The significance of periglacial phenomena in Iceland
This paper gives a systematic survey of the periglacial landforms of Iceland. The presentation is centered on the question of the significance of distinct periglacial features on certain climatic and edaphic environmental conditions
, and on the question of the place which the volcanic island of Iceland holds within the periglacial zone. (l'A.).
Several hundred hummocks (thufa) from a variety of geomorphological environments in north and south Iceland have been examined. The general conclusion is that thufa form within limits determined by soil grain size, soil depth, local climate, depth
of soil water table and geomorphological environment and they must be seen as part of the continuum of processes acting on vegetated Icelandic slopes.
Aeolian features ; Agropedology ; Cold area ; Desertification ; Erosion rate ; Iceland ; Soil erosion ; Spatial distribution
Soil erosion and desertification are severe problems in Iceland. One of the most distinctive erosion forms in Iceland is an erosion escarpment, termed robafard in Icelandic, where andosols are being truncated from the surface and barren desert
Dykes and normal faults are the most common large-scale tectonic elements in Iceland. This paper summarises the main structral features of tension fractures, normal faults and dykes in Iceland as a basis for understanding their development
Iceland is one of the youngest territory of the Earth's surface. Together with glaciers volcanic activities contribute to another risk process called jökulhlaup. It is a large-scale flood event generated by a sudden drainage of the water contained
The glaciolacustrine landform-sediment assemblage at Heinabergsjοkull, Iceland
Glacial features ; Glacial lake ; Glaciolacustrine ; Iceland ; Lithostratigraphy ; Palaeogeography ; Pleistocene ; Sedimentary structure
Landform-sediment assemblages associated with two ice-dammed lakes, one active and one fossil, at Heinabergsjοkull in southeast Iceland are described. These data are vey important for the interpretation of Pleistocene ice-dammed lakes.
A polygenetic landform at Stígá, Öraefajοkull, southern Iceland
Glacial features ; Glacier fluctuation ; Iceland ; Lithology ; Moraine ; Palaeo-environment ; Palaeogeomorphology ; Periglacial features ; Sedimentology
This paper describes and accounts for the formation of a ridge of unconsolidated sediment located adjacent to the foot of a talus slope in a recently glaciated valley, in southern Iceland. Specific processes associated with the development
Sedimentation and stratigraphy at Eyjabakkajokull-An Icelandic surging glacier
A model for sedimentation by surging glaciers is developed from analysis of the debris load, sedimentary processes, and proglacial stratigraphy observed at the Icelandic surging glacier, Eyjabakkajükull.
Evidence for subsidence of at least 2km during crustal formation and the absence of an increase in minor intrusion density with depth in the lower 2km are the major results of the field study of a 3-km vertical section of Icelandic crust.
The regional distribution of mountain permafrost in Iceland
Iceland ; Inventory ; Model ; Mountain ; Periglacial features ; Permafrost ; Rock glacier ; Soil temperature ; Spatial distribution
A regional map of permafrost distribution in Iceland was developed based on meteorological data. The regional model was calibrated with ground surface temperature data and tested using ground temperature data from 4 shallow boreholes and a rock
glacier inventory. The results indicate widespread mountain permafrost at elevations above 800-900 m a.s.l. in northern and eastern Iceland.