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, Páll Jónsson, Helgi
• Other Authors: Littoral, Environnement, Télédétection, Géomatique (LETG - Nantes), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Géographie et d'Aménagement Régional de l'Université de Nantes (IGARUN), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN), Environnement, Ville, Société (EVS), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-École des Mines de Saint-Étienne (Mines Saint-Étienne MSE), Institut Mines-Télécom Paris (IMT)-Institut Mines-Télécom Paris (IMT)-Université Lumière - Lyon 2 (UL2)-Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 (UJML), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM)-École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État (ENTPE)-École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Lyon (ENSAL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 (UJML), Université de Lyon, LAB'URBA (LAB'URBA), Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEM)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12), Centre de Recherche Épidémiologie et Statistique Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS (U1153 / UMR_A_1125 / UMR_S_1153)), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5 (UPD5)-Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Náttúrustofa Norðurlands vestra (NNv), Ríkisins, Sveitafélag Skagafjarðar, IUF
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: age–depth model; geomorphology; Holocene; mass-movement; paraglacial; radiocarbon dating; sediment budget; tephrochronology; [SHS.GEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Geography; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01312717; https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683616638432

International audience 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.