Skeiðará
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Skeiðará Jökulsá ( Land Book ) |
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 The river on the Sandur named after him |
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| Data | ||
| location | Iceland | |
| River system | Skeiðará | |
| source |
Grímsvötn , subglacial lakes under Vatnajökull 64 ° 25 ′ 0 ″ N , 17 ° 20 ′ 0 ″ W |
|
| muzzle |
Atlantic Ocean , south coast of Iceland, Skeiðarársandur Coordinates: 63 ° 50 ′ 0 ″ N , 17 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ W 63 ° 50 ′ 0 ″ N , 17 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ W |
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| Mouth height |
0 m
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|
| length | 30 km | |
| Catchment area | 1000 km² | |
| Drain |
MQ MHQ HHQ |
10 m³ / s 200 m³ / s 45,000 m³ / s |
| Flowing lakes | Grímsvötn | |
The Skeiðará is a relatively short glacial river (approx. 30 km long) that rises from the Skeiðarárjökull glacier in southern Iceland , which is named after it . This lies within the Vatnajökull National Park .
Most important dates
The river has its source in the volcanic glacial lake Grímsvötn and has a length of 30 km measured from the glacier gate of Skeiðarárjökull, a glacier tongue of Vatnajökull named after him .
The average amount of water is 200 m³ / s, in winter this can be reduced to just 10 m³ / s.
Nevertheless, it is one of the most powerful rivers in the country, which can swell to a discharge that - as far as measured so far - can be more than 20% of that of the Amazon .
Glacier runs
The Skeiðará was and is the scene of a phenomenon known in Iceland as the glacier run.
By volcanic activity under the glacier, in the case of Grímsvötn - central volcano , which is located under the big glacier Vatnajökull Shield, thaw during an outbreak in a short time enormous amounts of ice.
These break through the ice barrier in front of them when enough water has accumulated in the subglacial lakes . The ice floats on the water and an often huge tidal wave, which consists of a mixture of water, ice and sediments, pours down into the valley. The last large glacier run from Gjálp , which is neighboring the Grímsvötn , flowed over the black alluvial plain of the Skeiðarársandurs in 1996 and severely damaged the Skeiðarárbrú and the ring road .
Monuments of this flood still stand on the sand . A film documents the process and can be seen in the Skaftafell National Park Center .
The last such event so far took place in 2004. However, it was nowhere near the proportions of its predecessor.
At the beginning of November 2010, there were signs of a new glacier run on the Sandur. On the night of November 1st, a small iceberg damaged a streamline quite badly, so that the power went out in Kirkjubæjarklaustur . At the same time, an earthquake shook Grímsfjall Mountain, which is part of the Grímsvötn Caldera .
As a result, it turned out that these were evidently signs of the impending eruption of the Grímsvötn in May 2011.
Skeiðarársandur
Through the numerous glacier runs , the Skeiðará has destroyed fertile land and formed a sander , the Skeiðarársandur . It is one of streams, rivers and creeks crisscrossed black sandy plain, about to about 35 km ring road between Kirkjubæjarklaustur and Skaftafell runs.
The Grímsvötn volcano is one of the best-monitored volcanoes in the country. Predictions about a tidal wave can be made long in advance, as the volcano is about 50 km from the Sander and the gradient is not very great.
See also
literature
- Hjörleifur Guttormsson, Oddur Sigurðson: Leyndardómur Vatnajökuls. Viðerni, fjöll and byggðir. Stórbrotin náttúra, eldgos og jökulhlaup. Reykjavík (Fjöll og firnindi) 1997 ISBN 9979-60-325-9
Web links
- http://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/2010/nr/2039 Isl. meteorolog. Inst, about the glacier run Nov. 2010 (English)
- http://www.nat.is/tavelguide/ahugav_st_skeidararsandur.htm To Skeiðarársandur (Icelandic)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Íslandshandbókin. 2. bindi. 1989, p. 676
- ↑ cf. http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20060523000000/www.jardvis.hi.is/page/ies_gjalp1996 Nordic Volcanologic Institute on the outbreak in Gjálp 1996 (English); Accessed November 1, 2010
- ↑ cf. http://www.jardvis.hi.is/page/ies_grimsvötn2004 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Nordic Volcanologic Institute on the 2004 eruption in Grímsvötn; Accessed November 1, 2010
- ↑ http://www.ruv.is/frett/603_rummetrar_rennsli_a_sekundu ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Icelandic State Broadcasters website (Icelandic); Accessed November 1, 2010
- ↑ http://mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2010/11/01/gaeti_nad_hamarki_a_3_solarhringum?ref=fphelst Website of the newspaper Morgunblaðið (Icelandic); Accessed November 1, 2010
- ↑ http://www.ruv.is/frett/jardskjalfti_vard_vid_Grimsfjall ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Icelandic); Accessed November 1, 2010
- ↑ IMO, websites related to the Grímsvötn eruption 2011
