Geomorphological map of Breiðamerkursandur 2018: the historical evolution of an active temperate glacier foreland

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present a geomorphological map of Breiðamerkursandur, the outwash plain and foreland of Breiðamerkurjökull, an outlet glacier of the Vatnajökull ice cap, Southeast Iceland. We trace the glacial retreat of the glacier snout since its historical late nineteenth century Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum extent and the concomitant development of the glacial drainage pathways. Since the outlet began retreating from its LIA terminal position, a 120 km2 area of foreland has been exposed. The mapped geomorphology is a supplementary continuation of previous surveys in the 20th century, which highlighted the geomorphology and ice margin for the years 1945, 1965 and 1998. Since the 1998 landsystem map, Breiðamerkurjökull has retreated a further 0.6–4.0 km and 29 km2 has been exposed. This new map was prepared with the use of remote sensing, LiDAR DEM, a range of oblique aerial photographs and satellite images, written documents, in-field survey measurements and refined landform classifications to more accurately trace the position of the retreating snout and its outlet streams over the last 130 years.