Glaciers and ice sheets erode mountains and produce vast quantities of sediments that are delivered to rivers and oceans, impacting global sediment and biogeochemical balances. Therefore, understanding how the production of sediments by glacial erosion has evolved in the past, and will evolve in a changing climate, is increasingly important. In this Review, we examine the processes that control the magnitude and timing of glacial erosion of mountains, and how models can be used to reconstruct processes during the development of mountains. Field observations reveal the important role of sliding on the erosion rate, which provide an empirical basis to explain the glacial buzzsaw and the impact of late Cenozoic cooling on erosion rates. Glacial erosion is also expected to evolve in the context of anthropogenic climate warming, as both glacier sliding and the input of meltwater related to thinning and retreat of ice will change, with large effects on downstream ecosystems and global biogeochemical cycles. Thus, the mechanics and impacts of glaciers on sediment production warrant more research, especially in regions experiencing rapid warming. Above all, there is a need for better monitoring of how erosion rates changed over the last decades and will evolve in the future.

冰川和冰盖侵蚀了山脉并产生大量沉积物，这些沉积物被输送到河流和海洋，影响了全球沉积物和生物地球化学平衡。因此，了解过去由于冰川侵蚀而产生的沉积物是如何演变的，并将在气候变化的情况下演变的，这一点变得越来越重要。在这篇评论中，我们研究了控制山脉冰川侵蚀的大小和时间的过程，以及在山脉发展过程中如何使用模型重建过程。实地观察揭示了滑动对侵蚀速率的重要作用，这为解释冰川蜂鸣和新生代降温对侵蚀速率的影响提供了经验基础。在人为气候变暖的背景下，冰川侵蚀也有望发展，由于冰川的滑动以及与冰的稀薄化和退缩有关的融化水的输入都将发生变化，对下游生态系统和全球生物地球化学循环产生重大影响。因此，冰川的力学及其对沉积物产生的影响值得进一步研究，尤其是在经历快速变暖的地区。最重要的是，需要更好地监测侵蚀率在过去几十年中的变化情况，并在将来不断变化。