Glaciological Studies in Iceland with Erts-I Imagery

Abstract

Under a long-term, bi-national, multi-disciplinary research project between the U.S. Geological Survey and various Icelandic scientific organizations, MSS imagery from the ERTS-I satellite is being used to study the varied dynamic environmental phenomena of Iceland, including its glaciers and ice caps. Initial analysis of the ERTS-I imagery has shown the importance of the repetitive imagery to: Record relatively short-term glaciological changes. According to measurements made on two ERTS-I images, taken 11 months apart, an outlet glacier in the north-east part of Vatnajökull, had surged 1.8 km. A combination of field observations and analysis of ERTS imagery shows a total surge in excess of 3 km which probably took place in a few months, perhaps in as little as a few weeks. Contorted moraines on another of Vatnajökull’s outlet glaciers, Skeiðararjökull, on the south-east coast, show a movement of 600 m in an 11 month period even though the snout of the glacier remained in essentially the same position. Several glacier-margin lakes have been observed to change in size during the year (1972-73), particularly Grjœnalón, which continued to enlarge in area each time it was imaged until its size diminished markedly after a jökulhlaup partially emptied the lake in August 1973. Seasonal changes in the size of sediment plumes along the coast, where glacial rivers debouch their sediment-laden water into the ocean, can also be observed in a time-lapse manner. Furnish the data necessary to revise certain glaciological features on maps, and to produce ortho-image maps of ice caps directly from ERTS imagery, at least to map scales of 1: 250 000. Sufficient ERTS-I imagery of Iceland from the late summer and early fall of 1973 now exists to map accurately, from a planimetric standpoint, 90% of that area of Iceland covered by glacial ice (previously estimated to be 11.5% of total area of Iceland). Optimum imagery (minimum snow cover, maximum exposure of glacial ice) has been obtained of Vatnajökull, Langjrikull, Hofsjökull, Myrdalsjökull, and Eyjafjallajökull or five (including the four biggest) of the seven largest ice caps in Iceland and five of the smaller (less than 50 km2) ice caps as well. On 19 August 1973 Hofsjökull had an area of 915 km- on ERTS imagery. Its area has usually been cited as 996 km2. On a 1945 Danish Geodetic Institute map (1: 500 000) the area is 981 km2; U.S. Army maps (1 : 250 000, 1969) show an area of 943 km2. Map subglacial volcanic and structural features. Within or at the margins of the ice caps and outlet glaciers, a number of new glaciological, structural, and volcanic features can be mapped from ERTS-I imagery, particularly at low solar illumination angles (<10°) including several probable subglacial central volcanoes, calderas, and tectonic lineaments. Some of the effects of jökulhlaups can be mapped, including subsidence cauldrons resulting from subglacial volcanic or intense geothermal activity.