Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 12:06
Forums
Drumlin Formation in Iceland

Hi, my name is Michael Carr from Lake City High School. I was wondering how long you think the Iceland drumlins will be available for study before the glacier covers them again or the drumlins themselves get to beat up to learn anything from and so you think you will have all the data you need by then?

Sat, 08/17/2013 - 10:28

Jamie Esler

Hi Michael,This is a wonderful question.
The glacier Mulajokull has demonstrated a surge period of about 10-20
years. This means it has advanced out into the forefield, eroding
existing landscapes and redepositing the rocks from the landscape into
new landforms, every decade or two.
Each time it surges, however, how far it will surge is dependent upon
how much snow it has accumulated at its headwall (called the Zone of
Accumulation). We will learn much more about this in class later this year.
The last documented surge was 2008, with the previous surge before that
in 1992. All of the drumlins we studied on this expedition are located
between the terminal moraines (the landform a glacier creates at its
outermost extent during a surge) from 2008 and 1992; this means they are
older than 2008 but younger than 1992.
The research team is coming back out next summer to continue studying
the drumlins and the rest of the glacial forefield at Mulajokull. If
the glacier keeps its history of 10-20 times intervals between surges,
the scientists on the team have plenty of time to study the landforms.
GREAT question Michael. I look forward to having you in class this year!
Mr. Esler