Greatest Holocene advance of Glaciar Pio XI, Chilean Patagonia: possible causes

Glaciar Pio XI (or Glaciar Bruggen) may be the only glacier in the world currently at its Neoglacial maximum. During the 20th century, most glaciers in Patagonia have consistently retreated, whereas Glaciar Pio XI has advanced almost 10 km, most recently at rates of less than or equal to 1.5 m d(-1). This advance cannot be explained with reference to climate alone. An explanatory model combining calving dynamics, sediment budget and fjord topography explains the main features of recent behaviour. This case-study exemplifies the climatically out-of-phase behaviour so typical of calving glaciers, and illustrates the spatial and temporal scale over which they may behave asynchronously in the southern Andes.