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The geomorphic impact and sedimentary characteristics of the July 1999 jökulhlaup on the Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi, Mýrdalsjökull, southern Iceland

Russell, A.J., TWEED, Fiona, Knudsen, O, Roberts, M.J., Harris, T.D. and Marren, P.M. (2002) The geomorphic impact and sedimentary characteristics of the July 1999 jökulhlaup on the Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi, Mýrdalsjökull, southern Iceland. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Red Book Publication 271 (Proceedings of ‘The Extremes of the Extremes’ Symposium, Reykjavík, July 2000), 271. pp. 249-254.

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Abstract or description

Few studies have focused on the geomorphic and sedimentary impact of magmatically-generated jôkulhlaups released directly into the proglacial zone. This paper characterizes the proglacial geomorphic and sedimentary impact of the 17-18 July 1999 jôkulhlaup, Glacier Sôlheimajôkull, Iceland.
Jôkulhlaup outflow from the glacier margin resulted in temporary water storage within former ice-dammed lake basins, resulting in the deposition of coarsegrained deltas, and more distal sandy bedforms capped by silts. Outflow from the western outlet transported boulders up to 8 m in diameter on the surface of a new outwash fan ranging in thickness from 6 m proximally to 1 m distally.
Near-simultaneous deposition of ice blocks, boulders and finer-grained matrix occurred, suggesting that flows were sediment rich during the rising stage of the flood. This unexpected short-lived flood had a distinctive impact on the proglacial zone, providing a record of a precursor to a Mount Katla eruption.

Key words: Jôkulsâ â Sôlheimasandi; Myrdalsjôkull; Iceland; geomorphological impact; ice blocks; temporary storage; outwash fan; proglacial; Katla; boulders

Item Type: Article
Faculty: Previous Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Sciences > Sciences
Depositing User: Fiona TWEED
Date Deposited: 11 Nov 2013 16:13
Last Modified: 24 Feb 2023 13:40
URI: https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/1751

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