An investigation of the change in surface roughness through time on the foreland of Austre Okstindbr

Abstract The roughness of the foreland of Austre Okstindbreen, North Norway is characterized at fifteen sites by its fractal dimension, calculated by the semivariance method applied to small-scale profile data collected in the field. The date of deposition of six of the sites is known from previous work undertaken by Peter Worsley and a relationship is established between age and roughness. Counterintuitively, the results show that through a 40 yr interval, at the scale investigated, the foreland becomes rougher as a result of subaerial processes, not smoother. It is concluded that there are factors other than time since deposition affecting the roughness of these surfaces.