Vatnajökull

Vatnajökull
Vatna Glacier
Vatnajökull, Iceland
Map of Vatnajökull ice cap showing its named glacial catchments (light grey shading with white outline). Clicking on the map to enlarge it enables mouse over that allows identification of individual named glacial catchments in Iceland.
TypeIce cap
LocationIceland
Coordinates64°24′N 16°48′W / 64.400°N 16.800°W / 64.400; -16.800
Area7,700 km2 (3,000 sq mi)
Thickness380 m (1,250 ft) average
TerminusOutlet glaciers
StatusRetreating

Vatnajökull (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈvahtnaˌjœːkʏtl̥] ⓘ, literally "Glacier of Lakes"; sometimes translated as Vatna Glacier in English) is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland, and the second largest in area in Europe after the Severny Island ice cap of Novaya Zemlya.[1] It is in the south-east of the island, covering approximately 8% of the country.[2]

Size

With an area of 7,700 km2 (3,000 sq mi)[3] Vatnajökull is the second largest ice cap in Europe by volume, being about 3,000 km3 (720 cu mi)[1] and area (after the still larger Severny Island ice cap of Novaya Zemlya, Russia, which is in the extreme northeast of Europe).[1] On 7 June 2008, it became a part of the Vatnajökull National Park.[4]

The average thickness of the ice is 380 m (1,250 ft),[1] with a maximum thickness of 950 m (3,120 ft).[5] Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnjúkur (2,109.6 m or 6,921 ft 3 in), as part of the Öræfajökull, is in the southern periphery of Vatnajökull, near Skaftafell.

Peaks

Hrútsfjallstindar is a series of Icelandic peaks rising from Vatnajökull between Svínafellsjökull and Skaftafellsjökull, in its southern part. There are four peaks, which range from 1,756 metres (5,761 ft) to 1,875 metres (6,152 ft) high.[6]

Volcanoes

Under the ice cap, as under many of the glaciers of Iceland, there are several volcanoes.[2] Eruptions from these volcanoes have led to the development of large pockets of water beneath the ice, which may burst the weakened ice and cause a jökulhlaup (glacial lake outburst flood).[2] During the last ice age, numerous volcanic eruptions occurred under Vatnajökull, creating many subglacial eruptions.[7]

In more modern times, the volcanoes continue to erupt beneath the glaciers, resulting in many documented floods. One jökulhlaup in 1934 caused the release of 15 km3 (3+1⁄2 cu mi) of water over the course of several days.[7] The volcanic lake Grímsvötn was the source of a large jökulhlaup in 1996.[8] There was also a considerable but short-lived eruption of the volcano under these lakes at the beginning of November 2004.[9] On 21 May 2011 a volcanic eruption started in Grímsvötn in Vatnajökull National Park at around 19:00.[9] The plume reached up to 17 km (56,000 ft).[9]

In culture

An Icelandic older name for Vatnajökull was Klofajökull [ˈkʰlɔːvaˌjœːkʏtl̥] (Cleft Glacier, due to cuts into the ice several of which can be presumed to be liable for the name), which is known from eighteenth-century sources such as the writings of Eggert Ólafsson and Bjarni Pálsson.[10] In September 1950, a Douglas DC-4 operated by the private airline Loftleiðir crash-landed on the Vatnajökull glacier. The entire six-person crew survived. A rescue operation was launched after the crew managed to send a distress signal on the fourth day. The crew and the rescue team walked the 34 km to safety.[11]

The glacier was used as the setting for the opening sequence (set in Siberia) of the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, in which Bond (played for the last time by Roger Moore) eliminated a host of armed villains before escaping in a submarine to Alaska.[12] Several other films, including another in the Bond franchise, have been filmed on or using Jökulsárlón, the terminal lake of the Breiðamerkurjökull outlet from Vatnajökull.

In 2004, Vatnajökull was one of several Icelandic settings visited on the first leg of The Amazing Race 6.[13]

Westlife's official music video for their twenty-fifth single top 10 and #2 UK hit in 2009 "What About Now" is the last film of Vatnajökull Glacier before the subsequent volcanic eruption.[14]

In November 2011, the glacier was used as a shooting location for the second season of the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.[15]

In 2013, Vatnajökull was a scenic background in the movie Interstellar[16], directed and produced by Christopher Nolan.

Outlet glaciers

Vatnajökull has around 30 outlet glaciers flowing from the ice cap. The Icelandic term for glacier is "jökull", and so is the term for outlet glacier. Given below is a list of outlet glaciers flowing from Vatnajökull, sorted by the four administrative territories of Vatnajökull National Park.[17][18] This is not a complete list.

