Some Features of Mass Movement on Spitsbergen Slopes

Abstract

The paper contains a description of soil processes and related forms in Spitsbergen—solifluction, rockfalls and avalanches. Two postglacial phases of solifluction are distinguished. A reactivation of solifluction processes has been discovered in recent years. It has been found that local hydrological conditions are particularly important for the development of these processes. The type of material is another conditioning factor. The process of slush avalanche is very dynamic in Spitsbergen; it occurs on slopes which possess conditions favouring retention of water and snow masses.