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While glacial remnants in the form of viscous flow features in the mid-latitudes of Mars are considered to be cold-based in the present-day, an increasing amount of geomorphic evidence suggests that at least some flow features were previously wet-based or had a mixed thermal state (polythermal) at during their evolution. Many of the viscous flow features known as glacier-like forms have been observed to emerge from alcoves that appear similar to cirques on Earth. Terrestrial cirques are typically characterized by a concave basin connected to a steep backwall. Cirques are expected to form from depressions in mountainsides that fill with snow/ice and over time support active glaciers that deepen the depressions by wet-based glacial erosion. To assess which alcoves on Mars are most "cirque-like", we mapped a population of ~2000 alcoves in Deuteronilus Mensae, a region in the mid-latitudes of Mars characterized by mesas encompassed by glacial remnants. Based on visual characteristics and morphometrics, we refined our dataset to 386 "cirque-like alcoves", which is five times the amount of glacier-like forms in the region, and used this to assess the past extent and style of glaciation on Mars. Using high resolution imagery, we find geomorphic evidence for glacial occupation associated with the cirque-like alcoves, including crevasse-like features, surface lineations, polygonal terrain, and moraine-like ridges. We propose that the cirque-like alcoves with icy remnants similar to rock glaciers on Earth represent a late stage of glacier-like form evolution. We also outline stages of cirque-like alcove evolution, linking a potential early stage of cirque-like alcoves to gully activity. On a population-wide scale, the cirque-like alcoves have a south to southeastward aspect bias, which may indicate a requirement for increased insolation for melting to occur and a connection to gullies on Mars. While the alcoves also have similarities to other features such as landslide scarps and amphitheater-headed valleys, the cirque-like alcoves have unique morphologies and morphometrics that differentiate their origin. Assuming warm-based erosion rates, the cirque-like alcoves have timescales consistent with both glacier-like forms and other viscous flow features like lobate debris aprons, whereas cold-based erosion rates would only allow the older timescales of lobate debris aprons. We propose that based on the geomorphic features and southward aspect, cirque-like alcove formation is more consistent with warm-based glaciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a continentwide study of 600 glaciers located on and near 37 ice-clad volcanoes in South America. Results demonstrate glacier sensitivity to volcanic heat. We distinguished between "volcanic glaciers" (≤1 km from volcanic centers; n = 74), and "proximal glaciers" (1-15 km; n = 526) and calculated their equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs). For each ice-clad volcano, we compared the ELAs of its volcanic glaciers to those of its proximal glaciers, which showed that the ELAs of the former are higher than the ELAs of the latter. ΔELAmean, defined as the offset between the mean ELA of the volcanic glaciers compared with that of the proximal glaciers, was calculated for each ice-clad volcano. ΔELAmean was positive for 92% of the 37 volcanoes, and a quantitative relationship between ΔELAmean and volcanic thermal anomaly was established. Results highlight the impact of volcanic heat on glacier elevation; emphasize the need to exclude glaciers on, or near, volcanoes from glacier-climate investigations; and demonstrate the first-order potential for glaciers as "volcanic thermometers." Volcanic-glacier monitoring could contribute to our understanding of magmatic and thermal activity, with changes in glacier geometries potentially reflecting long-term fluctuations in volcanic heat and unrest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Close-range sensors are employed to observe glaciological processes that operate over short timescales (e.g. iceberg calving, glacial lake outburst floods, diurnal surface melting). However, under poor weather conditions optical instruments fail while the operation of radar systems below 17 GHz do not have sufficient angular resolution to map glacier surfaces in detail. This letter reviews the potential of millimetre-wave radar at 94 GHz to obtain high-resolution 3-D measurements of glaciers under most weather conditions. We discuss the theory of 94 GHz radar for glaciology studies, demonstrate its potential to map a glacier calving front and summarise future research priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-temporal inventories of glacierised regions provide an improved understanding of water resource availability. In this study, we present a Landsat-based multi-temporal inventory of glaciers in four Upper Indus sub-basins and three internal drainage basins in the Ladakh region for the years 1977, 1994, 2009 and 2019. The study records data on 2257 glaciers (of individual size >0.5 km 2) covering an area of ∼7923±106 km 2 which is equivalent to ∼30 % of the total glacier population and ∼89 % of the total glacierised area of the region. Glacier area ranged between 0.5±0.02 and 862±16 km 2 , while glacier length ranged between 0.4±0.02 and 73±0.54 km. Shayok Basin has the largest glacierised area and glacier population, while Tsokar has the least. Results show that the highest concentration of glaciers is found in the higher elevation zones, between 5000 and 6000 m a.s.l., with most of the glaciers facing towards the NW–NE quadrant. The error assessment shows that the uncertainty, based on the buffer-based approach, ranges between 2.6 % and 5.1 % for glacier area, and 1.5 % and 2.6 % for glacier length with a mean uncertainty of 3.2 % and 1.8 %, respectively. This multitemporal inventory is in good agreement with previous studies undertaken in parts of the Ladakh region. The new glacier database for the Ladakh region will be valuable for policy-making bodies, and future glaciological and hydrological studies. The data can be viewed and downloaded from PANGAEA, 10.1594/PANGAEA.940994 (Soheb et al., 2022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]