Glacial landforms hold a wealth of information about the evolution of large mid-latitude ice sheets during the Quaternary. Streamlined subglacial lineations retain information about past ice flow, subglacial meltwater routes provide information about ice sheet hydrology, and ice-marginal landforms that are eroded or deposited along glacier margins delineate former ice-marginal positions. Thus, the rich landform records found on the now-exposed beds of ephemeral Pleistocene ice sheets provide important archives of palaeo-ice sheet behaviour that can be used to reconstruct the evolution of ice sheets. Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of using high resolution remotely sensed data to study the glacial landform record across three northern Hemispheric Pleistocene ice sheets: the central sector of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in British Columbia, Canada; the north-west sector of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the Northwest Territories, Canada; and the Scandinavian Ice Sheet across Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Glacial landforms are presented from each of these ice sheets, with a particular focus on ice-marginal landforms, which are important indicators of ice extent, retreat pattern and the terminal environment. The character, distribution and diversity of these landforms is investigated and reveals both similarities and differences in ice marginal settings and dynamics as well as the thermal regime of the former ice sheets. There are similarities between the mountainous regions on the bed of the Cordilleran and Scandinavian ice sheets, both of which were particularly important for ice sheet inception and during the demise, and there are similarities in the distribution of hummocky moraines in the polar regions of the Laurentide and Scandinavian ice sheets (above 60°N). Differences in the ice-marginal landform record are also considered and may arise due to variations in large-scale ice sheet dynamics with the three ice sheet sectors varying in terms of ice volume, timing of retreat, influence of marine or lacustrine terminating margins, and the dynamics of their coalescence with and splitting from adjacent ice sheets.
How to cite: Dulfer, H. E., Boyes, B. M., Stoker, B. J., Butcher, F. E. G., Clark, C. D., Dewald, N., Diemont, C. R., Ely, J. C., Hughes, A. L. C., Margold, M., and Stokes, C. R.: Insights into the behaviour of Northern Hemisphere Pleistocene ice sheets gained from the glacial landform record, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-10598, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-10598, 2025.
Topography is a key control on how glaciers and ice caps respond to changes in climate, modulating or amplifying the effects of climate change. Topographic controls, such as glacier hypsometry, debris supply, valley width, basin topography, topographic pinning points, bed gradient, and slope can exert a demonstrable impact on glacier dynamics and therefore moraine formation. However, there has been limited research exploring how topographic boundary conditions (such as the local angle of slope and changes in bed topography) can influence patterns of moraine formation across forelands, both in time and space. Given that it is frequently assumed that ice-marginal moraine patterns can be directly correlated with climate and thus used as proxies for glacier-climate interactions, it is important to improve understanding of topographic controls on ice-marginal processes.
Here we present a case study of topographic controls on ice-marginal moraine morphology and density at Midtdalsbreen and Blåisen, outlet glaciers of the plateau icefield Hardangerjøkulen, Norway. We combine geomorphological mapping of moraines with a statistical approach to quantify moraine density and its relationship to topography, with the aims of (a) establishing the distribution of ice-marginal landforms at Midtdalsbreen and Blåisen, and (b) investigating the influence of topography on the patterns of landform deposition and morphology. This approach shows that topography, in addition to a range of climatic and glaciological controls, influences ice-marginal moraine morphology and density at both local and foreland-wide scale. This highlights the need to consider the ways in which topography acts as a control on the patterns of moraine formation before using moraines as proxies to infer changes in glacier dynamics.
How to cite: Pattison, L., Newsome-Chandler, B., Lukas, S., and van der Heijden, G.: Topographic controls on moraine morphology and density at two neighbouring plateau icefield outlet glaciers., EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-679, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-679, 2025.
Are U-shaped valleys, long regarded as the exclusive result of glacial erosion, significantly shaped by processes occurring during interglacial periods? This study challenges conventional glacial geomorphology by quantifying the sedimentary contributions of interglacial sequences.
Focusing on the Nesdalur valley in Iceland's Westfjords—a U-shaped valley sculpted by repeated glaciation-deglaciation cycles and marked by its Tertiary basalt structure—we investigate the role of slope dynamics. The valley’s geomorphological evolution is analyzed through a volumetric approach using high-resolution (2m x 2m) Digital Elevation Models (DEM) to estimate sediment production from paraglacial rock-slope failures (RSFs) and periglacial scree over the current interglacial period.
Our results show that interglacial processes, including slope retreat driven by 11 identified RSFs, have contributed between 1% and 4% of the valley's present volume: mainly paraglacial RSF (68%) and periglacial scree (32%). By extrapolating these data, we estimate that approximately 22 interglacial periods could account for up to 48% of the valley’s denudation. While glacial activity remains essential for sediment evacuation, this study highlights the substantial sedimentary impact of interglacial sequences in valley widening.
These findings advocate for a more integrative understanding of U-shaped valleys, positioning interglacial sedimentary dynamics as key drivers of valley morphology. By quantifying the sedimentary contributions of interglacial sequences, this research highlights the complementary roles of glacial and interglacial processes in shaping valleys.
How to cite: Portier, E., Mercier, D., Decaulne, A., and Cossart, E.: The Role of Paraglacial and Periglacial Processes in Shaping Glacial Valleys: Example from NW Iceland, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-1341, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1341, 2025.
Hillslopes in the Canadian High Arctic can express curious quasi-linear features commonly referred to as water tracks. Though they physically resemble rills, they are not typically characterized by sustained surface flows following rainfall or snowmelt; hence, no obvious evidence of active particle transport is observed. This motivates several questions which at present are little explored. First, how does hillslope geomorphology (e.g. slope, soil moisture properties, etc.) affect the cross- and down-slope topographic patterns that we see? Second, what mechanism(s) causes water track patterns to develop, and what are the roles of freeze-thaw, granular, and fluid-flow-driven processes? Answers to these questions have broad implications for periglacial geomorphology because water tracks (and water-track-like features) are thought to play an important role in the development of channel networks and are particularly important in water-limited polar desert environments. Furthermore, these features are believed to exist as a transition between the hillslope and channel regimes, but deepening of the active layer in response to climate change will increase the potential for further incision and expansion of water tracks.
