- Over 3,100 glaciers have surged, rapidly advancing ice movement patterns
- 81 glaciers identified as posing the greatest dangers after surging events
- Surges occur mainly in Arctic, High Mountain Asia, Andes, especially Karakoram
Have you ever heard about a glacier surge? Well, it happens when a glacier starts moving faster than its usual pace. Not just that, the surge rapidly transports ice to the glacier and often causes advances.
Now, scientists confirmed that over 3,100 glaciers have surged. They have also identified 81 glaciers that pose the greatest danger once they have surged.
As per a study published in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, the glaciers are moving densely in clusters around the Arctic, High Mountain Asia, and the Andes. It added that most of the surges have been found in the Karakoram Mountains, High Mountain Asia.
The study was conducted by the University of Portsmouth. Scientists have analysed the movement and the nature of the glaciers. They have also examined what led to the surge and how it can affect the planet. The study also stressed “how climate change is fundamentally altering when and where these dramatic events occur.”
Dr Harold Lovell, Senior Lecturer and glaciologist from the University of Portsmouth's School of the Environment and Life Sciences, warned that surge-type glaciers are “unusual and can be troublesome.”
"As a friend and fellow glaciologist once put it, they save up ice like a savings account and then spend it all very quickly like a Black Friday event. But while they only represent 1% of all glaciers worldwide, they affect just under one-fifth of global glacier area, and their behaviour can result in serious and sometimes catastrophic natural disasters that affect thousands of people,” he said.
Dr Lovell and his team have also identified six main types of f hazards caused by glacier surges — Glacier advance, river blockages, meltwater outbursts from beneath the glacier, sudden detachments of glaciers, widespread crevassing and iceberg hazards.
The surges can “affect communities in high mountain regions, which can result in damage to infrastructure and in some cases loss of life,” the study said.
