MSGID: 1:317/3 62735315   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Landslides can have a major impact on glacier melt and movement    
      
     Date:   
         May 4, 2022   
     Source:   
         University of Minnesota   
     Summary:   
         Using satellite imagery to study the effects of a 2019 landslide   
         on the Amalia Glacier in Patagonia, a research team found the   
         landslide helped stabilize the glacier and caused it to grow by   
         about 1,000 meters over the last three years.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
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   A team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has   
   revealed, for the first time, that landslides can have a major impact on   
   the movement of glaciers. Using satellite imagery to study the effects   
   of a 2019 landslide that occurred on the Amalia Glacier in the Patagonia   
   region of Chile, the researchers found that the landslide caused the   
   glacier to grow in size and has since slowed down its melting process.   
      
      
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   This information could help scientists more accurately predict the size   
   of glaciers in the future and better understand the risks of living in   
   areas with both glaciers and landslides.   
      
   The study is published in Geology,a peer-reviewed geoscience journal   
   published by the Geological Society of America.   
      
   Glaciologists have been monitoring the recession of glaciers due to global   
   warming around the world for decades. The 150-square-kilometer Amalia   
   Glacier has been receding steadily -- or losing ice and becoming smaller   
   -- having shrunk by more than 10 kilometers over the past 100 years. Until   
   now, the effect of landslides on this movement was largely unknown.   
      
   The University of Minnesota-led research team found that after the 2019   
   landslide in question, the Amalia Glacier immediately began to "advance"   
   or grow at a fast rate. Although its flow has since slowed down to half   
   its pre- landslide speed, over the last three years the glacier has   
   grown by about 1,000 meters.   
      
   "These landslides are actually fairly common," explained Max Van Wyk   
   de Vries, lead author of the study and a recent Ph.D. graduate of the   
   University of Minnesota's N.H. Winchell School of Earth and Environmental   
   Sciences. "If they're able to stabilize glaciers, then it might affect   
   projections of how large certain glaciers will be in the future. There's   
   the context of global warming and climate change here, which is causing   
   glaciers all around the world to retreat at unprecedented rates. That's   
   affecting essentially everyone around the world because as these glaciers   
   get smaller, they cause the sea levels to rise."  The researchers found   
   that the landslide pushed ice from the glacier downstream, causing it to   
   immediately advance and increase in size. Then, sediment and rock from   
   the landslide built up where the glacier borders the ocean, preventing   
   icebergs from breaking off into the sea and effectively stabilizing   
   the glacier.   
      
   This study also gave researchers an idea of how proximity to glaciers can   
   unfortunately enhance the impact of landslides on neighboring communities.   
      
   "The combination of glaciers and landslides can be extremely dangerous,"   
   said Van Wyk de Vries, a recipient of the University of Minnesota's CSE   
   and Doctoral Dissertation fellowships. "Glaciers can allow landslides   
   to fluidize and flow much further than they would have originally. They   
   only affect people who live in these high-mountain areas where steep   
   slopes and glaciers co-exist. But we still have a limited understanding   
   of these processes, so being able to investigate events like this can give   
   us a better idea of the risk associated with living in these glacierized,   
   high-mountain areas."  Using satellite imagery allowed the researchers to   
   monitor the movement of the glacier in real time without being physically   
   on site. In the future, this method could be used more often to monitor   
   glaciers in remote locations. The University of Minnesota research team,   
   along with other scientists, is currently studying satellite data from the   
   last 20-30 years to see if they can spot previously unrecorded landslides   
   that occurred on glaciers. They aim to increase their data pool so they   
   can better understand this phenomenon.   
      
   In addition to Van Wyk de Vries, the research team included University of   
   Minnesota School of Earth and Environmental Sciences McKnight Land-Grant   
   Associate Professor Andy Wickert; Macalester College Geology Professor   
   Kelly MacGregor; University of Magallanes, Chile Assistant Professor   
   Camilo Rada; and University of Colorado Boulder Assistant Professor   
   Michael Willis.   
      
   This research was funded by the National Science Foundation.   
      
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Minnesota. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Related Multimedia:   
       * Amalia_Glacier   
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries, Andrew D. Wickert, Kelly R. MacGregor,   
         Camilo Rada, Michael J. Willis. Atypical landslide induces speedup,   
         advance, and long-term slowdown of a tidewater glacier. Geology,   
         2022; DOI: 10.1130/G49854.1   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220504092937.htm   
      
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