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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2005; v. 242; p. 11-27;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.242.01.02
© 2005 Geological Society of London

Glaciers and Permafrost

Glacier-permafrost interaction in Arctic and alpine mountain environments with examples from southern Norway and Svalbard

Bernd Etzelmüller & Jon Ove Hagen

Department of Geosciences, Section of Physical Geography, University of Oslo, PO Box 1047, Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway

(e-mail: bernde{at}geo.uio.no)

(e-mail: joh{at}geo.uio.no)

The interaction between glaciers and permafrost was long ago addressed for glaciers in Arctic regions. Analogies from modern environments have been used to understand landform development at the margins of Pleistocene ice sheets. During more recent decades many systematic measurements of permafrost in boreholes, geophysical soundings and temperature monitoring have revealed permafrost to be more abundant in many more high-mountain areas than previously thought. This suggests that permafrost may be a governing factor not only for periglacial landform evolution in these areas, but also, given the potential for glacier-permafrost interaction, for glacial landform generation. This paper presents and discusses observation and study results on the geomorphological significance of the interrelationship between glaciers and permafrost, in relation to geomorphological processes, landform generation and response of the system to climate fluctuations.