Some New Aspects of the Grímsvötn Problem
Abstract Grfmsvötn (The Lakes of Grünur) is the name of a volcanic centre in Vatnajökull, the eruptions of which accompany the gigantic glacier bursts on Skeidarársandur which occur normally about every tenth year. Recent expeditions to Grimsvötn and reconnoitring flights have led to the view that b...
| Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1953
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000025454 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000025454 |
| Summary: | Abstract Grfmsvötn (The Lakes of Grünur) is the name of a volcanic centre in Vatnajökull, the eruptions of which accompany the gigantic glacier bursts on Skeidarársandur which occur normally about every tenth year. Recent expeditions to Grimsvötn and reconnoitring flights have led to the view that between glacier bursts the Grlmsvötn depression is gradually filled with water, forming a lake with a maximum area of about 35–40 sq. km. This accumulation of water is partly due to ablation and partly to continuous solfatara and fumarolic activity. The close resemblance between the discharge graphs of glacier bursts from Grimsvötn and graphs of drainage of normal ice-dammed lakes such as Lake Graenalón is stressed. It is also pointed out that ten years’ accumulation, about 7 cu. km., in the area drained into the Grfmsvötn depression, corresponds roughly with the total discharge of a normal glacier burst from Grfmavötn. It is suggested that the glacier bursts determine the moment of eruption and not vice versa. This might explain the usually very regular intervals between these eruptions. The irregularities occurring since 1934 might be due to the present climatic amelioration. |
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