An early Holocene age for the Vatn landslide (Skagafjörður, central northern Iceland): Insights into the role of postglacial landsliding on slope development

• Published in: The Holocene
• Main Authors: Decaulne, Armelle, Cossart, Etienne, Mercier, Denis, Feuillet, Thierry, Coquin, Julien, Jónsson, Helgi Páll
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2016
• Subjects: Paleontology; Earth-Surface Processes; Ecology; Archeology; Global and Planetary Change; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959683616638432; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0959683616638432; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/0959683616638432

Recent research in northern Iceland has highlighted a significant period of rock slope instability during the early Holocene due to the combined effects of postglacial rebound, relative sea-level fall, and glacially oversteepened mountain slopes. Using the Vatn landslide (Skagafjörður, central northern Iceland) as an example, this paper focuses on this period and describes the sequence of events that led to landsliding. Geomorphic mapping, stratigraphical evidence, and both radiocarbon and tephra dating were applied. Collectively, the data acquired indicate that the landslide occurred between 11,400 and 10,790 cal. yr BP. However, while rock slope failure represents a significant disintegration of mountain slopes, this study suggests that large postglacial landslides might also play a role in arresting sediment transport from other hillslope processes rather than contributing large volumes of sediment.