir and Hissaro-Alay glaciation for 1980 (database of S. A. Schetinnikov) compiled by Prof. G.E. Glazirin, M.G. Glazirina (2012) 

Glacier Classification Manual (2005)