Icelandic jökulhlaup impacts

Iceland contains the worlds largest and best-documented active glacial outwash plains or sandar that have been studied since the 19th century. Vigorous subglacial volcanic activity and the presence of numerous ice-dammed lakes, make Iceland the prime location for the study of glacier outburst floods or jökulhlaups and their geomorphological and sedimentological impact. Increasing attention is being focused on large jökulhlaup channels related to both modem and ancient processes. Jökulhlaup impact within Icelandic bedrock channels has so far received little attention despite the fact that such channels are abundant as sandar in Iceland. Despite clear descriptions within Icelandic literature of jökulhlaup impact on glacier margins, there have been attempts to link jökulhlaup feeder system dynamics with processes and products in the proglacial outwash system. This chapter presents the latest research on the impacts of jökulhlaups generated by three main mechanisms: volcanic, ice-dammed lake drainage, and glacier surge. This chapter identifies and discusses the main advances in the understanding of jökulhlaup impact in Iceland.