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Vatnajökull
Vatnajökull ( Icelandic pronunciation: , literally "Glacier of Lakes"; sometimes translated as Vatna Glacier in English) is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland, and the second largest in area in Europe after the Severny Island ice cap of Novaya Zemlya. It is in the south-east of the island, covering approximately 10% of the country. Size With an area of 7,700 km2, Vatnajökull is the second largest ice cap in Europe by volume (about 3,000 km3) and area (after the still larger Severny Island ice cap of Novaya Zemlya, Russia, which is in the extreme northeast of Europe). On 7 June 2008, it became a part of the Vatnajökull National Park. The average thickness of the ice is , with a maximum thickness of . Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur (), as part of the Öræfajökull, is in the southern periphery of Vatnajökull, near Skaftafell. Peaks Hrútsfjallstindar is a series of Icelandic peaks rising from Vatnajökull between Svínafellsjök ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glaciers Of Iceland
The glaciers and ice caps of Iceland covered 11% of the land area of the country, up to about 2008. this was down to 10%. They have a considerable impact on its landscape and meteorology. Glaciers are also contributing to the Icelandic economy, with a tourist market that includes glacier trips on snowmobiles and glacier hiking tours. However, the recent loss of ice due to climate change is an increasing concern in Icelandic society. Description Glaciers can both grow in size and regress depending upon several factors of which climate and precipitation in the glaciers catchment are the most important. About 7,000 years ago, the Pleistocene ice from the last Ice Age over Iceland disappeared almost entirely, so the current glaciers in Iceland are not that old. In the case of Iceland as several large glaciers are over active volcanoes, geothermal melting can be a substantial component of the glacier ice mass balance. Accordingly Iceland's glacier area varies from year to year and so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatnajökull Glacier
Vatnajökull ( Icelandic pronunciation: , literally "Glacier of Lakes"; sometimes translated as Vatna Glacier in English) is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland, and the second largest in area in Europe after the Severny Island ice cap of Novaya Zemlya. It is in the south-east of the island, covering approximately 10% of the country. Size With an area of 7,700 km2, Vatnajökull is the second largest ice cap in Europe by volume (about 3,000 km3) and area (after the still larger Severny Island ice cap of Novaya Zemlya, Russia, which is in the extreme northeast of Europe). On 7 June 2008, it became a part of the Vatnajökull National Park. The average thickness of the ice is , with a maximum thickness of . Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur (), as part of the Öræfajökull, is in the southern periphery of Vatnajökull, near Skaftafell. Peaks Hrútsfjallstindar is a series of Icelandic peaks rising from Vatnajökull between Svínafellsjökull a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatnajökull National Park
Vatnajökull National Park ( ) is one of three national parks in Iceland, and is the largest one. It encompasses all of Vatnajökull glacier and extensive surrounding areas. These include the national parks previously existing at Skaftafell in the southwest and Jökulsárgljúfur in the north. The unique qualities of Vatnajökull National Park are primarily its great variety of landscape features, created by the combined forces of rivers, glacial ice, and volcanic and geothermal activity. The park spans 14% of the country's area and is Europe's second largest national park in terms of area after Yugyd Va in the Ural Mountains of Russia. The glacier itself is the largest in Europe at . In 2019 the park was enlarged to the north. On 5 July 2019 Vatnajökull National Park was inscribed as a World Heritage Site. History Vatnajökull National Park was established on 7 June 2008. When established, the park covered an area of 12,000 km2, but with later additions of Lakagíga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grímsvötn
Grímsvötn (; ''vötn'' = "waters", singular: ) is an active volcano with a (partially subglacial) fissure system located in Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland. The central volcano is completely subglacial and located under the northwestern side of the Vatnajökull ice cap. The subglacial caldera is at , at an elevation of . Beneath the caldera is the magma chamber of the Grímsvötn volcano. Grímsvötn is a basaltic volcano which has the highest eruption frequency of all the volcanoes in Iceland. It has a southwest-northeast-trending fissure system. The massive climate-impacting Laki fissure eruption of 1783–1784 took place in a part of the same Grímsvötn-Laki volcanic system. Grímsvötn was erupting at the same time as Laki during 1783, but continued to erupt until 1785. Because most of the volcanic system lies underneath Vatnajökull, most of its eruptions have been Subglacial eruption, subglacial and the interaction of magma and meltwater from the ice causes phreatomagm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skaftafell
Skaftafell () is a preservation area in Öræfi, southeast Iceland. It was once a major farm, later being named a national park. Originally known as Skaftafell National Park, it was subsequently joined together with other nearby regions to form the larger Vatnajökull National Park. Skaftafell National Park Skaftafell National Park was a national park between Kirkjubæjarklaustur, typically referred to as Klaustur, and Höfn in the south of Iceland. On 7 June 2008, it became a part of the larger Vatnajökull National Park. It was founded on September 15, 1967, and enlarged twice afterwards. Before its inclusion into Vatnajökull National Park, it measured about 4807 km2 (2884 mi2), making it Iceland's second largest national park. It contains the valley ''Morsárdalur'' , the mountain ''Kristínartindar'' and the glacier ''Skaftafellsjökull'' (a spur of the Vatnajökull ice cap). The landscape is very similar to some of the Alps. Still, it has been formed over tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glacial Lake Outburst Flood
A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a type of outburst flood caused by the failure of a dam containing a glacial lake. An event similar to a GLOF, where a body of water contained by a glacier melts or overflows the glacier, is called a jökulhlaup. The dam can consist of glacier ice or a terminal moraine. Failure can happen due to erosion, a buildup of water pressure, an avalanche of rock or heavy snow, an earthquake or cryoseism, volcanic eruptions under the ice, or massive displacement of water in a glacial lake when a large portion of an adjacent glacier collapses into it. Increasing glacial melting because of climate change, alongside other environmental effects of climate change (i.e. permafrost melting) mean that regions with glaciers are likely to see increased flooding risks from GLOFs. This is especially true in the Himalayas where geologies are more active. A 2023 study found 15 million people at risk from this hazard, mostly in China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jökulhlaup
A jökulhlaup ( ) (literally "glacial run") is a type of glacial outburst flood. It is an Icelandic term that has been adopted in glaciological terminology in many languages. It originally referred to the well-known subglacial outburst floods from Vatnajökull, Iceland, which are triggered by geothermal heating and occasionally by a volcanic subglacial eruption, but it is now used to describe any large and abrupt release of water from a subglacial or proglacial lake/reservoir. Since jökulhlaups emerge from hydrostatically sealed lakes with floating levels far above the threshold, their peak discharge can be much larger than that of a marginal or extra-marginal lake burst. The hydrograph of a jökulhlaup from Vatnajökull typically either climbs over a period of weeks with the largest flow near the end, or it climbs much faster during the course of some hours. These patterns are suggested to reflect channel melting, and sheet flow under the front, respectively. Similar p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Öræfajökull
Öræfajökull (; 'Öræfi glacier' or 'wasteland glacier') is an ice-covered volcano in south-east Iceland. The largest active volcano and the highest peak in Iceland at , it lies within the Vatnajökull National Park and is covered by part of the glacier. The settlement of Iceland, original Norse settlers named the volcano Knappafellsjǫkull (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: Hnappafellsjökull ; 'knobs mountain glacier'). The current name, ''Öræfajökull'', was eventually adopted after the 1362 eruption. Description Öræfajökull is located at the southern extremity of the Vatnajökull glacier and overlooking the Route 1 (Iceland), Ring Road between Höfn í Hornafirði, Höfn and Vík í Mýrdal, Vík. It is the largest active volcano in the country, and on the volcanic crater, summit crater's north-western rim is Hvannadalshnúkur, the highest peak in Iceland at . Geographically, Öræfajökull as the glacier, is considered part of Vatnajökull, and the area covered by g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as crevasses and seracs, as it slowly flows and deforms under stresses induced by its weight. As it moves, it abrades rock and debris from its substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords. Although a glacier may flow into a body of water, it forms only on land“Glacier, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025. and is distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water. On Earth, 99% of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets (also known as "continental glaciers") in the polar regions, but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on ever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ice Cap
In glaciology, an ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than of land area (usually covering a highland area). Larger ice masses covering more than are termed ice sheets. Description By definition, ice caps are not constrained by topographical features (i.e., they must lie over the top of mountains). By contrast, ice masses of similar size that ''are'' constrained by topographical features are known as ice fields. The ''dome'' of an ice cap is usually centred on the highest point of a massif. Ice flows away from this high point (the ice divide) towards the ice cap's periphery. Ice caps significantly affect the geomorphology of the area they occupy. Plastic moulding, gouging and other glacial erosional features become present upon the glacier's retreat. Many lakes, such as the Great Lakes in North America, as well as numerous valleys have been formed by glacial action over hundreds of thousands of years. The Antarctic and Greenland contain 99% of the ice volume on earth, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loftleiðir
Loftleiðir (, ), internationally known as Icelandic Airlines (abbreviated IAL) or Loftleiðir Icelandic, was a private Icelandic airline headquartered on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, which operated mostly trans-Atlantic flights linking Europe and America, pioneering the low-cost flight business strategy on these routes. In 2003, the name Loftleiðir Icelandic made a comeback to service the skies as Icelandair's aircraft lease and charter flights provider. History Loftleiðir Loftleiðir (the name being a compound of the Icelandic words for "air" and "way") was founded on 10 March 1944, by Alfreð Elíasson and two other young Icelandic pilots who had just returned from flight training in Canada. The first revenue flight (from Reykjavík to Ísafjörður) took place on 6 April of that year. During the initial years, only domestic routes out of Reykjavík Airport were operated using airplanes of the types Douglas DC-3, Consolidated PBY Catalina,Hall ''A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
