Dynamic difference between surging and normal glaciers in the context of climate change: Insights from multi-source remote sensing

Yunfeng Peak region, High Mountain Asia High Mountain Asia is the most glacier-rich region outside the polar areas and plays a critical role in alleviating water resource pressures across Asia. Understanding the complexities of glacier responses to climate change in this region is essential for elucidating glacier-climate interactions and projecting future glacier dynamics. Our work highlights the contrasting responses of surge-type and normal glaciers to identical climatic conditions, identifies the underlying mechanisms of glacier surging, and examines the factors driving differential glacier dynamics. Influenced by atmospheric circulation patterns, the YFP region experienced increased precipitation and decreased temperatures between 1980 and 2010. This climatic shift caused pronounced fluctuations in glacier surface flow velocities between 1996 and 2010. Among the glaciers studied, the largest glacier initiated its surge in 2011, reached its peak velocity in 2014, and terminated the surge in 2020, with the terminus advancing over 1.5 km. In contrast, normal glaciers in the region showed slower flow velocities and pronounced terminus retreats during the same period. Notably, the mass balance trends between surge-type and normal glaciers were not markedly different, although the surge-type glacier redistributed over 0.2 km³ of ice from higher to lower elevations during its surge. Our comparative analysis revealed that the disparities in glacier responses to climate change in the YFP region primarily arise from differences in glacier size, which govern the rate of dynamic adjustments to external climatic drivers. The surging behavior of the glacier was primarily attributed to enhanced accumulation from climate-induced mass gain, which caused the basal temperatures to reach the pressure melting point. Surface meltwater infiltration through crevasses further elevated the basal water pressure. The formation of an efficient basal drainage network subsequently reduced the sliding velocity, bringing the surge to an end. • Atmospheric circulation changes drive glacier dynamics. • Glacier dynamics influence the differential responses of glacier to climate change. • The scale of a glacier determines its response time to regional climate change. • The glacier surge in the YFP region was influenced by subglacial drainage pathways.