The Múlakvísl () is a river in the south of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

on the western side of

Mýrdalssandur Mýrdalssandur () is an outwash plain on the south coast of Iceland. Location and description The outwash plain is located between the rivers of Kúðafljót in the east and Múlakvísl in the west. Both rivers carry water from the Mýrdalsjö ...

Glacier flow

The river has a glacier flow which draws its water from the

Mýrdalsjökull Mýrdalsjökull (pronounced , Icelandic for "(the) mire dale glacier" or "(the) mire valley glacier") is an ice cap on the top of the Katla volcano in the south of Iceland. It is to the north of the town of Vík í Mýrdal and to the east of ...

, mainly through the glacier tongue Kötlujökull. The river's floods are usually of gray-brown color, since it carries much

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

with it. At Selfjall, about east of the village Vík í Mýrdal, the

Ring Road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

goes across a bridge over the Múlakvísl.

Jökulhlaups

As increasing water levels of this river are an important indicator of Katla's upcoming volcanic eruptions, it is closely monitored.

1955

A predecessor of the present bridge was demolished in 1955, during a

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 floo ...

with 2,500 m³/s of water. A

fissure A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure A ...

formed on Katla in 1918 in the

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

of the volcano, and a

kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a device specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle''. There are two main types: the ''stovetop kettle'', which uses heat from a cooktop, hob, and the ...

had formed upon the glacier. This showed volcanic activities under the glacier, which in turn initiated the jökulhlaup. However, there was no real outbreak in 1955.

July 2011

On 9 July 2011, another jökulhlaup occurred, which was already anticipated hours and days before because of a series of quakes at up to depth in the Katla region. There was a small volcanic eruption under the glacier similar to 1955. A jökulhlaup again destroyed the Ring Road bridge of the Múlakvísl, which was only 20 years old. A water level early warning system prompted the closing of the bridge and surrounding area, and no one was harmed. By 11 July 2011, the tremor under Katla had calmed down again. On 15 July 2011, 1,500 people were transported via the Múlakvísl by means of special vehicles. On 16 July, a temporary bridge was put into operation on the river.

References

{{reflist Rivers of Iceland Drainage basins of the Atlantic Ocean

Glacier flow

Jökulhlaups

1955

July 2011

See also

References