Landsystems of Morsarj € okull, Skaftafellsj € okull and Svınafellsj € okull, outlet glaciers of the Vatnaj € okull Ice Cap, Iceland REBECCA E. LEE , JOHN C. MACLACHLAN AND CAROLYN H. EYLES Lee, R. E., Maclachlan, J. C. & Eyles, C. H. 2018 (October): Landsystems of Morsarj€ okull, Skaftafellsj€ okull and Svınafellsj€ okull, outlet glaciers of the Vatnaj€ okull Ice Cap, Iceland. Boreas, Vol. 47, pp. 1199–1217. https://doi.org/10. 1111/bor.12333. ISSN 0300-9483. This study utilizes a landsystem approach to analyse the landforms and sediments exposed on the forefields of three closely spaced outlet glaciers of the Vatnaj€ okull Ice Cap, southeast Iceland; Morsarj€ okull, Skaftafellsj€ okull and Svınafellsj€ okull, in order to determine how individual glacier and environmental characteristics influence landscape development. Analysis of satellite imagery and fieldwork were used in conjunction to examine the geomorphology and sedimentologyof the forefields, and to define the characteristic landsystems of each of the glaciers. Morsarj€ okull and Skaftafellsj€ okull havesimilar proglacial fields, with similarities in the distribution andscale of the landforms, and their characteristics conform to the established active temperate landsystem. Svınafellsj€ okull differs significantly from the other glaciers having a proglacial field that more closely resembles an early stage debris-charged landsystem. Variations between the glaciers in terms of their ice distribution (hypsometry, equilibrium line altitude), bedrock type, topographyand debris content are important factors that contribute to the landsystem variability evident in their proglacial fields. The forefields of these three glaciers may be used as analogues to enhance understanding of palaeoenvironmental conditions that existed along the southern margin of Pleistocene glaciers that covered much of northern North America and Europe in the past. Rebecca E. Lee (leer37@mcmaster.ca), John C. Maclachlan and Carolyn H. Eyles, School of Geographyand Earth Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street W., Hamilton, ON, Canada; received 15th January 2018, accepted 20th May 2018. Many previouslyglaciated regions of North America and Europe are underlain by complex assemblages of glacial landforms and sediments formed during the Quaternary that are difficult to identify, map and interpret in terms of their mode of formation and palaeoenvironmental sig- nificance (Barnett 1992; Evans et al. 1999; Kilner et al. 2005; Slomka & Eyles 2013). However, glacial deposits in these regions contain a detailed record of palaeoclimate change and host important groundwater and aggregate resources (Eyles 1983; Barnett 1992; Kilner et al. 2005; Best et al. 2015). It is therefore essential that these surface and subsurface deposits are analysed using methodolo- gies that allow the assessment and prediction of their spatial variability to enable informed and effective plan- ning for resource management and land-use purposes. In order to better understand the origin and spatial variabil- ity of Quaternary-age glacial deposits, the spatial and temporal relationships of landforms and sediments form- ing in modern glacial environments need to be established (Evans et al. 1999, 2012; Slomka & Eyles 2015). This can be done through application of the landsystems approach (Evans et al. 1999, 2009, 2012; Evans & Twigg 2002; Bennett et al. 2010; Ewertowski 2014; Slomka & Eyles 2015; Lane et al. 2016). Improvement in the quality and availability of remo- tely sensed data, such as LiDAR, has created opportu- nities to analyse the spatial relationships between land- forms over large geographic areas to further facilitate understanding of processes and controls on landform development in glacial environments. Integrated studyof landforms with field-based sedimentological data from modern glacial deposits (e.g. landsystem analysis) pro- vides important information that can be applied to the interpretation of palaeoglacial settings. This study investigates the landsystem characteristics of the proglacial fields of three closely located outlet glaciers of the Vatnaj € okull Ice Cap in southeast Iceland (Fig. 1; Bj€ ornsson & Palsson 2008). Each of the three glaciers are temperate, warm-based glaciers terminating on a lowland plain (Hannesd ottir et al. 2015b). These three temperate glaciers are believed to have similar characteristics to the southern margins of the Pleistocene mid-latitude ice sheets, making them valuable as modern analogues (Evans & Twigg 2002). Comparison of the landsystem characteristics of each of the three glaciers will determine similarities and differences between the three systems, andwill allow inferences to be made regarding the relative importance of factors controlling the spatial distribution of landforms and sediments on the glacier forefields, such as bedrock type, topography and ice distribution. The three glaciers, Morsarj € okull, Skaftafellsj € okull and Svınafellsj € okull, are locatedwithin close proximity of one another (Fig. 1), and are each sourced by the Vatnaj € okull Ice Cap. There is limited recent literature on the landform characteristics of the proglacial fields of anyof these three glaciers, with the exception of studies by Evans et al. (2017a, b) on the Skaftafellsj € okull and Morsarj € okull forefields, and Everest et al. (2017) on Svınafellsj€ okull, as the majority of past research focussed on the fluvial systems (Marren 2002; Marren & Toomath 2014). How- ever, the glaciers themselves have been relatively well studied andthere is ample information relating tobedrock characteristics (Helgason & Duncan 2001; Helgason DOI 10.1111/bor.12333 © 2018 Collegium Boreas. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd