Crag-and-tail landforms in outer Rijpfjorden, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard

Streamlined sedimentary and bedrock glacial landforms are widespread on high-latitude continental shelves and in fjords. It has been shown that they are orientated in the direction of past ice flow and are indicative of fast motion linked to basal processes (e.g. Clark 1994). Elongation ratios of these landforms have been suggested to reflect past ice velocity, with higher elongation ratios being characteristic of faster ice flow (e.g. Clark 1993). However, the subglacial substrate has a considerable influence on ice flow and on the resulting glacial landforms (e.g. Heroy & Anderson 2005). Using the character and distribution of streamlined, subglacially produced landforms, the extent and dynamics of former ice sheets and ice streams has been successfully reconstructed (e.g. Ottesen et al. 2005; Dowdeswell et al. 2010; Hogan et al. 2010a, b).