Southern territory

  • Austurtungnajökull
  • Axarfellsjökull
  • Breiðamerkurjökull
  • Birnudalsjökull
  • Brókarjökull [ˈprouːkarˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Eyvindstungnajökull
  • Falljökull [ˈfatlˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Fellsárjökull
  • Fjallsjökull [ˈfjalsˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Fláajökull [ˈflauːaˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Gljúfursárjökull
  • Heinabergsjökull [ˈheiːnaˌpɛrksˌjœːkʏtl̥, -ˌpɛr̥s-]
  • Hoffellsjökull
  • Hólárjökull [ˈhouːlˌaurˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Hrútárjökull [ˈr̥uːtˌaurˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Kotárjökull
  • Kvíárjökull [ˈkʰviːˌaurˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Lambatungnajökull [ˈlampaˌtʰuŋnaˌjœːkʏtl̥, -ˌtʰunːa-]
  • Morsárjökull [ˈmɔr̥sˌaurˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Norðurtungnajökull
  • Rótarfjallsjökull
  • Skaftafellsjökull [ˈskaftaˌfɛlsˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Skálafellsjökull [ˈskauːlaˌfɛlsˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Skeiðarárjökull [ˈsceiːðarˌaurˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Stigárjökull [ˈstɪːɣˌaurˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Stórhöfðajökull
  • Suðurfjallsjökull
  • Svínafellsjökull [ˈsviːnaˌfɛlsˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Vesturdalsjökull
  • Viðborðsjökull [ˈvɪðˌpɔrðsˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Virkisjökull [ˈvɪr̥cɪsˌjœːkʏtl̥]

Eastern territory

  • Brúarjökull [ˈpruːarˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Eyjabakkajökull [ˈeiːjaˌpahkaˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Geldingafellsjökull
  • Kverkjökull [ˈkʰvɛr̥kˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Kverkkvíslarjökull
  • Kvíslarjökull

Northern territory

Western territory

  • Grænalónsjökull
  • Köldukvíslarjökull [ˈkʰœltʏˌvistlarˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Síðujökull [ˈsiːðʏˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Skaftárjökull [ˈskaftˌaurˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Sylgjujökull [ˈsɪlcʏˌjœːkʏtl̥]
  • Tungnaárjökul [ˈtʰuŋnaˌaurˌjœːkʏtl̥, ˈtʰunːa-]

Recent temperature changes

In 2025, the average air temperature surrounding Vatnajökull reached a low of -1.09 degrees Celsius in January and a high of 0.97 degrees Celsius in December.[19] In comparison to fifty years prior, in 1975, the average air temperature reached a low of -1.50 degrees Celsius in July and a high of 0.45 degrees Celsius in December.[20] While there has been an increase in the average lowest air temperatures and average highest air temperatures, the impacts of atmospheric warming have been mitigated by the Blue Blob, a patch of cold water in the North Atlantic Ocean slowing glacier melting in Iceland.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Hver er stærsti jökull í Evrópu?". Vísindavefurinn (in Icelandic). 5 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Skaftafell national park" (PDF). The Environment Agency of Iceland. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  3. ^ Vatnajökull - fræðsla Vatnajökull national park, retrieved 21 August 2024
  4. ^ "Vatnajokull National Park". Háskóli Íslands. hi.is. Archived from the original on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  5. ^ "Hversu hratt mun Vatnajökull bráðna á næstu árum?". Vísindavefurinn (in Icelandic). 24 September 2001.
  6. ^ "Krefjandi fjallganga á Hrútfjallstinda, tignarlegt fjall í Öræfasveit sem gefur fegurstu alpatindum lítið eftir. / Hrútfjallstindar". hvannadalshnukur.is (in Icelandic). 2016-06-10. Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  7. ^ a b Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. pp. 394-395. ISBN 0-89577-087-3.
  8. ^ "The Gjálp eruption in Vatnajökull". Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  9. ^ a b c "Grímsvötn eruption 2011". Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland.
  10. ^ Svavar Sigmundsson. Hversu áreiðanlegar heimildir eru fyrir því að Vatnajökull hafi kallast Klofajökull fyrr á tímum? Vísindavefurinn, 31 August 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2019. https://visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=52708.
  11. ^ "Geysisslysið, björgun flugvélar". eldsveitir.is. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  12. ^ "A View to a Kill (1985) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  13. ^ Renyard, Lauren (16 November 2018). "A Complete Guide to Seljalandsfoss Waterfall". Extreme Iceland. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Official News (GB) - New Westlife Blog : Mark". Westlife. 2010-04-16. Archived from the original on 2010-05-16. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  15. ^ "Iceland filming location revealed". winter-is-coming.net. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  16. ^ avista (2018-06-26). "Film Locations in Vatnajökull Region". Visit Vatnajökull. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
  17. ^ "General information map". Vatnajökull National Park. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  18. ^ Sigurðsson, Oddur; Williams, Richard S. (2008). "Geographic Names of Iceland's Glaciers:Historic and Modern". In Richard S. Williams Jr.; Jane G. Ferrigno (eds.). Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World series (U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386-D (PDF). Retrieved 15 May 2024.: 8 
  19. ^ "Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)". www.ncei.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  20. ^ "Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)". www.ncei.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  21. ^ unitednations (2023-02-10). "The entrance to the "centre of the earth" may disappear within decades". United Nations Western Europe. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
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