Ground moraine in front of the terminus of the Solheimajokull Glacier, Myrdalur, Southern Iceland

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In a long sequence of climatic oscillations (advance in the 'Little Ice Age' 1400-1900, retreat 1930-40, cooling and advance 1940-1970, warming and retreat since 1985), the Solheimajokull Glacier, one of four outlet glaciers from the Myrdalsjokull Ice Cap, is currently retreating at a rate of 100m/year (in response to climate change). As it does so, it leaves a spread of bottom material over the land. This 'ground moraine', an unsorted, hummocky sheet of boulders, stones, sands and gravel is testimony to glacial ice on the move acting as a huge file, moulding the landscape through time. The moraine here is darkened by volcanic ash from the Katla Volcano, which last erupted in 1918 under the Myrdalsjokull Ice Cap at the glacier's source.

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Size: 5789px × 3844px
Location: Solheimajokull Glacier Terminus (viewed from the car park), near Skogar, Myrdalur, Southern Iceland
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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