Jökull - 01.01.2004, Page 6

Hafdís Hanna Ægisdóttir and Þóra Ellen Þórhallsdóttir
Figure 1. Areas of proposed limited glaciation during the Weichselian period. 1) ice-free areas according to
Einarsson (1963); 2) possible plant refugia areas (Steindórsson, 1963) and 3) areas of alpine landscape devel-
opment, including a relatively limited glaciation (Sigbjarnarson, 1983). Figure reproduced with permission
from Ingólfsson, 1991. – Svæði sem líklega höfðu takmarkaða jökulmyndun á síðasta jökulskeiði. 1) líkleg
íslaus svæði (Einarsson, 1963); 2) hugsanleg afdrep fyrir plöntur (Steindórsson, 1963) and alpalandslag með
fremur lítilli jöklun (Sigbjarnarson, 1983). Myndin er úr grein Ólafs Ingólfssonar, 1991.
ing to habitat and areas. Although he did not reject the
idea of glacial survival, he points out that some moun-
tain plants e.g. Antennaria alpina and Carex nardina
are restricted to areas of continental climate.
Geological studies over the last twenty years have
suggested that ice-free areas existed in Iceland dur-
ing the last glacial period. The snowline in the fjords
of northern Iceland is believed to have been signif-
icantly higher at the northern side of the main ice
sheet than on the south side, due to different climate
conditions, suggesting that single mountains or peaks
were ice-free during the last glacial period (Einars-
son, 1991). The Vestfirðir peninsula in northwest Ice-
land was probably covered by an independent icecap
during the last glacial period. Evidence from Horn-
strandir (the northernmost part of the Vestfirðir penin-
sula) suggests that active glaciers did not cover the
high plateaus, as no sign of glacial erosion or depo-
sition were found there. However, it is possible that
the plateaus were covered by thin, inactive and/or cold
based glaciers or firns (Hjort et al., 1985).
Greenland – Survival or not?
Around the middle of the last century, Danish
botanists, such as Böcher (1956, 1972) and Gelting
(1941) supported the hypothesis of glacial survival
in Greenland. Palaeoecologists, on the other hand,
argued against this. In 1953, Iversen published the
first pollen diagram from a Greenland lake. This in-
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