Our goal is to begin to address these knowledge gaps through a multi-disciplinary approach combining field and modelling techniques. We use field data acquired from a hillslope located on Devon Island, Nunavut with water-track-like features to assess the connections between hillslope geomorphology and water track shape. We created a digital elevation model (DEM) of the field site from topographic LiDAR data that we collected using both drone surveying and the Akhka-R4DW backpack LiDAR methods. Spectral analysis indicates that there is no dominant feature wavelength, but rather a finite range of wavelengths between 1 and 2 meters characterizes the highest spectral powers, on average. We find no correlation between hillslope gradient (proxy for hillslope location) and feature wavelength distribution. Last, using the hillslope DEM, we map the water track network to determine the dominant length scales, and we then explore whether these length scales correlate to topographic metrics of the hillslope.
The diversity of water track wavelength and length scales, along with the relationships and lack of relationships identified between the features and the hillslope suggests the study site is in an early stage of response to the ongoing rapid change of High Arctic climate. Therefore, we anticipate continued development into the foreseeable future, with implications for expansion of the existing local drainage network as the warming climate deepens the active layer through which hydrologic processes occur.
How to cite: Johnson, G.: Water Track Formation and Development on Hillslopes in the Canadian High Arctic, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12757, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12757, 2025.
Since the end of the Little Ice Age thousands of kilometers of new coastlines have been uncovered by retreating glaciers across the Northern Hemisphere. This new terrain begun to function as the youngest coastal environments on Earth. As glaciers retreat, they leave a mixture of landforms including moraines, eskers, crevasse squeeze ridges, glaciofluvial deposits or glacially polished bedrock ready for the transformation by waves, tides and currents. In extreme cases, the newly exposed coastline takes form of entire islands. Although this process is one of the fastest geomorphological metamorphosis of cold region landscape we have only limited understanding of its rates and complexity. Here, we present the results of remote sensing and geomorphological investigations of the mechanisms controlling the formation of new coastal landforms using examples from rapidly deglaciating sites in Svalbard and Greenland. We focus on two previously unexplored topics in cold region coastal geomorphological research– the formation of paraglacial lagoons, build from moraines left onshore by marine-terminating glaciers and the impact of tsunami-like waves triggered by rockfalls or glacier calving on Arctic beach morphodynamics. In addition, we address the research challenges that are anticipated to emerge in the future, including the resilience of juvenile coasts to storm impacts and the role of newly exposed coastal areas in the development of coastal permafrost and the emergence of geoecological oases.
This is a contribution to National Science Centre projects: 'ASPIRE–Arctic storm impacts recorded in beach-ridges and lake archives: scenarios for less icy future’ No. UMO– 2020/37/B/ST10/03074 and ‘GLAVE– paraglacial coasts transformed by tsunami waves – past, present and warmer future’ No. UMO– 2020/38/E/ST10/00042.
How to cite: Strzelecki, M. C. and the GLAVE and ASPIRE Teams: Paraglacial coastal systems uncovered from retreating glaciers - organisational controls and typologies of the youngest coasts in the Northern Hemisphere, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-5220, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-5220, 2025.
Rock glaciers are distinct landforms in the high mountain regions of Turkey. However, they have received only limited research attention and a comprehensive inventory covering all of Turkey is lacking so far. To bridge this gap, this study aims to analyze the geographical distribution, spatial clusters, morphometric characteristics and typologies of rock glaciers in Turkey.
We first identified areas suitable for the potential existence of rock glaciers using elevation (SRTM DEM 30m) and permafrost distribution (global permafrost model) filters. Subsequently, rock glaciers were detected and mapped manually, using high-resolution optical remote sensing data and following the standards of the International Permafrost Association (IPA). The mapping process was conducted on Google Earth Pro software at a fixed eye altitude of 1 km, utilizing 30 cm high-resolution satellite imagery (Maxar Technologies and Airbus CNES). The mapping methodology was determined based on factors such as morphological features typical for rock glaciers (e.g., front, lateral margins, compressional features), slope changes, talus deposits, color differences, and vegetation. Each mapped rock glacier was described by a number of qualitative and quantitative characteristics, including ID, region, location, elevation, area, length, aspect, slope, catchment area, and lithology,
The results indicate the presence of 732 rock glaciers in the Southeastern, Central, and Western Taurus Mountains, the Eastern Black Sea Mountains, the Eastern Anatolian Mountains, as well as some of the volcanic mountains. These rock glaciers are generally located at elevations of 2800–3000 m a.s.l., with their upper limits reaching up to a maximum of 3550 m a.s.l., while relict forms can descend to as low as 1660 m a.s.l.. Additionally, their lengths can exceed 1500 meters, while surface areas vary from 0.01 km² up to 1.56 km². The total area of mapped rock glaciers is 77,4 km². Our preliminary geomorphological assessments suggest the presence of active, inactive, and relict forms.
Ongoing work involves the application of the cross-correlation methods using historical aerial imagery to examine surface movements and deformation dynamics of selected rock glaciers. Furthermore, the mapped rock glaciers provide insights into the current state of permafrost distribution in Turkey. In this context, identified relict rock glaciers will allow inferences about paleo-permafrost boundaries. These findings will not only reveal spatial patterns and characteristics of rock glaciers but also offer insights into their dynamics in relation to local geological, topographical and climatic conditions as well as environmental processes.
How to cite: Dogru, M. B., Emmer, A., Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., and Zandler, H.: Country-Wide Rock Glacier Inventory of Turkey, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-389, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-389, 2025.
