Minor pulsations of Abramov glacier (Kyrgyzstan) observed with multi-sensor optical remote sensing

In situ monitoring of glacier mass balance – through a network of reference sites – is essential to improve process understanding and detect changes, as well as provide calibration and validation for local and large-scale modeling and remote sensing studies. Still, the interpretation and representativeness of measured mass balances can be affected by unsteady glacier flow dynamics, from minor pulsations to extreme surges. Such events can alter mass balance gradients and apparent trends; englacial water storage associated with glacier surges can lead to biases in high‑resolution geodetic assessments, and in situ measurements can be disrupted by surface changes during rapid ice movement. At the same time, mass balance and its perturbations can exert multiple influences on glacier dynamics, from an indirect control on surge frequency to the direct triggering of instabilities and propagating waves. So far, a very small number of glaciers worldwide has seen combined long-term observations of mass balance and unsteady ice flow, limiting understanding of their interaction.

Here, we investigate the flow dynamics of the Abramov glacier (Pamir-Alay, Kyrgyzstan), whose measured mass balance series is one of the longest in Central Asia. We use multi-sensor optical remote sensing, including the recently released SPOT World Heritage archive as well as ASTER, IRS-1C/D and RapidEye data, to augment the Landsat record over the past 25 years. Through a dense series of digital elevation models and orthoimages, we quantify a front advance over 2000‑2005 at sub‑seasonal resolution. While the event was not observed in situ, negative mass balances in the preceding decades support an interpretation in terms of unstable ice dynamics. Moreover, asynchronous front advances on several neighboring glaciers reveal a high prevalence of unsteady ice flow in the region. We compare the Abramov advance to a previous surge of 1972/73, which was well documented with extensive in situ measurements but was virtually unknown outside Soviet glaciology. Both events do not fit well within the traditional surge models of hydrological or thermal switch, similar to previous observations in the Pamir-Karakoram.

At present, the west branch of the Abramov glacier is undergoing a slow, regular and widespread inter‑annual speed-up. In the light of continued surface thinning and front retreat, the current evolution likely represents the build-up phase to the next episode of dynamic instability.