Surges constitute a common form of glacier advance in Spitsbergen. The fastest movement observed is that of the Negri Glacier, with an advance of ~ 12 km in less than a year. Observations on the Finster-walder Glacier indicate that the ice flow is too small to maintain a steady-state slope. At intervals, of the order of 100 years, the glacier will balance this build-up by surging. A small surging glacier in the Dickson Valley has a sheet of refrozen meltwater in the front. This refrozen meltwater is possibly generated by the surge.