Geomorphology and surficial geology of the Femmilsjøen area, northern Spitsbergen

• DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.107693
• Publication Date: 2021-03-09T22:30:52Z
• Authors: Lis Allaart; Anders Schomacker; Lena M. Håkansson; Wesley R. Farnsworth; Skafti Brynjólfsson; Andreas Grumstad; Sofia E. Kjellman
• Keywords: 13. Climate action; 15. Life on land; VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450::Quaternary geology, glaciology: 465; 01 natural sciences; VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450::Kvartærgeologi, glasiologi: 465; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Abstract Climate change is amplified in the Arctic, and establishing baseline data for its current character is important. Here we present a map of the geomorphology of the Femmilsjoen area, Spitsbergen, northern Svalbard. The regional physiography is characterised by a low-relief, high elevation mountain plateau, its high-relief steep slopes, and low-relief coastal lowlands. The results indicate that glaciers were most likely warm-based and erosive in the low terrain, whereas there are signatures of colder, less erosive ice on the plateaus during the Late Weichselian. Our study highlights the ongoing glacial and periglacial morphological processes in an area of hard and weathering-resistant bedrock, situated in northern Svalbard.