Monitoring rock glacier movement is crucial for understanding the response of mountainous permafrost to changing climatic conditions. This importance is acknowledged with the inclusion of Rock Glacier Velocity (RGV) as an Essential Climate Variable (ECV) product for permafrost. The RGV product focuses on tracking surface movement on an annual scale for rock glaciers whose movement is dominated by permafrost creep. While existing remote sensing methods provide valuable insights into RGV dynamics [1], they often fall short in capturing detailed 3D displacement patterns and distinguishing spatial variations in movement activity. This limitation becomes critical when studying destabilized rock glaciers [2], where overlapping processes, such as sliding on shear horizons, drive acceleration patterns and surface deformation. These dynamics result in complex movement behaviors that require more advanced monitoring techniques to fully understand. We introduce a novel neighborhood-based boulder-tracking approach that addresses these challenges by treating boulder faces as distinct objects on the surface of the rock glacier and tracking them over time within annual UAV-borne Laser Scanning (ULS) point clouds. Our method enables the derivation of 3D displacement vectors along actual movement paths, providing area-wide surface change information that allows for the differentiation of zones with similar movement activity.
We apply the method to the highly monitored Äußeres Hochebenkar rock glacier [3], utilizing high-resolution ULS datasets that cover the destabilized front section of the rock glacier in 2019, 2020, and 2021. A region growing segmentation is conducted to segment boulder faces, using the local normal vector as a growing criteria. The segmentation process achieves an F1 score of 0.72 in sample areas (Recall: 0.76, Precision: 0.69), and we identify approximately one segment per 3 m². For boulder tracking, we use a neighborhood-based matching approach, adapted from landslide monitoring. Our method identifies correspondences over time by focusing on the spatial relationship between neighboring segments and comparing them across epochs. Using this approach, we successfully track approximately one boulder per 47 m² between observation periods. K-means clustering is then applied to the 3D displacement vectors to identify distinct movement zones. This approach is used to assess variations in displacement magnitudes and directions across the destabilized section of the rock glacier. The analysis reveals differences in general movement patterns, particularly between the central flow line and the adjacent margin zones.
We demonstrate the strong potential of tracking boulder faces across multitemporal point clouds using spatial neighborhood information. This approach provides a robust solution for monitoring complex surface changes of rock glaciers and enables the differentiation of activity zones based on shared movement patterns. In the future, the demonstrated ability to track and quantify the movement of large numbers of individual blocks could contribute to assessments of flow coherence and its temporal changes in the context of RGV monitoring. This could help detect shifts in movement regimes, e.g. the transition of rock glaciers from a stable permafrost creep regime to destabilization.
REFERENCES
[1] Zahs et al. (2022): DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2021.11.018
[2] Marcer et al. (2021): DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00150-6
[3] Hartl et al. (2023): DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-117-2023
How to cite: Carniel, N., Tabernig, R., Hartl, L., and Höfle, B.: Deriving activity zones of the Äußeres Hochebenkar rock glacier through boulder tracking in multitemporal UAV-LiDAR point clouds , EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-5020, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-5020, 2025.
Rock glaciers, debris-ice landforms creeping downslope, are characteristic periglacial landforms in the Dry Andes of Argentina, typically located at lower elevation than glaciers. In this arid region, where monitoring is scarce or limited in duration, rock glaciers are characterised by high hydrological significance, high density in occurrence and comparatively large size. Recently recognized as essential climate variable, long-term monitored increases in rock glacier velocity are commonly associated with changes in air temperature. Given the warming air temperature trend in the study area, rock glacier velocity increases are expected.
We present an 8-year, quasi-biannual, UAV-based monitoring of Dos Lenguas rock glacier kinematics (Dry Andes, Argentina) for the time period 2016-2024. We find surface velocities of 0.9m/yr on average, and velocities of up to 1.7m/yr in the root and centre zones were extensional flow and knickpoints in slope dominate respectively. We detect overall stable surface velocities along with a persistent spatial pattern, particularly contrasting between the two tongues of Dos Lenguas. Further, we quantify vertical surface changes of ±1.5m/yr stable in magnitude and spatial pattern within the monitored time period. We propose the arid conditions in the Dry Andes and the consequent lack of snow sheltering as a controlling factor for Dos Lenguas’ unexpected, absent kinematic response to higher air temperatures and suppose that the absence of snow cover allows winter temperatures to fully penetrate the rock glacier body, preventing acceleration. In addition to the UAV-based investigation, we explore the utility of monitoring the >50 rock glaciers in the catchment using high resolution satellite data, namely tristereoscopic Pléiades imagery – narrowing down an answer to the question: is the absent kinematic response of Dos Lenguas rock glacier representative for a regional pattern in the Dry Andes, or rather a peculiarity?
How to cite: Stammler, M., Blöthe, J., Cusicanqui, D., Bell, R., Bodin, X., and Schrott, L.: Absent kinematic response of Dos Lenguas rock glacier (Dry Andes, Argentina, 2016-2024) to warming trend: regional pattern or peculiarity?, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-10308, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-10308, 2025.
Rock glaciers are prevalent debris landforms associated with periglacial terrain and formed by the creep of mountain permafrost. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the dynamics and evolution of rock glaciers under climate change. Research indicates a general acceleration of creep rates, as well as an increasing incidence of rock glacier destabilization and degradation. Recently, the Rock Glacier Inventories and Kinematics (RGIK) initiative achieved the inclusion of the Rock Glacier Velocity (RGV) as an additional product of the Essential Climate Variable (ECV) for permafrost in the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). Likewise, the RGIK initiative, and particularly the RGV Working Group, have been developing baseline and practical concepts on how to define and produce RGV. In parallel, the ESA Permafrost Climate Change Initiative (CCI) and the SwissUniversities Open Rock Glacier Data Production Tools (ORoDaPT) project have been working on the development of tools and datasets for RGV monitoring. In order to test and validate these concepts, an intercomparison exercise was performed by several operators grouped into three technical subgroups, depending on the data and techniques used to produce RGV: in-situ measurements, optical photogrammetry, and radar remote sensing. The groups worked on three distinct sites in the European Alps (Gran Sometta – Italy, Grosses Gufer – Switzerland and Laurichard – France) with consistent input data provided for each technique. Each operator generated RGV time series for each site using their individual methodological expertise and adjusted their workflows to agree with the generic RGV production rules defined in the guidelines. Emphasis was placed on comparing results within the groups and in-between the different techniques. This contribution summarizes the major results of this so-called 2024 RGV intercomparison workshop. It focuses on concepts, methods and recommendations for producing consistent RGV products. While the list of proposed rock glaciers and methods is not exhaustive and is still a work in progress, our goal here is to provide a starting point for the RGIK Working Group on RGV, as well as for the wider rock glacier and permafrost communities, in terms of documenting best practices for RGV generation, including examples of possible challenges along with practical solutions.
