Jökull - 01.12.1978, Page 10

Fig. 8. Fluvioglacial sediments
in the Reynistadur area. Key: 1.
Fluvioglacial sediments, 2. Re-
cent fluvial sediments, 3. Bog, 4.
Till, 5. Marine silt and sand, 6.
Esker, 7. Terrace (break of
slope), 8. Kettle with lake, 9.
Dry channel, 10. Limit of sea
abrasion at 45 m.
Mynd 8. Jökulárset á Reynistaðar-
svœðinu. Skýringar: 1. jökulárset, 2.
ungt árset, 3. mýri, 4. jökulruðningur,
5. sjávarset (méla og sandur), 6.
malarás, 7. hjallabrún, 8. dauðísker
með stöðuvatni, 9. þurr farvegur, 10.
efri mörk sjávarskolunar í 45 m hœð.
20—30 m altitude where it is overlain by the
topset layers, which consist of crossbedded
pebbly gravel. Foreset layers are only found at
one locality. Hence this accumulation is
perhaps better described as an alluvial fan
resting on marine sediments than a true delta.
It should be emphasized that the iceberg till
shows that the ice was calving in Skagafjördur
at the time of deposition of the sediments.
South of the farm Reynistadur, located
some 11 km to the south of Saudárkrókur, a
fluvioglacial deposit covers a 1 km wide and 3
km long area. (Fig. 8). Some of the deposits
preserve typical dead ice forms such as eskers
and kettles, but elsewhere it has been levelled
by sea abrasion up to 45 m altitude. The sea
abrasion is limited to the eastern flank of the
deposit. Marine silt and sand is overlain by
gravel, which forms a smooth surface up to the
abrasion limit. Only a few tens of metres south
of the abrasion limit a kettle penetrates down
to a much lower level. Obviously ice was still
in the kettle at the time of sea abrasion at the
45 m level, otherwise the kettle could not have
survived. The existence of eskers in the
western flank of the deposit indicates that they
were sheltered by ice.
Vindheimamelar (Fig. 9) is a raised
marginal delta, which was formed when the
ice snout was lying just south of the delta flat.
During the formation sea level was at 45 m
above the present sea level.
The area of the delta flat is about 0.5 km2,
gently sloping from 49 m at the proximal end
to 45 m at the edge of the distal slope.
Prominent subparallel meltwater channels
8 JÖKULL 28. ÁR