Groundbreaking Research on the Ararat Glacier: Scientists Uncover Secrets
A team of researchers from Germany and Turkey has conducted the first-ever study of the glacier atop Mount Ararat, rising over five thousand meters. For two weeks in July 2026, scientists collected data on the mountain's eternal snows, which had not been thoroughly examined before.
The primary goal was to investigate the climate and cultural data hidden in the snow. Researchers believe these unique data are at risk: due to global warming, the snow cap of Ararat is shrinking at an increasing rate, meaning that each summer, part of the information may be irretrievably lost.
Archaeologists and glaciologists participated in this phase of the research. Scientists measured the thickness of the ice using ground-based radar and conducted tests with active seismic methods. This was reported by the University of Münster (Germany).
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Mount Ararat is located in the Armenian Highlands, making it an important source of historical information. While data on human development in the Mediterranean is preserved in the snow cover of the Alps, information about Middle Eastern civilizations is still waiting for its archaeologists.
“It was near Ararat that agriculture and metallurgy began. If we are lucky, the ice has preserved not only climate data but also tiny particles of metals from ancient smelting furnaces,” said Professor Ünsal Yalçın from Isparta University (Turkey).
“Despite the cold, we gathered all the data we needed. Now we can plan where to drill the deepest ice in the next stages of research,” added Dr. Coen Hofstede from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Germany).
In the next expedition, the research team plans to collect ice samples from the depths of the snow cover. If successful, these will be the first such samples available to scientists.
