Terrestrial glacial geomorphology of surge-type and non-surge-type glaciers on Svalbard

This paper presents a map of terrestrial glacial geomorphology of eleven surge-type and non-surge-type glacier forefields in southwest and west Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Glacier forefields were mapped using a combination of field surveys and the use of an uncrewed airborne vehicle in September 2022 and satellite imagery captured in 2020, with mapping performed in ArcGIS Pro at a 1:5,000 scale. Maps were constructed for glaciers in Van Kuelenfjorden and Van Mijenfjorden (southwest Spitsbergen), and in Isfjorden, Billefjorden a fjord branch of Isfjorden and St. Jonsfjorden (west Spitsbergen), to obtain a breadth of glacier types and features representative of glacial landsystems on Svalbard. The detailed landform inventory was divided into: (i) ice marginal (e.g., moraine and moraine ridge crests), (ii) subglacial (e.g., crevasse-squeeze ridges, eskers, flutes), (iii) glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine (e.g., meltwater channels, glaciofluvial outwash and lake sediments), (iv) supraglacial (e.g., debris stripes and medial moraines) and (v) other non-glacial and contemporary features. These detailed maps provide a geomorphological insight into the past and present characteristics of a range of glaciers on Svalbard, from large, marine-terminating surge-type glacier systems to small, rapidly receding land-terminating valley glaciers.