The glaciated valley landsystem of Morsárjökull, southeast Iceland

• Main Authors: David J. A. Evans, Marek Ewertowski, Chris Orton
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Morsárjökull; Vatnajökull; glacier; Ice cap; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/17445647.2017.1401491

A 1:4470 map of the Morsárjökull foreland, southern Iceland shows the spatial distribution of post Little Ice Age glacial sediment–landform associations pertaining to the operation of a typical active temperate outlet glacier of the south Vatnajökull ice cap. The map depicts an exemplar for the debris-charged glaciated valley landsystem, with characteristics further indicative of ‘uncovered alpine glaciers’, such as the uneven distribution of moraine volume, the localized appearance of a fluted subglacial bed and within-valley lateral moraine asymmetry. Such glaciers are characterized by strong glacier-climate coupling, because temporally and spatially sporadic rock avalanche-type medial moraines can only locally retard ablation. This morainic debris also has a short residence time in the glacier system due to its strong coupling with the proglacial fluvial system and resulting in efficient sediment transfer. Areas of more substantial latero-frontal moraine document phases of rock slope failure onto the snout and the passage of the debris to the ice margin.