The new equipment, which will allow conducting isotopic research of glaciers in innovative ways, will be operated at the laboratory of the Glacier Research Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan.
An official ceremony of handover of the equipment took place on January 19. The equipment was handed over to the Glacier Research Center in the framework of technical cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Professor Abdluhamid Qayumov, Director of the Glacier Research Center and Mr. Ilhom Mirsaidzoda, Director of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Agency (NRSA) under the National Academy of Science of. Tajikistan, attended the equipment handover ceremony.
"With the support of the Technical Cooperation Department of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Picaro laser equipment will be activated in the laboratory of water quality, isotopes and sanitation of the center, which will allow further isotopic research of glaciers and snow cover in innovative ways," Professor Qayumov noted.
According to him, this new and rare way of conducting glacier research will contribute to the development of glaciology in the country.
The Laboratory of Water Quality, Isotopes and Sanitation of the Glacier Research Center was established in the framework of cooperation between the IAEA and the NRSA for the isotopic study of glaciers and snow cover, monitoring and control of their condition and restoration, as well as determining the isotopic and hydrological composition of glacial lakes and reservoirs.
In December last year, the UN General Assembly at its 77th session unanimously adopted the resolution "2025 – the International Year for Glacier Preservation", submitted by Tajikistan. The resolution, in particular, provides that World Glacier Day will be celebrated on March 21, and an International Conference on Glacier Protection will be held in Dushanbe in 2025.
