## 4 Discussion
The observations of [PERSON] et al. [45] confirmed the different dynamics of land-terminating glaciers on the Potter Peninsula and tidewater glaciers terminating in Potter Cove (near JUbany Station). In our study, the difference between the overall retreat rate of land-terminating and tidewater glaciers for the 1979-2011 period was \(-0.099\) km\({}^{2}\)/year for tidewater glaciers and \(-0.083\) km\({}^{2}\)/year for land-terminating glaciers. The 1979-2011 average glacier retreat rates at various elevations indicated significant difference between these two types of glaciers. The land-terminating glacier retreat rates greater than \(-0.01\) km\({}^{2}\)/year were observed up to 200 m a.s.l. with the fastest retreat (over \(-0.022\) km\({}^{2}\)/year) between 50-150 m a.s.l., where the recent terminus of the glacier fronts is located. The tidewater glacier retreat ratios of \(-0.01\) km\({}^{2}\)/year were observed between 50-100 m a.s.l. with the most dominant changes occurring between 0-50 m a.s.l. where the glaciers' retreat rate was \(-0.061\) km\({}^{2}\)/year (Table 11). In the last period, the retreat of glaciers has dropped unexpectedly and is observed only at an interval of 50-100 m a.s.l. for land-terminating glaciers and at an interval of 0-50 and 50-100 m a.s.l. for tidewater glaciers (Figure 6). There may be many reasons for this to happen. For example, reducing the mass of ice to a critical value (in case of land-terminating glaciers). Among the weather indicators, only PPD sums explain this sudden change in the dynamics of glaciers. The overall reduction in the length of the tidewater glacier fronts between 1979 and 2018 indicate the reduced ability for calving to occur (Figure 5). Compared to 1979, in the subsequent analysed periods, the length of the fronts of Ecology, Baranowski, and Windy glacier systematically decreased: (1989: 71%; 2001: 67%; 2007: 66%; 2011: 51%; 2018: 48%). This is particularly evident in the case of the Windy glacier, which has finally lost contact with the shore (Figure 11). Our results provide detailed background information for a period when the glaciers' retreat had a crucial impact on the maritime and land ecosystems in ASPA-128 and on King George Island. For example, between 1979 and 2007, several new hydrological features formed in terrain depressions, including lakes and lagoons. At higher elevations, a few new nunataks appeared and some areas previously separated by glaciers became connected. Periglacial and denudation processes began to modify the landscape, further increasing glacier ablation. The intensified surface melting provided increased freshwater discharge from glacial rivers and delivered more suspended material to the near shore environment of King George Island, all of which affected the local ecosystems [49; 50]. Our study results demonstrated that new ice-free areas were added at different rates during different periods, which must be taken into account when studying the influence of environmental changes on the maritime and land ecosystems. It will be important to continue to monitor this process and its impact on the ecosystem as glaciers retreat. In recent years, new satellite sensors have extended this possibility. This mainly applies to satellite missions like Sentinel (ESA Copernicus Programme), Pleiades (CNES), and the satellite constellation of DigitalGlobe(tm) and Planet Labs(tm) which provide high-resolution images at short intervals of time. Based on the new remote sensing data, the deglaciation of the studied area is still observed and analysed but is not as rapid and obvious like in the period (1989-2007). An example of this is the comparison of a fragment of the Planet satellite image from 5 February 2018 [(24)] with remote data used for analyses (Figure 4). Another challenge for analysing the dynamics of glaciers will be the use of SAR images. In this case, Sentinel-1 gives possibilities for the analysis of this type of image in high spatial and temporal resolution.