“Saw-Tooth” Moraines in Front of Bødalsbreen, Southern Norway

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Matthews, John A., Cornish, Roger, Shakesby, Richard A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1979
• Subjects: glacier; Ice cap; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000014519; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000014519

Abstract A series of end moraines, with a remarkable saw-tooth pattern, is reported from the glacier foreland of Bødalsbreen, a northern outlet of the ice cap Jostedalsbreen. The three-dimensional morphology of the moraines is described and analysed. Historical records and lichenometric measurements indicate that they were deposited after the “Little Ice Age” glacier maximum of the mid-eighteenth century. It is inferred that the local topography of Bødalen was conducive to the formation of a heavily crevassed pecten at the snout of Bødalsbreen, which produced the end moraines by a push mechanism during minor glacier advances. The observations suggest that pushing may be an underestimated mechanism in moraine ridge formation generally.