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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Rock glaciers consist of debris, air and ice. These landforms are indicative of permafrost conditions where temperatures remain below 0 °C
for at least two consecutive years, allowing for ice to persist and facilitate the characteristic creep of rock glaciers. Variation in ice volume and ground temperature, among other factors,
are reflected in horizontal and vertical changes on the rock glacier’s surface, termed kinematics. Therefore, monitoring rock glacier kinematics offers an indirect means to elucidate the
state of local permafrost. However, detecting kinematic change requires repeated, high-resolution monitoring of the entire rock glacier, which other approaches, such as point-based ground
temperature and coarse-resolution satellite observations, struggle to resolve. Surveying rock glacier kinematics with drones can improve knowledge of the underlying driving factors. Research
in the Dry Andes of Argentina has revealed high variability in the magnitude and spatial pattern of vertical and horizontal surface changes within single rock glaciers, indicating the
relative impact of factors such as the slope. Deriving such insights is not possible when relying on observations made at lower spatial resolution or with fewer repetitions in time. Drone
flights therefore enable detailed rock glacier monitoring, complementing ground-based and satellite observations of permafrost regions. This is a preview of subscription content, access via
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institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author thanks L. Schrott, J. Blöthe, and fieldwork colleagues for their support and contribution,
and acknowledges support from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Department of Geography, Bonn University, Bonn, Germany Melanie
Stammler Authors * Melanie Stammler View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Melanie Stammler. ETHICS
DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The author declares no competing interests. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Stammler, M. Using drones to
investigate rock glacier kinematics. _Nat Rev Earth Environ_ 6, 11 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00628-9 Download citation * Published: 11 December 2024 * Issue Date: January
2025 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00628-9 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable
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