Weird, Pulsating Glaciers Discovered in Svalbard: How They Impact Sea Level Rise

Scientists are getting a better understanding of how glaciers behave, and have found out that they may actually "pulsate." Scientists have taken a closer look at the Svalbard glaciers and have found that they behave differently from other glaciers.

Melting glaciers have the ability to greatly impact sea levels in the future. That's why it's so important to examine how glaciers behave, since it may give clues as to how they will eventually affect sea level rise.

In this latest study, the researchers studied a unique type of glacier found on Svalbard, which behaves differently from most other glaciers worldwide.

While these glaciers can remain still and unmoving for 50 to 100 years, they can then advance at an unprecedented velocity for several years after this "quiet" period. The glaciers then have a tendency to retreat once again and remain quiet for a further 50 to 100 years before suddenly advancing once more.

"A better understanding of the dynamics of these glaciers will increase knowledge of how the tributaries of the large glaciers on Greenland and in the Antarctic behave," said Jon Ove Hagen, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This will enable us to predict more accurately how much sea levels will rise when these glaciers melt."

Known as either surging glaciers or pulsating glaciers, the glaciers actually are unable to move fast enough to dispose of excess snow. Some of the upper parts of these glaciers become a few tens of meters higher before starting to spread. When they become heavy enough, the enormous weight causes the glacier to slide faster and advance.

"We have observed on Greenland that the speed is increasing on many tributaries," said Hagen. "We can therefore learn from Austfonna on Svalbard something about what is happening to other big ice caps and ice sheets. The key question is how stable the tributaries are in Greenland and in Antarctica. This can be of considerable significance for sea levels."

The new findings may help researchers better prepare for the future when it comes to estimating rising sea levels.

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