How to cite: Vivero, S., Pellet, C., Rouyet, L., Bernhard, P., Buchelt, S., Cusicanqui, D., Delaloye, R., Duvanel, T., Hartl, L., Hu, Y., Khan, M. A. R., Lambiel, C., Li, M., Schmid, L., Seier, G., Strozzi, T., Sun, Z., and Wendt, L.: Steps towards consistent production of Rock Glacier Velocity (RGV): comparison and assessment of challenges from three technical approaches, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-15701, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-15701, 2025.
Rock glacier velocity is increasingly recognised as a critical essential climatic variable (ECV) for monitoring permafrost dynamics. However, the representation of decadal regional spatio-temporal velocity patterns remains challenging due to the scarcity of high resolution (<5 m) remote sensing data. In contrast, mid-resolution (10-15 m) satellite imagery, such as Landsat, provides global coverage over several decades, but has not yet been systematically exploited for rock-glacier kinematics. This study presents a robust methodological framework that employs pairwise feature-tracking image correlation using medium-resolution optical Landsat 7/8 imagery. This method integrates surface displacement time series inversion and automatic persistent moving area (PMA) detection to monitor rock glacier activity in the semi-arid Andes of South America. Our approach enabled the detection and quantification of surface kinematics for 382 gravitational slope mass movements, of which 153 correspond to rock glaciers, over a 24-year period (1998-2022) and a study area of 2,250 km².
Remarkably, this is the first application of Landsat data to quantify rock glacier displacement and derive long-term velocity trends. The analysis reveals an average velocity of 0.37 ± 0.07 m m a-1 for all rock glaciers, with exceptional cases of large rock glaciers and debris-covered frozen landforms exhibiting surface velocities exceeding 2 m a-1. The results show good agreement with high-resolution optical imagery and recent in-situ measurements, although Landsat-derived velocities are systematically underestimated by about 20-30%. Furthermore, the relatively high uncertainties between consecutive image pairs pose a challenge for the interpretation of the annual velocity variations. Despite these limitations, our study identifies decadal velocity changes in 3% of PMAs, with three rock glaciers showing an 11% increase and six showing an 18% decrease in velocity over a decade. These results suggest a strong relationship between rock glacier velocity and physical controls such as size, slope, orientation and elevation. In particular, the results suggest that permafrost thaw significantly influences the spatial distribution of high-altitude landslides in the Andes, highlighting the role of cryospheric processes in landscape evolution.
This study demonstrates the feasibility of using medium-resolution optical imagery for global, long-term monitoring of rock glaciers, filling a critical gap in permafrost research. The application of such data offers unprecedented opportunities to improve our understanding of cryospheric dynamics and their implications for regional hydrology, geomorphology and climate change adaptation strategies.
How to cite: Cusicanqui, D., Lacroix, P., Bodin, X., Robson, B. A., Kääb, A., and MacDonell, S.: Monitoring rock rlacier kinematics with medium-resolution Landsat imagery: Insights from the Semi-arid Andes, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-16592, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-16592, 2025.
Freeze-thaw processes cause periglacial creep called solifluction that forms solifluction lobes, which are lobate features characterized by a steep riser (front) and a relatively smooth tread (body). These lobes are a widespread phenomenon, yet there is still little known about how they develop and what controls their dimensions. Research into their morphometry is important, as the dimensions of solifluction lobes vary greatly between different regions and slopes. While previous research has focussed on lobes in Arctic regions, where elevation and fine material content have been identified as important factors, they also occur in alpine regions, where they are subject to entirely different topographic and ecological conditions.
In this study, we mapped geomorphic (e.g. length, width, riser height) and vegetation properties (e.g. vegetation cover and species occurrence) of 44 solifluction lobes in the Turtmann valley, Swiss Alps. In addition, each lobe was equipped with a TOMST logger recording soil moisture and temperature at a 10-minute interval for nearly two years. This data, in combination with derivatives of a high-resolution DEM (e.g. slope, aspect, flow accumulation), was used in a Spearman ranked correlation test to determine the topographic, topoclimatic and vegetation factors that control lobe morphometry and dimensions within our study area.
Our statistical analysis reveals that:
- The lobes in our study area are on average 19.7 m wide and 39 m long, with an average length-width ratio of 2.1 and an average riser height of 1.8 m. They have an average slope of 31 degrees. Thus, our lobes are approximately four times as long, have a twice as big length-width ratio, twice as high risers and three times steeper slopes than many arctic lobes previously studied.
- Lobe morphometry is significantly (p< 0.05) correlated with elevation (width, L/W-ratio), temperature (width, L/W-ratio), snow cover duration (width), ripening date (width, size), melt-out date (width), flow accumulation (width, length, size, riser height) and vegetation cover (width, size, L/W-ratio). This leads to a general trend of larger, wider lobes at higher elevations (𝝆 = -0.32), and longer, narrower lobes at lower elevations, influenced by changing temperature, vegetation, flow accumulation and snow characteristics over the elevational gradient. This contrasts with arctic studies where lobe size and width tend to increase downslope.
- None of the lobes found in this study are influenced by permafrost, and most do not freeze every winter due to snow cover insulation.
Our research reveals that (i) alpine solifluction lobes differ in size, shape and steepness from those found in arctic areas and therefore need to be studied separately; (ii) the morphometry of alpine solifluction lobes is influenced by elevation through vegetation, temperature, snow and flow accumulation.
