Terrestrial glacial geomorphology of surge-type and non-surge-type glaciers on Svalbard

• Published in: Journal of Maps
• Main Authors: Rebecca McCerery, Bethan Joan Davies, Harold Lovell, David Anthony Pearce, Rosalia Calvo-Ryan, Jakub Małecki, John Woodward
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024
• Subjects: Glacier; geomorphology; landsystems; Arctic; Svalbard; Maps; G3180-9980; Billefjorden; Van Mijenfjorden; glacier; Isfjord*; Isfjorden; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2024.2362277; https://doaj.org/article/5880a984d0504c819dc92b45ecbb0995

This paper presents a map of terrestrial glacial geomorphology of eleven surge-type and non-surge-type glacier forefields in southwest and west Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Glacier forefields were mapped using a combination of field surveys and the use of an uncrewed airborne vehicle in September 2022 and satellite imagery captured in 2020, with mapping performed in ArcGIS Pro at a 1:5000 scale. Maps were constructed for glaciers in Van Kuelenfjorden and Van Mijenfjorden (southwest Spitsbergen), and in Isfjorden, Billefjorden a fjord branch of Isfjorden and St. Jonsfjorden (west Spitsbergen), to obtain a breadth of glacier types and features representative of glacial landsystems on Svalbard. The detailed landform inventory was divided into: (i) ice marginal, (ii) subglacial, (iii) glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine, (iv) supraglacial and (v) other non-glacial and contemporary features. These detailed maps provide a geomorphological insight into the past and present characteristics of glaciers on Svalbard.