Characteristics of recessional moraines at a temperate glacier in SE Iceland: Insights into patterns, rates and drivers of glacier retreat

Abstract

. (2016) 'Characteristics of recessional moraines at a temperate glacier in SE Iceland : insights into patterns, rates and drivers of glacier retreat.', Quaternary science reviews., 135 . pp. 171-205. Further information on publisher's website: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details.

Skaftafellsjökull, Iceland: glacial geomorphology recording glacier recession since the Little Ice Age

“…Sawtooth planforms are common around the Icelandic south coast glacier margins and particularly well developed on those parts of forelands that have been deglaciated over the last 50 years (Chandler et al, 2015(Chandler et al, , 2016Evans et al, 2015;Price, 1970). This distinct planform reflects the 1954, 1965 and 1980 in combination with maps compiled by Þórarinsson (1956), Thompson and Jones (1986) and Thompson (1988).…”

“…Evans & Twigg, 2002) is manifest in short annual readvances during overall recession in response to the winter period of reduced ablation, giving rise to the emplacement of inset sequences of push moraines (Boulton, 1986;Chandler et al, 2015Chandler et al, , 2016. In terms of general recession, Icelandic glaciers are thought to be particularly sensitive to inter-annual variations in summer average air temperatures to which they have a very rapid response time (Björnsson et al, 2013;Björnsson & Pálsson, 2008;Bradwell, 2004;Bradwell et al, 2013;Chandler et al, 2016;Sigurðsson, Jónsson, & Jóhannesson, 2007). Hence landforms such as push moraines are produced on an annual, possibly even sub-annual basis (Chandler et al, 2015(Chandler et al, , 2016Evans & Twigg, 2002;Krüger, 1995Krüger, , 1996Price, 1970;Sharp, 1984).…”

“…In terms of general recession, Icelandic glaciers are thought to be particularly sensitive to inter-annual variations in summer average air temperatures to which they have a very rapid response time (Björnsson et al, 2013;Björnsson & Pálsson, 2008;Bradwell, 2004;Bradwell et al, 2013;Chandler et al, 2016;Sigurðsson, Jónsson, & Jóhannesson, 2007). Hence landforms such as push moraines are produced on an annual, possibly even sub-annual basis (Chandler et al, 2015(Chandler et al, , 2016Evans & Twigg, 2002;Krüger, 1995Krüger, , 1996Price, 1970;Sharp, 1984). Additionally, the post-Little Ice Age glacier recession pattern has been interrupted by some more substantial advances in response to climate triggers.…”

“…Chandler, Evans, & Roberts, 2016;Chandler, Evans, Roberts, Ewertowski, & Clayton, 2015;Evans & Orton, 2014;Evans, Ewertowski, & Orton, 2015;Jóns-son et al, 2016). More specifically, the occurrence on these glacier forelands of widespread sawtooth moraines with unusually long limbs/crevasse infills ( Figure 1; Evans et al, 2015;Evans, Nelson, & Webb, 2010;Price, 1970) has been linked to the intensive development of longitudinal crevassing in lobate snouts, operating only over the most recent decades of ice recession and hence apparently linked to extending ice flow and poorly drained sub-marginal conditions.…”

“…Such conditions appear to have prevailed since recession into prominent overdeepenings (Cook & Swift, 2012) located behind overridden moraine arcs and are therefore likely to dominate for several decades into the future if ice recession continues at its present rate (cf. Bennett, Evans, Carbonneau, & Twigg, 2010;Chandler et al, 2015Chandler et al, , 2016Evans et al, 2015;Phillips, Finlayson, Bradwell, Everest, & Jones, 2014;Phillips, Finlayson, & Jones, 2013).…”