Climatic control on seasonal variations of moutain glacier surface velocity

Glacier displacement can in principle be measured at the large-scale by cross-correlation of satellite images. At weekly to monthly scales, the expected displacement is often of the same order as the noise for the commonly used satellite images, complicating the retrieval of accurate glacier velocity. Assessments of velocity changes on short time scales and over complex areas such as mountain ranges are therefore still lacking, but are essential to better understand how glacier dynamics are driven by internal and external factors. In this study, we take advantage of the wide availability and redundancy of satellite imagery over the Western Pamir to retrieve glacier velocity changes over 10 days for 7 years for a wide range of glacier geometry and dynamics. Our results reveal strong seasonal trends. In spring/summer, we observe velocity increases of up to 300% compared to a slow winter period. These accelerations clearly migrate upglacier throughout the melt-season, which we link to changes in subglacial hydrology efficiency. In autumn, we observe glacier accelerations that have rarely been observed before. These episodes are primarily confined to the upper ablation zone with a clear downglacier migration. We suggest that they result from glacier instabilities caused by sudden subglacial pressurization in response to (1) supraglacial pond drainage and/or (2) gradual closure of the hydrological system. Our 10-day resolved measurements allow us to characterize the short-term response of glacier to changing meteorological and climatic conditions.