A graduate student from the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology participated in the international Summer School on "Integrated Glacier Monitoring and Knowledge Exchange"

From August 9 to 15, 2024, the 4th Summer School on "Integrated Glacier Monitoring and Knowledge Exchange" was held at the Tien Shan International Scientific Center (TISSC), under the Institute of Water Problems and Hydropower (IVPiGE) of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic (NAS KR). The event was financially supported by UNDP, OSCE, and UCA.

This Summer School brought together young scientists and specialists from seven countries, including the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Belgium, Chile, and Japan. Additionally, renowned scientists and experts in glaciology, hydrology, meteorology, and natural process modeling from the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Russia, Japan, Belgium, and Chile served as trainers and lecturers. Among the 19 selected participants was Raibanu Akhmetova, a Master's student from the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, who successfully passed the competitive strong selection process.

The program of the Summer School-2024 encompassed a comprehensive field exploration of the TISSC field stations, including the lake zone at the Kara-Bulun station, the forest zone at the Chon-Kyzyl-Suu hydrometeorological station (HMS), and the nival-glacial zone of the Kara-Batkak glacier. Participants were exposed to demonstrations of field-based instrumental and remote observation techniques at Lake Issyk-Kul, within the forest ecosystem, and on the glacier. At the TISSC stations, they acquired hands-on experience in operating analog and automatic HMS across various altitudinal zones of the Chon-Kyzyl-Suu river basin.

In the final phase of the Summer School, a seminar was conducted, featuring lectures on diverse topics including the radiation balance in glaciological modeling (delivered by Rybak O.O. from the Russian Federation), methods of integrated glacier monitoring, and modern techniques for calculating glacier mass balance and dynamics (presented by Kokarev A.L. from Kazakhstan and Satylkanov R.A. from Kyrgyzstan). Other topics included the use of UAVs for glacier observations (presented by Lander Van Tricht from Belgium), the significance of glacier modeling for tracking historical changes and forecasting water resources in Central Asia (discussed by Kenje Tanaka from Japan, Sadyrov S. from Kyrgyzstan, and Rodrigo Aguayo from Chile), and risk assessment of natural hazards (presented by Zaginaev V.V. from UCA Kyrgyzstan).

Furthermore, a practical training session was held, where participants were trained in the geodetic method of glacier monitoring. Under the guidance of the trainers, the participants successfully calculated the mass balance of the Sary-Tor glacier using the glaciological method.