Potential Environmental Effects of Expanding Lake Jökulsárlón in Response to Melting of Breiðamerkurjökull, Iceland

ABSTRACT Glacial retreat has been well documented in several studies on the Vatnajokull ice cap. Breiðamerkurjokull, an outlet glacier from Vatnajokull, has been actively retreating since the end of the Little Ice Age in the mid-nineteenth century. There is a strong correlation between the increasing rate of glacial melt resulting from rising global temperatures and the expansion of proglacial lakes. Jokulsarlon, a proglacial lake associated with Breiðamerkurjokull, has grown significantly, from 14.6 km2 to 25.4 km2, between 1999 and 2014, as illustrated in a series of Landsat 7 ETM+ and Landsat 8 images. Climate models predict that global temperatures will continue rising, which will impact the rate of glacial melt and subsequent expansion of proglacial lakes. These trends, as seen around the Breiðamerkurjokull-Jokulsarlon area, may result in serious environmental complications for the Icelandic population in the future. For that reason, it is important to monitor this phenomenon and take precautions whe...