A REVIEW OF SURGE-TYPE GLACIERS

Abstract. The study of glacier surges is meaningful for the understanding of glacier dynamics and the mechanisms of surge-type glaciers. Here, we briefly introduce the distribution of surge-type glaciers and the reason of their tendency to cluster within particular regions. Then we make a review of optical and SAR remote sensing methods for the spaceborne measurement of the surface velocity about surge-type glaciers and show the details of characteristics of Surging Glaciers including the acceleration and deceleration of the velocity of the glacier surface, the terminus may move forward a few kilometers in just a few months, then we give a specific example of surge-type glacier, Sortebræ. Finally, we summarize the existing mechanism of the glaciers surging.