Rapid glacier advance is known to occur by a range of mechanisms. However, although large-scale debris loading has been proposed as a process for causing rapid terminus advance, it has rarely been observed. We use satellite remote sensing data to observe accelerated glacier terminus advance in response to massive supraglacial loading on two glaciers in Kyrgyzstan. Over a 15 year period, mining activity has led to the dumping of spoil of up to 180 m thick on large parts of these valley glaciers. We find that the termini of these glaciers advance by 1.2 and 3.2 km, respectively, at a rate of up to 350 m yr-1. Our analysis suggests that although enhanced basal sliding could be an important process, massive supraglacial loads have also caused enhanced internal ice deformation that would account for most, or all, of the glacier terminus advance. In addition, narrowing of the glacier valley and mining and dumping of ice alter the mass balance and flow regime of the glaciers. Although the scale of supraglacial loading is massive, this full-scale experiment provides insight into glacier flow acceleration response where small valley glaciers are impacted by very large volumes of landslide debris.

中文翻译：

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响应与矿山有关的碎屑负荷，两个高山冰川迅速发展。

已知冰川的快速发展是通过多种机制发生的。然而，尽管已经提出了大规模的碎屑装载作为引起终点快速前进的过程，但是很少观察到它。我们使用卫星遥感数据来观察吉尔吉斯斯坦两座冰川上的巨大冰川作用，以加速冰川终点的发展。在15年的时间里，采矿活动导致这些山谷冰川的大部分倾弃了厚达180 m的弃土。我们发现这些冰川的末端分别以高达350 m yr-1的速度前进了1.2公里和3.2公里。我们的分析表明，尽管增强的基底滑动可能是一个重要的过程，但巨大的冰川作用也引起了内部冰层变形的增加，这将占冰川终点总成的大部分或全部。另外，冰川谷的变窄以及冰的开采和倾倒改变了冰川的质量平衡和流动状态。尽管冰川作用的规模是巨大的，但这项全面的实验提供了对冰川流动加速响应的洞察力，其中小山谷冰川受到大量滑坡碎片的影响。