Features of the periglacial drainage lakes in Svalbard

There are 705 periglacial lakes in Svalbard, formed by glacial retreat after the Little Ice Age. 98 of these lakes, with an area of more than 100 000 m², have river outflow. The rivers flowing from these lakes have significant channel slopes characteristic of mountainous regions. Most rivers flow into fjords. The morphometry of these objects has a characteristic feature: lakes have significant water surface areas, on average about 1.5 km², and rivers have a small length, on average about 2.5 km. To the greatest extent, these parameters correspond to moraine-dammed lakes located in the west of Svalbard. On the example of the moraine-dammed Lake Bretjørna with an area of 1.6 km², it is shown that that the seasonal runoff from it is 2.5—3 times greater than the volume of the lake. Seven lakes have been identified that are of interest for studying sedimentation changes since the Little Ice Age, both in lake basins and in marine estuaries.