How to cite: van Etten, J., Eichel, J., and Draebing, D.: Periglacial puzzles: unravelling environmental controls on solifluction lobes, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-678, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-678, 2025.
Deglaciation in the Antarctic Peninsula has significant impacts on ice-free environments, particularly on coastal geomorphology and ecology. This study focuses on the South Shetland Islands, aiming to map particularly clastic coasts as they are the most sensitive geomorphic units respond to changing climate and Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA).
While there is currently no comprehensive database of all coastal types and modern and paleo shorelines of the archipelago, this research serves as an inventory of clastic coasts as geomorphic markers of changing climate, hydrology and glacial isostatic response.
Utilizing satellite images compiled from the Quantarctica database, various coastal and glacial geomorphological features were mapped in QGIS.
We mapped modern shorelines, beach ridges, sand spits, lagoons, fan deltas, paleoshorelines, marine terraces as the geomorphic evidence of environmental changing as a result of changing climate and retreat of glaciers.
The spatial distribution of these landforms implies that exposure of deglaciated surfaces provide new sediments for coastal rivers and also longshore drifts to enlarge and propagate the clastic coasts although the isostatic rebound uplifts the islands and interrupts their development.
How to cite: Cengel, B. and Yıldırım, C.: Geomorphology of the Deglaciated Parts of the South Shetland Islands, Implications for Environmental Changes, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-839, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-839, 2025.
Rock glaciers, key indicators of permafrost dynamics and hydrological processes in alpine regions, are studied to understand their kinematics and responses to climate change. By analysing Earth observation (EO) data, it is possible to detect and delineate them, estimate rock glacier velocities including seasonal and multi-year velocity patterns, and identify shifts from rapid, erratic glacial flow to slower, more stable movements.
In this study, we investigate how well InSAR-derived surface displacement measurements derived from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analysis of Sentinel-1 data align with rock glacier delineations from an existing inventory created through manual interpretation (Wagner et al., 2020) as well as an inventory produced by deep learning techniques by the authors of this contribution. Selected mountainous areas in the Austrian Alps serve as test sites. Specifically, we (1) evaluate the suitability of InSAR results for confirming or disconfirming rock glacier locations, (2) propose ways to improve the delineation of rock glaciers by integrating InSAR results, and (3) identify factors that may influence the InSAR results, such as topography, the size of the rock glacier, the movement rate, and slope-dependent dynamics. The findings can provide insights into the geomorphological controls on rock glacier dynamics and aid in refining feature delineation.
We will present results that include adapted spatial delineations of rock glaciers, examples of alignments and discrepancies between InSAR measurements and rock glacier delineations, and an exemplary assessment of factors limiting the capability of InSAR for rock glacier detection and characterisation. These insights can contribute to advancing our understanding of rock glacier behaviour, thereby supporting water resource management and hazard mitigation efforts in alpine environments.
Wagner, T., Ribis, M., Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Krainer, K., Winkler, G., 2020. The Austrian rock glacier inventory RGI_1 and the related rock glacier catchment inventory RGCI_1 in ArcGis (shapefile) format [dataset]. PANGAEA. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.921629
How to cite: Nafieva, E., Hölbling, D., Hauglin, E., Dabiri, Z., Robson, B. A., Streifeneder, V., and Abad, L.: How well do InSAR measurements align with rock glacier delineations in the Austrian Alps?, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-8133, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-8133, 2025.
The cryosphere in Central Asia is critically important as a source of water. Widespread glacier mass loss has been observed across the Tien Shan in response to rising temperatures, raising concerns over future water resources. The Northern Tien Shan, situated along the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan hosts almost 700 rock glaciers, including a number of notably large, fast flowing landforms, connected to clean ice glaciers. Despite their prevalence, little is known about the volume and distribution of ice within these rock glaciers. Previous studies have highlighted the potential hydrological significance of rock glaciers both globally and in the Tien Shan, but field data to support this assumption remains limited, particularly outside of Europe.
Here, we present the results of geophysical investigations on four glacier or glacier-forefield connected rock glaciers in the Ulken Almaty Valley, Kazakhstan, conducted in July 2024. The investigations aim to provide key information on the internal structure of these rock glaciers, focusing on the internal architecture and spatial distribution of ice. We conducted Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys using a 48-electrode ERT device and a 100MHz GPR. ERT surveys were conducted on the two larger rock glaciers (Morennyi and Gorodetsky), whilst GPR surveys were conducted across all four rock glaciers. In total, 10 ERT profiles with a combined length over 3 km and approximately 10 km of GPR profiles were collected. Initial results reveal areas of high ice content with a heterogenous distribution related to morphological features. This research builds on previous remote sensing work examining rock glacier surface kinematics, aiming to better understand the relationships between surface flow processes and rock glacier internal structure.
How to cite: Wood, E., Bolch, T., Schrott, L., Baldacchino, F., Kapitsa, V., Rahimov, F., and Taskynbayev, A.: Internal Structure of Four Rock Glaciers in the Northern Tien Shan from Geophysical Investigations, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-8741, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-8741, 2025.
Due to the rapid shrinkage of mountain glaciers, subsurface ice, including ground ice stored in periglacial landforms such as rock glaciers (RGs), is expected to become a significant shallow groundwater reservoir under future climate warming. However, there are still many open questions about the ice volume stored inside RGs, its melting rates, its hydrological significance and the quality of the water flowing out from RGs. In this work, we aim at: i) characterizing the geochemistry of RG springs, and ii) evaluating the variability of environmental tracers in spring waters collected downslope of intact and relict RGs.
During summer 2024, two sampling campaigns (in late July and early September) were conducted to measure spring-water temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), pH and collect water samples for the analyses of stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen, major ions and trace elements. One spring from an intact RG and one spring from a relict RG were sampled every 48 hours using automatic samplers to investigate the temporal dynamics of the different tracers.
Spring waters downslope of relict RGs had lower EC compared to spring waters from intact RGs. A seasonal isotopic enrichment was found, which was likely due to the decreasing snowmelt contribution, and it was more evident at high elevations. Intact RG springs had higher EC and concentrations of sulphates, when compared with relict RGs and reference springs. This difference was more evident during September and at locations with acidic metamorphic lithologies.
