The headwaters of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya in the western Tien Shan, Pamir and Hindu Kushmountains are a major source of stream flow into the Aral Sea Basin. The water security—affectingenergy and food security—of this region and the consequent regional dynamics and politics are connected tothese headwaters. Recent concerns related to climate change, glacier retreat and stream flow from these mountains haveserved to illustrate the very limited understanding that exists concerning the hydrologic regimes of the mountainheadwaters of these major river systems as well as of the glaciers, that are a component of those regimes. A better understanding of these hydrologic processes is critical for assessing the amount andtiming of water supply and hydropower available (both current and future) for the various countries in theCentral Asia region that have headwaters originating in these mountains. Such an understanding is also criticalin making estimates of runoff changes under a climate change future. This is the main objective of this study.
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