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Controls on the location, morphology and evolution of complex esker systems at decadal timescales, Breiðamerkurjökull, southeast Iceland

Storrar, R.D.; Evans, D.J.A.; Stokes, C.R.; Ewertowski, M.

Controls on the location, morphology and evolution of complex esker systems at decadal timescales, Breiðamerkurjökull, southeast Iceland Thumbnail


Authors

R.D. Storrar

M. Ewertowski



Abstract

This paper uses detailed mapping of eskers to address three questions which are important for reconstructing meltwater behaviour beneath contemporary and ancient ice masses: ‘What controls the morphology of simple and complex esker systems?’, ‘How do esker systems evolve through time?’ and ‘Are esker patterns compatible with the groundwater controlled hydraulic spacing of esker tunnels’. Esker crestlines and widths are mapped on the Breiðamerkurjökull foreland for eight time slices between 1945 and 2007, from high resolution (~50 cm) aerial photography, permitting their long term morphological evolution to be analysed in a high level of detail. We find that complex eskers develop where meltwater and sediment is abundant, such that sediment clogs channels, forming distributary eskers. Isolated eskers are simpler and smaller and reflect less abundant meltwater and sediment, which is unable to clog channels. Eskers may take several decades to emerge from outwash deposits containing buried ice and can increase or decrease in size when ice surrounding and underlying them melts out. It has been suggested that groundwater-channel coupling dictates the spacing between eskers at Breiðamerkurjökull. Our results do not dispute this, but suggest that the routing of sediment and meltwater through medial moraines is an additional important control on esker location and spacing. These results may be used to better understand the processes surrounding esker formation in a variety of geographical settings, enabling a more detailed understanding of the operation of meltwater drainage systems in sub-marginal zones beneath glaciers and ice sheets. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Citation

Storrar, R., Evans, D., Stokes, C., & Ewertowski, M. (2015). Controls on the location, morphology and evolution of complex esker systems at decadal timescales, Breiðamerkurjökull, southeast Iceland. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 40(11), 1421-1438. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3725

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 16, 2015
Online Publication Date Feb 19, 2015
Publication Date Sep 15, 2015
Deposit Date Feb 19, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 10, 2016
Journal Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Print ISSN 0197-9337
Electronic ISSN 1096-9837
Publisher British Society for Geomorphology
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 40
Issue 11
Pages 1421-1438
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3725
Keywords Esker, Landform, Glacial geomorphology, Meltwater, Iceland, Breiðamerkurjökull.
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1412463

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Accepted Journal Article (6.4 Mb)
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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Storrar, R. D., Evans, D. J. A., Stokes, C. R., and Ewertowski, M. (2015), Controls on the location, morphology and evolution of complex esker systems at decadal timescales, Breiðamerkurjökull, southeast Iceland. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 40(11), 1421-1438, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.3725. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.






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