These initial analyses revealed substantial geochemical differences between springs from intact RGs and those from relict RGs and reference locations. At some springs from intact RGs, sulphate concentrations exceeding the indicator parameters for drinking water quality suggest potential issues related to the use of RG water for human purposes. Analyses of trace elements will provide a clearer picture of the geochemical characteristics of the spring waters, expanding the still limited knowledge on RGs and their springs.
This study was carried out within the project PRIN 2022 “SUBSURFICE – Ecohydrological and environmental significance of subsurface ice in alpine catchments” (code no. 2022AL7WKC, CUP: C53D23002020006), which received funding from the European Union NRRP (Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.1, D.D. 104 2/2/2022).
How to cite: Marin, E., Carturan, L., Marchina, C., Casentini, B., Guyennon, N., Marziali, L., Seppi, R., Zumiani, M., Brighenti, S., Colombo, N., Salerno, F., and Zuecco, G.: Isotopic and geochemical variability of rock glaciers spring waters in the eastern Italian Alps, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12615, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12615, 2025.
Deglaciation is a rapid process in many glaciated regions of the world. In the Austrian Alps, data from the Austrian Alpine Association's glacier monitoring program reveal high losses in glacier length in recent years. The ten highest glacier retreat rates for all measured glaciers in Austria in the period since 1961 were all recorded after 2003, with the four highest values after 2016. The emerging proglacial areas are affected by different gravitational, aeolian, fluvial, and lacustrine processes. In this study, we investigated the evolution of proglacial landforms and water bodies at Pasterze Glacier, Austria (47.08°N, 12.72°E) in 2003-2024 using different techniques for surface, subsurface, and subaquatic monitoring of ice bodies to understand their influence on geomorphic dynamics. We applied global navigation satellite system (GNSS) measurements mainly for glacier boundary delineation, airborne photogrammetry and derived digital elevation models for land cover classification and morphometric analyses, ground surface temperature (GST) measurements for information on the ground thermal regime, geophysical measurements (electrical resistivity tomography/ERT, seismic refraction/SR) for ground ice detection and monitoring, and bathymetric measurements for detecting lake-bottom conditions and changes at the ice-contact lake “Pasterzensee”. Pasterze Glacier receded by about 1.1km between 2003 and 2024 based on GNSS data. Ground temperature data in the proglacial region suggest unfavorable conditions for long-term survival of ground ice and permafrost. The mean annual GST in the proglacial area increased substantially between 2007/08 and 2023/24 although interannual changes of the seasonal snow cover conditions make it difficult to receive statistically significant results at sites with shorter timeseries. Geophysical measurements (69 ERT and 1 SR profiles) carried out between 2015 and 2023 combined with the photogrammetry-derived data allowed to monitor 2D and 3D changes of sediment-covered dead ice bodies. Related to this dead-ice degradation and the recession of Pasterze Glacier, the size of the proglacial lake increased from 0.005km² in 2003 to 0.460km² in 2024. Sonar campaigns in 2019-2024 (single- and multi beam echo sounders and sub-bottom profiler) revealed several sub-basins along the 1.2km long and up to 300m wide lake basin, a maximum depth of 48.2m, a mean depth of 13.4m, and a total water volume of 4 Mio. m³ (in 2019). Since 2019, the lake size has increased by a factor of 0.5. Lake volume has also increased, although analysis of more recent bathymetric data is still ongoing. We conclude that the interplay between (a) surface, subsurface and subaquatic ice melt and ice disintegration caused by present glacier-unfavorable climatic conditions, (b) lack of permafrost, (c) high rates of sediment erosion, transport and redeposition by different agents (gravitational, fluvial, glacial, aeolian), and (d) projected future climate warming will further rapidly modify the glacial-proglacial transition zone at Pasterze Glacier leading to the total vanishment of the 1,8 km² large glacier tongue within the next decades. This means that the entire valley area of what was once the largest glacier in the Eastern Alps will become ice-free. Thereby, it serves as a massive laboratory for glaciological, geomorphological and ecological studies.
How to cite: Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Zandler, H., Sulzer, W., Lieb, G. K., Heine, E., and Karner, B.: What comes after the ice? Disappearing glacier and dead ice bodies and their significance for proglacial landform and lake evolution as revealed by surface, subsurface and subaquatic long-term monitoring, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-15174, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-15174, 2025.
Global glacier retreat has resulted in an unprecedented loss of glacier mass on the one hand and large volumes of debris previously covered by, or covering, ice to be released on the other hand. While active geomorphological processes such as the formation of distinct moraines and other diagnostic glacial landforms may have ceased in many forelands due to recent atmospheric warming (e.g. Rettig et al., 2023), it remains unclear whether this implies that we as a community lose the ability to identify the location and duration of retreat of ice masses in their final stages of demise in palaeo-settings beyond the ‘universally-accepted’ sets of sediment-landform associations we have come to associate with active glacier processes (e.g. moraines). It is therefore imperative to take a closer look at de-icing processes systematically. This contribution is a first attempt of synthesising over 20 years of field observations from a wide range of Arctic and Alpine glacier forelands to provide possible answers and highlight remaining challenges.
De-icing processes comprise both ‘regular’ depositional processes such as passive debris release by meltout (dumping) from actively-retreating ice and a whole host of secondary release processes of debris initially deposited on top of, in and around stagnant and dead ice bodies near former ice margins. The processes of ice burial of a formerly-coherent body of active glacier ice vary from site to site due to their dependence on climatic, glaciological and topographic boundary conditions, but the physical processes of what happens to the debris appear to have a large number of similarities and have been observed in several forelands in Svalbard, Sweden, Norway, the Russian Altai, the European Alps and the Southern Alps of New Zealand.
