Glacier Surges

Surging glaciers undergo cyclical changes in fast and slow flow. These dynamics are typically thought to departures from ;standard’ glacier flow and thus offers a unique natural laboratory to understand the process of glacier flow. Using a range in situ and remote sensing measurements, we seek to better understand the drivers of surging glaciers. We are currently investigating the activation of a surge at Borebreen, a tidewater glacier in Svalbard that has not surged since ~100 years ago. We are combining seismic arrays with close-range measurements from laser scanners, time-lapse cameras and drones to quantify the surge dynamics and its impact on calving. We are supplementing this with high resolution Planet imagery to assess how these dynamics evolve over a seasonal cycle. Future work will seek to repeat these measurements and assess long-term surge dynamics.