Present-day glaciers on the Tröllaskagi Peninsula and their environment

The project objective is to develop a database on glaciers on the Tröllaskagi Peninsula, through research, monitoring, and mapping of the glaciers and their environment. The IINH began measurement and monitoring of the glacier mass balance of four glaciers on the Tröllaskagi Peninsula in 2008. In May of each year, glacial accumulation (accumulated winter snow) is measured. Glacial ablation (summer melt) is measured in September. All changes to the glaciers’ extent, movement or shape are mapped. On the basis of this data, the annual mass balance of each glacier is calculated, which functions as an indicator of the overall condition of the Tröllaskagi glaciers for a given year.

Mapping of the geomorphological environment of all the Tröllaskagi glaciers is also ongoing. The objective is to map all recent and older glacial terminus positions, and identify the main features in their development and changes over the last 10,000 years.

Understanding ongoing changes and the environmental history of the glaciers on the Tröllaskagi Peninsula will be valuable for long-term research on glacial and environmental change in Iceland in the Late Weichselian and Early Holocene. These two IINH projects will ultimately support each other, with the eventual outcome being a sound, extensive comprehension of glacial and environmental changes in Tröllaskagi and all of Iceland.

IINH Contact: Skafti Brynjólfsson