Vatnajökull Explained

Vatnajökull
Other Name:Vatna Glacier
Type:Ice cap
Area:7900sqkm
Thickness:380m (1,250feet) average
Terminus:Outlet glaciers
Status:Retreating

Vatnajökull (Icelandic pronunciation: in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈvahtnaˌjœːkʏtl̥/, 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.[1] It is in the south-east of the island, covering approximately 10% of the country.[2]

Size

With an area of 7,900 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.[3]

The average thickness of the ice is 380m (1,250feet), with a maximum thickness of 950m (3,120feet).[4] Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur (2109.6abbr=onNaNabbr=on), 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 and Skaftafellsjökull, in its southern part. There are four peaks, which range from to high.[5]

Volcanoes

Under the ice cap, as under many of the glaciers of Iceland, there are several volcanoes. Eruptions from these volcanoes have led to the development of large pockets of water beneath the ice, which may burst the weakened ice and cause a jökulhlaup (glacial lake outburst flood). During the last ice age, numerous volcanic eruptions occurred under Vatnajökull, creating many subglacial eruptions.[6]

In more modern times, the volcanoes continue to erupt beneath the glaciers, resulting in many documented floods. One jökulhlaup in 1934 caused the release of of water over the course of several days. The volcanic lake Grímsvötn was the source of a large jökulhlaup in 1996.[7] There was also a considerable but short-lived eruption of the volcano under these lakes at the beginning of November 2004.[8] On 21 May 2011 a volcanic eruption started in Grímsvötn in Vatnajökull National Park at around 19:00. The plume reached up to 17km (11miles).

In culture

An Icelandic older name for Vatnajökull was Klofajökull in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈkʰlɔːvaˌjœːkʏtl̥/, which is known from eighteenth-century sources such as the writings of Eggert Ólafsson and Bjarni Pálsson.[9] In September 1950, a Douglas DC-4 operated by the private airline Loftleiðir crash-landed on the Vatnajökull glacier. The entire six-person crew survived. A rescue operation was launched after the crew managed to send a distress signal on the fourth day. The crew and the rescue team walked the 34 km to safety.[10]

The glacier was used as the setting for the opening sequence (set in Siberia) of the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, in which Bond (played for the last time by Roger Moore) eliminated a host of armed villains before escaping in a submarine to Alaska.[11] Several other films, including another in the Bond franchise, have been filmed on or using Jökulsárlón, the terminal lake of the Breiðamerkurjökull outlet from Vatnajökull.

In 2004, Vatnajökull was one of several Icelandic settings visited on the first leg of The Amazing Race 6.[12]

Westlife's official music video for their twenty-fifth single top 10 and #2 UK hit in 2009 "What About Now" is the last film of Vatnajökull Glacier before the subsequent volcanic eruption.[13]

In November 2011, the glacier was used as a shooting location for the second season of the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.[14]

Outlet glaciers

Vatnajökull has around 30 outlet glaciers flowing from the ice cap. The Icelandic term for glacier is "jökull", and so is the term for outlet glacier. Given below is a list of outlet glaciers flowing from Vatnajökull, sorted by the four administrative territories of Vatnajökull National Park.[15] [16] This is not a complete list.

Southern territory

Eastern territory

Northern territory

Western territory

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hver er stærsti jökull í Evrópu?. 5 February 2016. Vísindavefurinn. is.
  2. Web site: Skaftafell national park. 2006. The Environment Agency of Iceland.
  3. Web site: Vatnajokull National Park. Háskóli Íslands. hi.is. 9 July 2010. dead. http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20090424220646/www2.hi.is/page/www.hi.is/haskolasetur_hornafirdi/vatnajokull_nationalpark. 24 April 2009.
  4. Web site: Hversu hratt mun Vatnajökull bráðna á næstu árum?. 24 September 2001. Vísindavefurinn. is.
  5. Web site: Krefjandi fjallganga á Hrútfjallstinda, tignarlegt fjall í Öræfasveit sem gefur fegurstu alpatindum lítið eftir. / Hrútfjallstindar . hvannadalshnukur.is . 2016-06-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160811151921/http://www.hvannadalshnukur.is/FerdirfraSkaftafelli/Fjallaferdir/Hrutfjallstindar . 2016-08-11 . dead . is . 2023-07-21.
  6. Book: Natural Wonders of the World. registration. Reader's Digest Association, Inc. 1980. 0-89577-087-3. Scheffel. Richard L.. United States of America. 394-395. Wernet. Susan J..
  7. Web site: The Gjálp eruption in Vatnajökull. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland.
  8. Web site: Grímsvötn eruption 2011. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland.
  9. Svavar Sigmundsson. Hversu áreiðanlegar heimildir eru fyrir því að Vatnajökull hafi kallast Klofajökull fyrr á tímum? Vísindavefurinn, 31 August 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2019. http://visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=52708.
  10. Web site: Geysisslysið, björgun flugvélar . eldsveitir.is . 2019-05-09.
  11. Web site: A View to a Kill (1985) - IMDb. www.imdb.com.
  12. Web site: A Complete Guide to Seljalandsfoss Waterfall. Extreme Iceland. Renyard. Lauren. 16 November 2018. 7 January 2020.
  13. Web site: Official News (GB) - New Westlife Blog : Mark . Westlife . 2010-04-16 . 2010-05-16.
  14. News: Iceland filming location revealed. 28 October 2011. winter-is-coming.net. 28 October 2011.
  15. Web site: General information map. Vatnajökull National Park. 25 October 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150610214147/http://www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is/media/skjol/Heildarkort_EN-12okt2011.jpg. 10 June 2015.
  16. Book: Geographic Names of Iceland’s Glaciers:Historic and Modern. Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World series (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386-D. Oddur. Sigurðsson. Richard S.. Williams. 2008. Richard S. Williams Jr.. Jane G. Ferrigno. 15 May 2024.

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