Following meltout and debris redistribution, any vaguely diagnostic glacial landform signature disappears, making most modern forelands of the last few years to decades difficult to use as palaeo-environmental tools. This is also due to uninterrupted retreat and thus little clear geomorphological evidence being preserved that allows any reconstruction of glacier extent, for example, but also due to our reliance on these clear diagnostic landforms. However, zooming into the usually-resulting chaotic sediment cover itself, a mixture of diamictic and sorted sediments displays what appear to be diagnostic criteria, all indicative of a loss of ice support.
While preservation of these subtle indicators is the biggest challenge and found to be dependent on the hydrogeological conditions of the foreland in question, the possibility of being able to identify diagnostic criteria of de-icing processes in palaeo-settings is exciting. Further work is ongoing to test this possibility with the aim of extending the areal coverage and timeframe over which the very final phases of Quaternary glaciations could be reconstructed and dated.
Reference
Rettig, L., Lukas, S. and Huss, M., 2023. Implications of a rapidly thinning ice margin for annual moraine formation at Gornergletscher, Switzerland. Quaternary Science Reviews, 308: 108085.
How to cite: Lukas, S.: De-icing processes in glacier forelands: generic or site-specific? Answers and challenges from field observations, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-17650, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-17650, 2025.
The northern Japanese Alps on the Sea of Japan side is located in the heavy snow region, with snow depths reaching 6 m on Murodo lava plateau above the timberline, where topographic effects are minimal (Iida et al., 2018). In the cirque landforms surrounded by steep rock walls, snow depths can reach up to 30 m due to pronounced topographic effects (Arie et al., 2022). In the alpine zone, located within a periglacial environment in a heavy snow region, strong northwest monsoon often generates variations in snow cover over a narrow elevation range, leading to heterogeneous temperature fluctuations and freeze-thaw processes.
Freeze-thaw processes play a significant role in triggering bedrock failures, such as collapses and rockfalls (Matsuoka, 2019). Therefore, it is crucial to elucidate the relationship between snow cover and freeze-thaw action in heavy snow region. Despite this importance, the relationship between snow cover and freeze-thaw action remains under-evaluated, and publicly available datasets for such analyses are scarce, especially when compared to the comprehensive datasets recently documented in the European Alps (e.g., Kellerer-Pirklbauer, 2017; Draebing and Mayer, 2021).
Two indicators can be used to evaluate freeze-thaw action. 1) Freezing Index (FI) quantifies the potential impact of freezing conditions over a specific period, calculated using the cumulative sum of sub-zero temperatures. 2) Time within the Frost Cracking Window (FCW) is the duration within temperature ranges, typically between −3°C and −8°C, where ice segregation processes are more active (Anderson, 1998; Hales and Roering, 2007). Prolonged exposure to such conditions facilitates the growth of ice lenses, contributing significantly to rock fracturing.
We investigated rock temperature and snow accumulation in the Hakuba Mountains (about 3,000 m a.s.l.) in the northern Japanese Alps over a three-year period from 2021 to 2024. Our analysis focused on examining changes in FI and FCW duration with variations in snow depth. Snow depth was calculated using SfM-MVS software and a multi-year 3D terrain model created from Cessna and UAV images.
Results indicated that FI was higher on windward slopes, which receive more significant solar radiation and experience reduced snow cover. In contrast, the freezing index was significantly lower on flat, leeward slopes characterized by prolonged thick snow cover during winter.
At sites with lower winter surface temperatures and higher FI, the time below the lower limit of FCW ( -8°C) tended to be longer, and the FCW recording time tended to be shorter. However, some sites recorded long FCW despite large FI. Such locations included cliffs at the top of flat slopes covered by thick snow in the latter half of the winter season or under cornice near mountain peaks, where temperatures were low in the first half of the winter season and did not rise easily in the latter half.
Furthermore, a comparison of FCW duration across different depths revealed that the depth at which the FCW peak was pronounced and the time of year when it occurred varied significantly between locations. These depth-specific results highlight the importance of monitoring seasonal changes in FCW.
How to cite: Sugiyama, H. and Narama, C.: Observation of freeze-thaw processes in the Japanese Alps of heavy snow region -A focus on snow cover and frost cracking dynamics-, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-17054, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-17054, 2025.
Retreat patterns of past ice sheets such as the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS), which glaciated Fennoscandia and northern Europe, can be used to understand ice sheet dynamics in response to climate warming. Many current reconstructions of retreat have been conducted at local to regional scales, which can be difficult to reconcile across ice sheet-scales, and ice-sheet scale reconstructions based on consistent approaches to mapping and data sources are rare. Recently available high-resolution topographic data have allowed a reassessment of the glacial landform signature of Norway, Sweden, and Finland, and an opportunity to reconsider the retreat pattern of the last SIS.
Using the glacial inversion approach, we reconcile our independently mapped datasets of ice marginal landforms, subglacial meltwater routes, and subglacial lineations to produce a coherent ice sheet-scale assessment of ice sheet retreat patterns across Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The retreat pattern reveals diverse styles of retreat, including large arcuate ice lobes on lowland landscapes and topographically constrained outlet glaciers in upland areas. We also identify 19 discrete focal points of retreat, which indicate that the SIS fragmented into multiple smaller ice masses during retreat. Although the warming Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition climate drove deglaciation, we suggest that the detailed pattern of SIS retreat was largely controlled by topographic and glaciodynamic factors, and that topo-climatic factors influenced the distribution of remnant ice caps across Fennoscandia.
How to cite: Boyes, B., Dulfer, H., Clark, C., Butcher, F., Dewald, N., Ely, J., and Hughes, A.: Reconciling ice marginal, subglacial meltwater, and ice flow landform signatures into a coherent retreat pattern of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet across Norway, Sweden, and Finland, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-8880, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-8880, 2025.
Since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA), widespread ice marginal recession in Svalbard has exposed extensive areas of glacier forelands that contain a diverse range of glacial landforms. Many of these landforms continue to evolve even after the ice margin retreated due to the presence of significant ice cores. The resulting associations of landforms and sediments are representative of the subpolar glacial landsystem and often display characteristics of glacial surges. Their currently dynamic state offers an ideal opportunity to study how changes in climatic conditions and geomorphological processes affect glacial process-form regimes.
