Fjords and glaciers in Hornsund and Van Mijenfjorden, Svalbard

Two fjords in south Spitsbergen represent the diversity of glacial and periglacial environments, including glaciers behaving in different ways. In the southerly Hornsund fjord numerous secondary inlets are steadily expanding as tidewater glaciers continue to retreat, whereas moraine ridges inland indicate much larger past extent of glaciation. The inner part of Van Mijenfjord consists of two branches, with one ending in a large glacial complex with several surging glaciers. One surge some 600 years ago formed a large moraine along the shores, partly ice-cored and partly consisting of marine clays. A large glaciolacustrine lake existed for a short time. Scheelebreen, another part of the complex, is presently surging and advanced some two kilometres over the summer and winter 2021/2022. In both areas landforms produced by meltwater are abundant, including large outwash plains. The ground is permanently frozen at depth, but summer thaw in the active layer gives rise to diverse periglacial landforms such as patterned (sorted) ground, frost fissures, solifluction features and rock glaciers. Raised marine terraces and relict cliffs provide evidence of glaci-isostatic uplift. These two localities show complementary bedrock topography. High-mountain scenery dominates around Hornsund, while the inner Van Mijenfjorden is surrounded by plateau mountains on sedimentary rocks.