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 <1000 mm w.e. a−1 in the center, although the elevation difference is <200 m. The combination of snow/firn samples and ground-penetrating radar profiles suggests that this accumulation pattern is persistent during the recent past. The recent accumulation history is reconstructed from internal radar reflectors using a firn densification model and shows strong interannual variations, but near constant mean values since 2002. Modeling of trajectories, based on accumulation and glacier geometry, results in an estimate of the depth/age relation close to the main divide. This region provides one of the most suitable locations for retrieving climate information with temporal high resolution for the last millennium, with a potential to cover most of the Holocene in less detail.

中文翻译：

---

帕米尔西部的高海拔堆积和保存的气候信息，来自费琴科冰川堆积盆地的观测

Fedchenko Glacier 的堆积区域代表了帕米尔山脉中一个广阔的积雪库，为中亚最长的冰川提供了食物。观测到的海拔变化表明，自 1928 年以来，费琴科冰川消融区域的冰层持续流失，而堆积区域的质量平衡在很大程度上是未知的。在这项研究中，我们表明主要堆积盆地的堆积变化很大，堆积率高达 2400 mm-1在西方，我们减少到 <1000 mm-1在中心，虽然高差 <200 m。雪/冰冻样本和探地雷达剖面的结合表明，这种积累模式在最近的过去是持续存在的。最近的堆积历史是使用冰层致密化模型从内部雷达反射体重建的，显示出强烈的年际变化，但自 2002 年以来的平均值接近恒定。基于堆积和冰川几何形状的轨迹建模，可以估计深度/年龄关系接近主要分水岭。该地区提供了最合适的位置之一，可用于检索过去千年中具有时间高分辨率的气候信息，并有可能以较少的细节覆盖全新世的大部分地区。