The main objective of this study was to characterise and quantify the transition from glacial to postglacial conditions while evaluating the spatial and temporal evolution of glacial landsystems. Our focus was on the glaciers located near Petuniabukta in the central part of Spitsbergen Island. We mapped and quantified geomorphological and landscape changes across glacial forelands using a time series of remote sensing data combined with field verification. The dynamics of the proglacial areas of the studied glaciers—Hørbyebreen, Ebbabreen, Ragnarbreen, and Nordenskiöldbreen—illustrate the decay of a high-Arctic, polythermal (and potentially surging) glacial landsystem. By examining different types of surficial units as indicators of the dominant geomorphological processes, five main process-form regimes were identified: glacial-related, glaciofluvial, glaciolacustrine, downwasting, mass wasting processes, and stabilisation. Currently, direct glacial processes have a relatively low impact on landscape dynamics in the studied proglacial areas. Instead, most of the landscape transformations are related to:
- Mass wasting of lateral and frontal moraines, which results in large debris flows that repeatedly transform landforms and sediments (observed at Hørbyebreen, Ebbabreen, Ragnarbreen, and S Nordenskiöldbreen).
- Downwasting of dead ice buried under supraglacial debris, leading to the emergence of landforms associated with former englacial drainage and crevasse patterns (notably seen at Hørbyebreen).
- Glaciofluvial erosion and deposition, which effectively remove evidence of other processes and contribute to the formation of relatively flat inner outwash plains (at Hørbyebreen and Ebbabreen).
- The development of either localised (at Hørbyebreen, Ebbabreen, and S and N Nordenskiöldbreen) or large-scale (at Ragnarbreen) ponds and lakes, characterised by the rapid accumulation of fine-grained sediments. These ponds serve as local sediment traps.
From a spatio-temporal perspective, zones of actively transformed landscapes migrated through the glacial foreland as the ice margin retreated, resulting in an unstable topography that was partially ice-cored. Mass wasting processes initially altered these unstable landforms. Subsequently, depending on the degree of coupling between the glaciofluvial and moraine components, they could temporarily store sediments for varying periods, ranging from days to several decades, until they were fully depleted. The glacial-related regime has largely transitioned into one dominated by mass-wasting processes, characterised by the formation of large ice-cored latero-frontal moraines and transformed by glaciofluvial activities.
How to cite: Ewertowski, M. and Tomczyk, A.: Landscape evolution in proglacial areas based on examples from central Spitsbergen, Svalbard, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-16923, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-16923, 2025.
Investigated within this research is the distribution, characteristics, and dynamics of rock glaciers, as well as features of interests within the alpine periglacial environments of Alberta, in Western Canada. Features of interest inclusive in this initiative are debris-covered glaciers, relict rock glaciers still containing ice, solifluction lobes, protalus ramparts, and potential embryonic rock glaciers. Canada is a unique region as the current status of rock glacier conditions is sparse, the resolution and accuracy of previous investigations are low, and recent studies completed are limited. This inventory utilised free, high-resolution optical imagery available within base layers in QGIS, with supplementary datasets from Planet Labs and the National Air Photo Library in absence of clear images. Using a grid-base methodology, preliminary findings from this work reveal over 900 rock glaciers, alongside over 150 features of interest. In order to characterise the rock glaciers, the Rock Glacier Inventories and Kinematics (RGIK) guidelines were partially utilised, along with a separate method for delineation. In order to reduce subjectivity of upper boundary delineation of rock glacier complexes and units, as well as reduce mapper bias, a Flow Initiation Line (FIL) was implemented. The focus of this work is rock glaciers, although cataloguing their distribution with the aforementioned features of interest further enhances the suitability of this dataset for hazard mapping efforts and hydrological studies. This is a critical step in understanding and mitigating risks associated with permafrost degradation and slope instability in these regions. Especially given that a significant percentage of the area of the mountain ranges within Canada are home to national and provincial parks that have a copious number of anthropogenic activities. Findings from this research also serve as the first step toward the establishment of a Canadian rock glacier monitoring network, addressing a significant gap in national and global research.
How to cite: Wehbe, M.: Inventorying rock glaciers and features of interest within the interior mountainranges of Alberta, Canada, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-21919, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-21919, 2025.
Posters virtual: Mon, 28 Apr, 14:00–15:45 | vPoster spot 2
EGU25-12331 | Posters virtual | VPS25
The distribution characteristics of rock glaciers in the Gaizi River Basin, ChinaMon, 28 Apr, 14:00–15:45 (CEST) | vP2.16
Due global warming, rock glaciers were increased after the glaciers retreated rapidly. Rock glaciers, as an important indicators of mountain permafrost, play a critical role in mountain hydrology. The Gaizi River Basin, located in Pamir plateau and even has the Muztag-Ata (7,509m) and Gongger (7,719m) massifs. Comprehensive studies on distribution characterizations of rock glaciers in this region are currently in the incipient stages. Using Chinese high spatial resolution GF-2 Satellite images and Google Earth, a total of 56 rock glaciers were identified. Their spatial distribution and relationship with local factors were studied. Following the guidelines of the International Permafrost Association, out of the 56 rock glaciers, 9 are glacier-connected, 16 are glacier-forefield connected, 19 are talus-connected, and 12 are debris-mantled slope-connected. The rock glaciers are situated at slopes of 12゜–37゜ and elevations between 3380 m and 5320 m a.s.l. and predominantly facing north, northwest, or northeast (54.5 %). The average annual precipitation ranges from 26 mm to 350 mm and annual air temperature of the rock glaciers ranges from -13.5 。C to 3.9 。C. The rock glaciers can be used to quantify water storages and investigate the extent of permafrost and therefore carry significance in study their response to climate change.
How to cite: Liu, Y.: The distribution characteristics of rock glaciers in the Gaizi River Basin, China, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-12331, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-12331, 2025.
