Recurring jökulhlaups in sälka, northern sweden

An ice-dammed lake at the margin of the glacier Sälkaglaciären, in the Kebnekaise Mountains in northern Sweden, drained suddenly in July 2003 producing a flood with a measured peak discharge of 9.5±0.25 m 3 s -1 . The total lake volume of 4.55×10 5 million 3 drained within two days. The hydrograph of this event is characteristic of a jökulhlaup controlled by a single basal ice tunnel that enlarges due to melting. The jökulhlaup had an exponential rise to a peak discharge, and following the peak, a very steep fall in discharge as the water supply to the drainage system ceased. A similar jökulhlaup was observed in August 1990 with an estimated release of 8.05×10 5 m 3 water. Jökulhlaups at Sälkaglaciären are recurring events and have been indirectly observed since the 1950s.