Hydrometeorological and Topographic Controls on Rock Glacier Kinematics: A Case Study From Southeastern Alaska

A study of seven active rock glaciers in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park, Alaska, reveals that hydrological and thermal controls govern their spatial variability in kinematics. Rock glaciers exposed to greater solar radiation and warmer subsurface conditions exhibit enhanced meltwater infiltration and stronger seasonal deformation, while colder, shaded sites remain relatively stable. The research used multi-temporal Sentinel-1 InSAR data from 2018 to 2022, combined with Independent Component Analysis (ICA), hydraulic modeling, and thermal simulations to separate long-term trends from seasonal signals. This approach highlights the sensitivity of permafrost landforms to ongoing climate change, offering insights into their response to hydrometeorological factors.

Sui, Q., Lu, Z., Meng, T. M., Kim, J., Higman, B., Dai, C., Budukumah, E. J., McColl, S., Howat, I., Hults, C., Karanam, V., & Liang, K. (2026). Hydrometeorological and Topographic Controls on Rock Glacier Kinematics: A Case Study From Southeastern Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 131(4). Portico. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jf008895