Changes in glacier mass balance due to climate change have major impacts on meltwater discharge and sediment transfer dynamics at the transition from the glacial to the fluvial system. These factors play an important role for the modification of landscapes over modern and Quaternary timescales. What is more, changes in storage may lead to catastrophic releases. Understanding meltwater systems in continental and Alpine settings, and their response to climate change, is therefore a major research objective. To do this, we rely on a combination of present-day monitoring studies and the analysis of Quaternary glaciofluvial deposits, which provide valuable records of glacial meltwater activity, climate and landscape change.

This session welcomes contributions that aim to: 1) use innovative techniques to monitor modern glacial meltwater systems; 2) develop our understanding of spatial and temporal changes in meltwater and sediment flux and how they relate to changes in the glacial system; 3) examine past meltwater dynamics using the Quaternary geomorphological and sedimentological record; 4) explore catastrophic meltwater events such as glacial lake outburst floods in the modern or Quaternary records.