RT Journal Article
T1 Constraints on the timing of debris-covered and rock glaciers: An exploratory case study in the Holar area, northern Iceland
A1 Fernández Fernández, José María
A1 Palacios Estremera, David
A1 De Andrés de Pablo, Nuria
A1 Schimmelpfennig, Irene
A1 Tanarro García, Luis Miguel
A1 Brynjólfsson, Skafti
A1 López-Acevedo, Francisco J.
A1 Sæmundsson, Þorsteinn
A1 A.S.T.E.R. Team, 
AB Eighteen samples for 36Cl Cosmic-Ray Exposure (CRE) dating were taken from glacially polished bedrocks, moraine boulders, fossil/active rock glaciers and debris-covered glaciers in Fremri-Grjótárdalur and Hóladalur cirques in the Víðinesdalur, Hofsdalur and Héðinsdalur valleys, close to Hólar village, in the Tröllaskagi peninsula, northern Iceland. Boulder sampling was preceded by a study of the boulder stability with the twofold aim of: ensuring that the surfaces to be sampled were stable enough for the reliable application of CRE dating, and to better understand the relation between the glacier dynamics and exposition history. The results show that the glaciers which occupy the valleys in Tröllaskagi began their retreat around 16 ka. Later, the glaciers advanced again around 11 ka within the cirques, and small moraines were formed. Thereafter, these small glaciers retreated and evolved into rock glaciers as debris from paraglacial processes accumulated on the glacier surface. The fronts of these rock glaciers stabilized definitively shortly after their formation and became eventually fossil after the melting of their internal ice. New rock glaciers and debris-covered glaciers formed afterwards, which still have internal ice at present, although their current dynamics are mostly related to subsidence. The stabilization of these rock glaciers and debris-covered glaciers is dated to the period between 7 and 3 ka, although they may have been reactivated during cold neoglacial periods. This research demonstrates the potential interest in applying CRE dating methods to debris-covered glaciers and rock glaciers to determine their origin, evolution, and phase of cessation of internal movement until they finally lost their internal ice and became fossil.
PB Elsevier
SN 0169-555X
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/97069
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/97069
LA eng
NO Fernández-Fernández, J.M., Palacios, D., Andrés, N., Schimmelpfennig, I., Tanarro, L.M., Brynjólfsson, S., Lopez-Acevedo, F.J., Sæmundsson, Þ.(2020) Constraints on the timing of debris-covered and rock glaciers: An exploratory case study in the Holar area, northern Iceland. Geomorphology 361, 107196
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
NO Nils Mobility Program
NO Universidad Complutense de Madrid
DS Docta Complutense
RD 19 abr 2025