A Surge of Bualtar Glacier, Karakoram Range, Pakistan: A Possible Landslide Trigger

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Gardner, James S., Hewitt, Kenneth
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1990
• Subjects: Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000009394; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000009394

Abstract Bualtar Glacier, Karakoram Range, northern Pakistan, surged during the spring and early summer of 1987. This followed a major episode of three landslides which impacted part of the glacier ablation zone on 30–31 July 1986. In May 1987, surface velocities of 7 m d −1 were measured at one profile down-glacier from the landslide deposits, where in 1986 velocities were an order of magnitude less. Surface and hydrological characteristics of the glacier in and down-glacier from the landslide deposit were also indicative of surge-like behavior in 1987, and a return to pre-surge conditions by 1988.