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Concentrated, ‘pulsed’ axial glacier flow: structural glaciological evidence from Kvíárjökull in SE Iceland

Phillips, Emrys; Everest, Jez; Evans, David J.A.; Finlayson, Andrew; Ewertowski, Marek; Guild, Ailsa; Jones, Lee

Concentrated, ‘pulsed’ axial glacier flow: structural glaciological evidence from Kvíárjökull in SE Iceland Thumbnail


Authors

Emrys Phillips

Jez Everest

Andrew Finlayson

Marek Ewertowski

Ailsa Guild

Lee Jones



Abstract

A detailed structural glaciological study carried out on Kvíárjökull in SE Iceland reveals that recent flow within this maritime glacier is concentrated within a narrow corridor located along its central axis. This active corridor is responsible for feeding ice from the accumulation zone on the south-eastern side of Öræfajökull to the lower reaches of the glacier and resulted in a c. 200 m advance during the winter of 2013–2014 and the formation of a push-moraine. The corridor comprises a series of lobes linked by a laterally continuous zone of highly fractured ice characterised by prominent flow-parallel crevasses, separated by shear zones. The lobes form highly crevassed topographic highs on the glacier surface and occur immediately down-ice of marked constrictions caused by prominent bedrock outcrops located on the northern side of the glacier. Close to the frontal margin of Kvíárjökull, the southern side of the glacier is relatively smooth and pock-marked by a number of large moulins. The boundary between this slow moving ice and the active corridor is marked by a number of ice flow-parallel strike-slip faults and a prominent dextral shear zone which resulted in the clockwise rotation and dissection of an ice-cored esker exposed on the glacier surface. It is suggested that this concentrated style of glacier flow identified within Kvíárjökull has affinities with the individual flow units which operate within pulsing or surging glaciers.

Citation

Phillips, E., Everest, J., Evans, D. J., Finlayson, A., Ewertowski, M., Guild, A., & Jones, L. (2017). Concentrated, ‘pulsed’ axial glacier flow: structural glaciological evidence from Kvíárjökull in SE Iceland. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 42(13), 1901-1922. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4145

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 13, 2017
Online Publication Date May 4, 2017
Publication Date Oct 1, 2017
Deposit Date Aug 22, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Print ISSN 0197-9337
Electronic ISSN 1096-9837
Publisher British Society for Geomorphology
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 42
Issue 13
Pages 1901-1922
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4145

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Phillips, Emrys, Everest, Jez, Evans, David J.A., Finlayson, Andrew, Ewertowski, Marek, Guild, Ailsa & Jones, Lee (2017). Concentrated, ‘pulsed’ axial glacier flow: structural glaciological evidence from Kvíárjökull in SE Iceland. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 42(13): 1901-1922, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4145. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.





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