Glaciological Studies in Iceland with Erts-I Imagery

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Williams, Richard S., Bödvarsson, ÁgÚst, Rist, SigurjÓn, SÆmundsson, KristjÁn, Thorarinsson, Sigurdur
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1975
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Vatnajökull; glacier; Hofsjökull; Iceland; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000034638; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000034638

Under a long-term, bi-national, multi-disciplinary research project between the U.S. Geological Survey and various Icelandic scientific organizations, MSS imagery from the ERTS-I satellite is being used to study the varied dynamic environmental phenomena of Iceland, including its glaciers and ice caps. Initial analysis of the ERTS-I imagery has shown the importance of the repetitive imagery to: Record relatively short-term glaciological changes. According to measurements made on two ERTS-I images, taken 11 months apart, an outlet glacier in the north-east part of Vatnajökull, had surged 1.8 km. A combination of field observations and analysis of ERTS imagery shows a total surge in excess of 3 km which probably took place in a few months, perhaps in as little as a few weeks. Contorted moraines on another of Vatnajökull’s outlet glaciers, Skeiðararjökull, on the south-east coast, show a movement of 600 m in an 11 month period even though the snout of the glacier remained in essentially the same position. Several glacier-margin lakes have been observed to change in size during the year (1972-73), particularly Grjœnalón, which continued to enlarge in area each time it was imaged until its size diminished markedly after a jökulhlaup partially emptied the lake in August 1973. Seasonal changes in the size of sediment plumes along the coast, where glacial rivers debouch their sediment-laden water into the ocean, can also be observed in a time-lapse manner. Furnish the data necessary to revise certain glaciological features on maps, and to produce ortho-image maps of ice caps directly from ERTS imagery, at least to map scales of 1: 250 000. Sufficient ERTS-I imagery of Iceland from the late summer and early fall of 1973 now exists to map accurately, from a planimetric standpoint, 90% of that area of Iceland covered by glacial ice (previously estimated to be 11.5% of total area of Iceland). Optimum imagery (minimum snow cover, maximum exposure of glacial ice) has been obtained of Vatnajökull, Langjrikull, Hofsjökull, ...