What factors explain mountain glacier retreat variability?

Question

It is well known that the majority of the world's mountain glaciers are retreating, but looking at a few LANDSAT images from the 1980s and today I am able to see glaciers that have retreated kilometers in that time frame, and others which have hardly changed at all within the same region. I am wondering what variables could be responsible for this? Bed rock lithology? Precipitation differences? Mountain slope? Etc.

Answer 1

Bed rock lithology woud determine the amount of subglacial heating from energy absorption and transmission along the flanks of the glacier. Dark bedrock would absorb and transmit more thermal energy than lighter bedrock. Precipitation differences and types (rain vs snow) would affect the amount of new material added to or removed from the glacier. Mountain slope would affect the rate at which a glacier would move dhownslope under gravity. The steeper the slope the higher the rate of movement, assuming the same conditions of temperature and precipitation.