Types of debris slope accumulations and rock glaciers in South Spitsbergen

Abstract

A proposal for the classification of accumulations formed at the foot of mountain slopes and glacier snouts is presented for South Spitsbergen. Simple (talus cones) and complex (protalus ramparts, protalus rock glaciers, moraine rock glaciers) landforms are distinguished. The homogeneity of the features deposited at the foot of mountain slopes on a bedrock as well as on a glacial ice is noted, although the latter are more easily destructed due to melting of the buried ice. A significance of the ice core (interstitial or glacial ice) for a development of protalus rock glaciers and moraine rock glaciers is emphasized.