Submarine evidence of glacier surges

Abstract

Surges constitute a common form of glacier advance on the Svalbard archipelago (Liestd 1969), northwestern Barents Sea. The Austfonna ice cap (8100 km2) covers most of Nordaustlandet, the second largest island in the archipelago (Fig. 1). It has its entire southern and eastern front grounded in the sea under open, marine conditions. Between 1937 and 1938 the Brdsvellbreen glacier, which is part of the Austfonna ice cap, had a major surge which is well documented from aerial photography (Hoe1 & Werenskiold 1962: 73-74; Schytt 1969). Since 1938, the glacier has retreated several kilometres.