Bråsvellbreen
Encyclopedia
Bråsvellbreen is a glacier
at Nordaustlandet
, Svalbard
. The glacier is a 45 kilometre long stream
southwards from the ice dome Sørdomen of Austfonna
, debouch
ing into the sea at the south coast. In the late 1930s it was observed that the glacier had exhibited a recent huge surge
, forming a ten kilometre long tongue
into the sea.
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
at Nordaustlandet
Nordaustlandet
Nordaustlandet is the second-largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, with an area of . It lies north east of Spitsbergen, separated by Hinlopenstretet. Much of Nordaustlandet lies under large ice caps, mainly Austfonna and Vestfonna, the remaining parts of the north being tundra...
, Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
. The glacier is a 45 kilometre long stream
Ice stream
An ice stream is a region of an ice sheet that moves significantly faster than the surrounding ice. Ice streams are a type of glacier. They are significant features of the Antarctic where they account for 10% of the volume of the ice...
southwards from the ice dome Sørdomen of Austfonna
Austfonna
Austfonna is an ice cap located on Nordaustlandet in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Covering an area of 8,105 km² it is the largest ice cap by area and with 1,900 km³ the second largest by volume in Europe, after the Vatnajökull in Iceland Austfonna is an ice cap located on Nordaustlandet in...
, debouch
Debouch
Debouch is a term used in river and stream geography, and the military.-Geography:In fluvial geography, a debouch is a place where a body of water pours forth from a narrow opening...
ing into the sea at the south coast. In the late 1930s it was observed that the glacier had exhibited a recent huge surge
Surge (glacier)
Glacial surges are short-lived events where a glacier can advance substantially, moving at velocities up to 100 times faster than normal. Surging glaciers are clustered around a few areas. High concentrations of surging glaciers can be found in Svalbard, Canadian Arctic islands, Alaska and Iceland...
, forming a ten kilometre long tongue
Ice tongue
An ice tongue is a long and narrow sheet of ice projecting out from the coastline. An ice tongue forms when a valley glacier moves very rapidly out into the ocean or a lake....
into the sea.