Isfjord (Svalbard) in the context of "Slope movement"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Isfjord (Svalbard) in the context of "Slope movement"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Isfjord (Svalbard)

Isfjorden is the second longest fjord in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. It lies on the west side of Spitsbergen, an island in the Arctic Ocean about midway between Norway and the North Pole, and the largest in the archipelago. The mountain of Alkhornet stands on the northern side of the entrance to the fjord, as does the coastal plain of Daudmannsøyra. A portion of Isfjorden is included in the national parks of Norway as Nordre Isfjorden Land National Park. Around the fjord lie many of the largest settlements in Svalbard: Barentsburg, Longyearbyen (on the Adventfjorden) and Pyramiden.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Isfjord (Svalbard) in the context of Slope movement

Mass wasting, also known as mass movement, is a general term for the movement of rock or soil down slopes under the force of gravity. It differs from other processes of erosion in that the debris transported by mass wasting is not entrained in a moving medium, such as water, wind, or ice. Types of mass wasting include creep, solifluction, rockfalls, debris flows, and landslides, each with its own characteristic features, and taking place over timescales from seconds to hundreds of years. Mass wasting occurs on both terrestrial and submarine slopes, and has been observed on Earth, Mars, Venus, Jupiter's moon Io, and on many other bodies in the Solar System.

Subsidence is sometimes regarded as a form of mass wasting. A distinction is then made between mass wasting by subsidence, which involves little horizontal movement, and mass wasting by slope movement.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Isfjord (Svalbard) in the context of Law of Superposition

The law of superposition is an axiom that forms one of the bases of the sciences of geology, archaeology, and other fields pertaining to geological stratigraphy. In its plainest form, it states that in undeformed stratigraphic sequences, the oldest strata will lie at the bottom of the sequence, while newer material stacks upon the surface to form new deposits over time. This is paramount to stratigraphic dating, which requires a set of assumptions, including that the law of superposition holds true and that an object cannot be older than the materials of which it is composed. To illustrate the practical applications of superposition in scientific inquiry, sedimentary rock that has not been deformed by more than 90° will exhibit the oldest layers on the bottom, thus enabling paleontologists and paleobotanists to identify the relative ages of any fossils found within the strata, with the remains of the most archaic lifeforms confined to the lowest. These findings can inform the community on the fossil record covering the relevant strata, to determine which species coexisted temporally and which species existed successively in perhaps an evolutionarily or phylogenetically relevant way.

↑ Return to Menu

Isfjord (Svalbard) in the context of Adventfjorden

Adventfjorden (Advent Bay) is a 7 km long and 4 km wide bay running south-eastwards from the southern side of Isfjorden, on the west coast of Spitsbergen in Svalbard. The name represents a corruption of Adventure Bay - probably named after the Hull-built whaleship Adventure, which operated in Isfjorden in 1656. The fjord was originally known as Klass Billen Bay. At the head of Adventfjorden is Adventdalen (Advent Valley).

The former mining-camp of Longyearbyen (now Svalbard's main town) lies on the fjord's southwestern shore, while another former mining-camp, Hiorthhamn, is located on its northeastern shore.

↑ Return to Menu

Isfjord (Svalbard) in the context of Nordre Isfjorden Land National Park

Nordre Isfjorden National Park (Norwegian: Nordre Isfjorden nasjonalpark) lies on Spitsbergen Island in the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. It lies across the Isfjorden north of Barentsburg. The park was opened in 2003.

The park carries the name of the fjord Isfjorden, one of the largest fjords in Svalbard. On the northern section of this fjord lies a virgin coastal landscape that sustains considerable vegetation and wildlife.

↑ Return to Menu