In general, summer speedups are caused by meltwater that percolates from the surface down to the base of the glacier, where the ice sits on rock, explained Chad Greene, a glaciologist at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). \u201cWhen the base of a glacier becomes inundated with meltwater, water pressure at the base increases and allows the glacier to slide more easily,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Data for the animation are from the ITS_LIVE<\/a>\u00a0project, developed at JPL, which uses an algorithm to detect glacier speed based on surface features visible in optical and radar satellite images. In 2025<\/a>, Greene and JPL colleague Alex Gardner used ITS_LIVE data to analyze the seasonal variability of hundreds of thousands of glaciers across the planet, including Stonebreen.<\/p>\n Stonebreen is a surging glacier<\/a>, a type that cycles between stretches of relatively slow movement and sudden bursts of speed when ice can flow several times faster than usual. These surges can last anywhere from months to years. Globally, only about 1 percent<\/a> of glaciers are surge-type, though in Svalbard, they are relatively widespread<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before 2023, Stonebreen spent several years surging at high speeds after melting along its front likely destabilized<\/a> the glacier, according to Gardner. Even during this surging period, the ice followed a seasonal rhythm\u2014speeding up in summer and slowing through the winter\u2014all while continuing its faster overall flow toward the Barents Sea.<\/p>\n Since 2023, however, the glacier has all but slowed to a halt, with only a short stretch in the summer when meltwater causes Stonebreen to glide across the ground. It has entered a phase of quiet, or \u201cquiescence,\u201d which is a normal part of the cycle for surge-type glaciers. \u00a0<\/p>\n These seasonal heartbeat-like pulses and longer-term variations in ice flow at Stonebreen and other glaciers worldwide can be explored using the ITS_LIVE app<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maps courtesy of Chad Greene and Alex Gardner, NASA\/JPL, using data from the\u00a0NASA MEaSUREs<\/a>\u00a0project\u00a0ITS_LIVE<\/a>. Story by Kathryn Hansen.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Greene, C. A. and Gardner, A. S.\u00a0(2025)\u00a0Seasonal dynamics of Earth\u2019s glaciers and ice sheets<\/a>.\u00a0Science,\u00a0390, 6776.<\/p>\n NASA Earth Observatory (2025, December 3) Satellites Detect Seasonal Pulses in Earth\u2019s Glaciers<\/a>. Accessed February 12, 2026.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2026) ITS_LIVE<\/a>. Accessed February 12, 2026.<\/p>\n No\u00ebl, B., et al.\u00a0(2020)\u00a0Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability<\/a>.\u00a0Nature Communications,\u00a011(4597).<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/stonebreen_hls_2025_th.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n