India, Feb. 15 -- While most of the world's glaciers are retreating as the climate warms, a small but significant population behaves very differently - and the consequences can be severe.

A team of international scientists, led by the University of Portsmouth, has carried out a comprehensive global analysis of surging glaciers, examining the hazards they cause and how climate change is fundamentally altering when and where these dramatic events occur.

Glacier surges - when a glacier suddenly moves much faster than normal - rapidly transport ice to the glacier front and often cause advances. These events typically last for several years, with many glaciers experiencing repeated surges separated by decades of relative inactivity, reads th...