Sólheimajökull

Sólheimajökull
Sólheimajökull in its valley with Mýrdalsjökull behind
Map of Mýrdalsjökull glacier showing its named outlet glaciers and surface glacial catchments (light grey shading) with Sólheimajökull catchment in red outline.[a] Clicking on the map rectangle to enlarge it, enables mouse over that allows identification of individual glaciers.
TypeOutlet glacier
LocationSouthwestern Iceland
Coordinates63°33′N 19°18′W / 63.550°N 19.300°W / 63.550; -19.300
TerminusSólheimajökull[3]
StatusRetreating

Sólheimajökull (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsoulˌheiːmaˌjœːkʏtl̥]) is an outlet glacier in southern Iceland, between the volcanoes Katla and Eyjafjallajökull. Part of the larger Mýrdalsjökull glacier, Sólheimajökull is a prominent and popular tourist location owing to its size and relative ease of access.[4]

Geology

Sólheimajökull is an outlet glacier of the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap which lies atop the Katla caldera. It is located near the town of Vík í Mýrdal, a popular tourist location about 180 km (110 mi) southeast of Reykjavík.[5] The glacier is melting rapidly around 60 metres (200 ft) per year[6] owing to warmer annual temperatures due to climate change. It is possible that many of the country's glaciers will become extinct within the next century.[7]

Risks

The occasional potentially dangerous glacial lake outburst flood (Jökulhlaups) may use this route to the sea.[8][9][2]

In the summer of 2026 visitors to the glacier outlet were warned of the risk of unstable and unsafe conditions on both the glacier and hiking access routes due to melting of the glacier.[10]

Panorama of Sólheimajökull glacial tongue and the valley leading to it
Sólheimajökull glacier panorama

Notes

  1. ↑ All mappings of Mýrdalsjökull catchments identified had elements that suggest only partial mapping of surface glacial catchments for Mýrdalsjökull may exist hence the area of uncertainty assigned to Mýrdalsjökull in this mapping. Different mappings exist in some of the sources used in this article including subsurface catchments for jökulhlaups.[1][2]

References

  1. ↑ McCluskey, O. (2019). Constraining the characteristics of a future volcanogenic Jökulhlaup from Katla, Iceland, through seismic analysis and probabilistic hydraulic modelling, Master’s thesis (Thesis). School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth. pp. 1–121. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 Friis, Bjarki (2011). Late Holocene Glacial History of Sólheimajökull, Southern Iceland (PDF) (Thesis). University of Iceland, Reykjavík. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-20.
  3. ↑ Sigurðsson, Oddur; Williams, Richard S. (2008). "Geographic Names of Iceland's Glaciers:Historic and Modern". In Richard S. Williams Jr.; Jane G. Ferrigno (eds.). Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World series (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386-D (PDF). Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "The Incredibly Shrinking Glacier in the South of Iceland". Stuck in Iceland. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  5. ↑ "Sólheimajökull".
  6. ↑ "Sólheimajökull Glacier". Fun Iceland. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Melting glaciers - Vatnajökull National Park". Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  8. ↑ "Small glacial outburst floods around Mýrdalsjökull". Icelandic Weather Office. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  9. ↑ Russell, A.J.; Tweed, F.S.; Roberts, M.J.; Harris, T.D.; Gudmundsson, M.T.; Knudsen, Ó.; Marren, P.M. (2010). "An unusual jökulhlaup resulting from subglacial volcanism, Sólheimajökull, Iceland". Quaternary Science Reviews. 29 (11–12): 1363–1381. Bibcode:2010QSRv...29.1363R. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.02.023.
  10. ↑ "Increased hazard due to changing conditions at the margin of Sólheimajökull glacier". Reykjavík: Icelandic Meteorological Office. 22 July 2026. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
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