Articles | Volume 20, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-2099-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-2099-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Apr 2026
Research article |
| 15 Apr 2026
| 15 Apr 2026
High spatio-temporal velocity variations driven by water input at a Greenlandic tidewater glacier
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Andrea Kneib-Walter
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Dominik Gräff
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
Andreas Vieli
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Marin Kneib, Patrick Wagnon, Laurent Arnaud, Louise Balmas, Olivier Laarman, Bruno Jourdain, Amaury Dehecq, Emmanuel Lemeur, Fanny Brun, Andrea Kneib-Walter, Ilaria Santin, Laurane Charrier, Thierry Faug, Giulia Mazzotti, Antoine Rabatel, Delphine Six, and Daniel Farinotti
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-786, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-786, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Avalanches are vital for glacier survival, yet their impact is difficult to quantify. We used low-cost cameras and drones to monitor an avalanche cone in the French Alps for two years. By accounting for ice flow, we found that avalanches can deposit 30 meters of snow annually – 50 times more than normal snowfall. This high-frequency data reveals that these cones fill until reaching a specific steepness, after which new snow slides further down to the base.
Tancrède Pierre Marie Leger, Guillaume Jouvet, Sarah Kamleitner, Brandon David Finley, Maxime Bernard, Balthazar Allegri, Frédéric Herman, Andreas Vieli, Andreas Henz, and Samuel Urs Nussbaumer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-503, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-503, 2026
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This study reconstructs, for the first time, the transport-pathways of rocks and sediments by glaciers during the last glaciation of the European Alps, 24000 years ago. This helps us understand how the present-day Alps were shaped by past glaciations and helps us better constrain the mechanisms of glacier erosion and the movement of large sediment volumes by ice. This breakthrough is achieved by coupling a smart particle-tracking algorithm to a machine-learning-enhanced glacier evolution model.
Ilaria Santin, Huw Horgan, Raphael Moser, Nanna Bjørnholt Karlsson, Faezeh Maghami Nick, Andreas Vieli, Anja Rutishauser, Hansruedi Maurer, and Daniel Farinotti
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-488, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-488, 2026
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Ice thickness near Greenland’s coast is still poorly measured, yet it is vital for predicting sea level rise. We flew a helicopter ice-penetrating radar over three outlet glaciers in southern Greenland and mapped the glacier bed where basal reflections were clear. We measured ice up to about 340 meters thick, with reliable penetration typically to about 300 meters, providing new constraints that can improve regional bed maps.
Florian Hardmeier, James Christopher Ferguson, and Andreas Vieli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5997, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5997, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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As mountain glaciers are retreating, they are becoming increasingly debris-covered. We want to better understand how these glaciers respond to a changing climate. For this purpose, we present a new model that simulates transport of debris within and on the glacier. Our key findings are that short-term changes have a low impact, while long-term warming can lead to fast collapse of the glacier tongue after a phase of thinning, where the observed expansion and thickening of debris cover occurs.
Samuel Weber, Andreas Vieli, Marcia Phillips, and Alessandro Cicoira
The Cryosphere, 19, 6727–6748, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6727-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6727-2025, 2025
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The properties of the permafrost ground depend on its temperature and composition. We used temperature data from 29 boreholes in Switzerland to study how heat moves through different types of mountain permafrost landforms, supporting a physically meaningful interpretation of thermal properties in terms of ice content, water saturation, and porosity. Understanding changes is important because they can affect how stable mountain slopes are and how easy it is to build things in mountain areas.
Andreas Henz, Johannes Reinthaler, Samuel U. Nussbaumer, Tancrède P. M. Leger, Sarah Kamleitner, Guillaume Jouvet, and Andreas Vieli
The Cryosphere, 19, 5913–5937, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5913-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5913-2025, 2025
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Glaciers are key to understanding climate change, reflecting historical variability. Using glacier models on the computer, we reconstructed European Alps glaciers during the Little Ice Age, with a total ice volume of 283 ± 42 cubic kilometres. Also, the study determines equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) for over 4000 glaciers, showing patterns influenced by temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation. After all, we introduce a new ELA correction approach based on solar incidence.
Giulio Saibene, Isabelle Gärtner-Roer, Jan Beutel, and Andreas Vieli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3029, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3029, 2025
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Rock glaciers are bodies of frozen ground found in mountain regions. They move downslope and are mainly studied at the surface. Here, we analyze deformation data from a rock glacier borehole, providing continuous data for almost eight years. The data shows that the acceleration in the summer movement happens in the uppermost layer, while long-term movement is mostly occurring in a deeper layer. This is important for the interpretation of surface movements, which are used as climate indicators.
Adrien Wehrlé, Martin P. Lüthi, and Andreas Vieli
The Cryosphere, 17, 309–326, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-309-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-309-2023, 2023
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We characterized short-lived episodes of ice mélange weakening (IMW) at the front of three major Greenland outlet glaciers. Through a continuous detection at the front of Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier during the June-to-September period from 2018 to 2021, we found that 87 % of the IMW episodes occurred prior to a large-scale calving event. Using a simple model for ice mélange motion, we further characterized the IMW process as self-sustained through the existence of an IMW–calving feedback.
Alessandro Cicoira, Samuel Weber, Andreas Biri, Ben Buchli, Reynald Delaloye, Reto Da Forno, Isabelle Gärtner-Roer, Stephan Gruber, Tonio Gsell, Andreas Hasler, Roman Lim, Philippe Limpach, Raphael Mayoraz, Matthias Meyer, Jeannette Noetzli, Marcia Phillips, Eric Pointner, Hugo Raetzo, Cristian Scapozza, Tazio Strozzi, Lothar Thiele, Andreas Vieli, Daniel Vonder Mühll, Vanessa Wirz, and Jan Beutel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5061–5091, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5061-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5061-2022, 2022
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This paper documents a monitoring network of 54 positions, located on different periglacial landforms in the Swiss Alps: rock glaciers, landslides, and steep rock walls. The data serve basic research but also decision-making and mitigation of natural hazards. It is the largest dataset of its kind, comprising over 209 000 daily positions and additional weather data.
Adrien Wehrlé, Martin P. Lüthi, Andrea Walter, Guillaume Jouvet, and Andreas Vieli
The Cryosphere, 15, 5659–5674, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5659-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5659-2021, 2021
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We developed a novel automated method for the detection and the quantification of ocean waves generated by glacier calving. This method was applied to data recorded with a terrestrial radar interferometer at Eqip Sermia, Greenland. Results show a high calving activity at the glacier front sector ending in deep water linked with more frequent meltwater plumes. This suggests that rising subglacial meltwater plumes strongly affect glacier calving in deep water, but weakly in shallow water.
James C. Ferguson and Andreas Vieli
The Cryosphere, 15, 3377–3399, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3377-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3377-2021, 2021
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Debris-covered glaciers have a greater extent than their debris-free counterparts due to insulation from the debris cover. However, the transient response to climate change remains poorly understood. We use a numerical model that couples ice dynamics and debris transport and varies the climate signal. We find that debris cover delays the transient response, especially for the extent. However, adding cryokarst features near the terminus greatly enhances the response.
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Short summary
Terrestrial radar observations were used to investigate flow speed changes at Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat, a marine-terminating glacier in Greenland. The velocity varied on both daily and multi-day timescales, showing that the glacier speeds up markedly when meltwater or lake drainage increases basal water pressure. Usually speed changes move downstream with time towards the glacier front, but during multi-day speed-up events they start at the front and travel upstream.
Terrestrial radar observations were used to investigate flow speed changes at Eqalorutsit...
