Jökull - 01.01.2019, Qupperneq 15

Guðmundsson et al.
Figure 10. The development of terminus lakes by Svínafellsjökull. For explanations and credits see Figures 3
and 7. – Þróun sporðlóna við Svínafellsjökul (sjá nánari skýringar við 3. mynd og 7. mynd).
Glaciers on the eastern side of Öræfajökull and
Breiðamerkurjökull
The main glaciers where lakes have formed east of
Öræfajökull are Fjallsjökull and Breiðamerkurjök-
ull but smaller lakes have also formed at Kvíárjök-
ull and Hrútárjökull (Figures 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and
17). Breiðamerkurjökull receives some ice flow from
Öræfajökull but the main source area of the glacier
is the Breiðabunga ice dome and the Norðlinga-
lægð depression to the west of the dome (Sigbjarn-
arson, 1970; Björnsson, 1996, 2009a; Hannesdóttir
and others, 2014, 2015a,b; Guðmundsson and others,
2017). Kvíárjökull, Fjallsjökull and Breiðamerkurjök-
ull have all carved subglacial valleys that reach below
sea level according to radio-echo sounding measure-
ments (Björnsson and others, 1992; Björnsson, 2009a;
Magnússon and others, 2012). Lakes, that first formed
in front of the termini of Fjallsjökull and Breiðamerk-
urjökull in the 1930s, are located in the outermost part
of these valleys.
Kvíárjökull
According to photographs taken by F. Björnsson,
from Kvísker, a small lake formed by the outlet of
E-Kvíá around 1940 or even earlier. Its area was
∼0.02 km2 in 1945 and it released jökulhlaups peri-
odically until 1950 (F. Björnsson, 1956, 1996; photo-
graphic collection of F. Björnsson). This lake can be
seen on aerial images from 1964, when it had grown
to > 0.03 km2. Another lake was formed by the cur-
rent outlet of Kvíá at the southernmost part of the
14 JÖKULL No. 69, 2019