Aurora Borealis: geomagnetics made visible

The main reason we're here in Iceland for three weeks in winter is because, for his birthday trip, Jay wanted to see and photograph the Aurora Borealis. Fortunately, we have been successful! During the first two weeks we were here, there were many cloudy skies and no chance to view lights in the northern skies, although we still enjoyed other...
Read More about Aurora Borealis: geomagnetics made visible

Iceland’s 2024 volcanic eruptions—threats to Grindavik and Blue Lagoon

In my last post, I described the flows that emitted from the Fagradalsfjall fissure during the 2012-23 eruptions that heralded a new period of active volcanism in the Reykjanes Volcanic Belt: https://landscapes-revealed.net/return-to-iceland-viewing-lava-from-the-2021-23-eruptions/. At the end of 2023, volcanic eruptions began in a new place. They continued until the end of 2024, and will likely continue in 2025. Background about the...
Read More about Iceland’s 2024 volcanic eruptions—threats to Grindavik and Blue Lagoon

Return to Iceland—viewing lava from the 2021–23 eruptions

In July 2022, I visited Iceland for the first time with a group of geologists. On August 15, 19, and 20, I posted blogs about this visit. These posts can be found by date or by selecting "Iceland" under Categories. I'll also refer to these posts below. I've now returned in winter with Jay, who wanted to celebrate his big...
Read More about Return to Iceland—viewing lava from the 2021–23 eruptions

Iceland’s glaciers and features they create

Like other high-latitude locations on Earth, glaciers in Iceland have advanced and retreated many times during the past 2.5 million years, since we've been in a global Ice Age. The last glacial maximum was about 20,000 years ago, when ice completely covered the island and extended up to 200 km (120 miles) beyond the coastline to cover the marine shelf....
Read More about Iceland’s glaciers and features they create

Volcanoes galore in Iceland

Iceland's "double whammy" position overlying both a mid-ocean ridge and a mantle hot spot produces vast outpourings of lava that have built the island up from the seafloor. Because of the hot spot, the volume of erupted material is about 10 times that found at normal mid-ocean locations that don't coincide with hot spots. In this post, I'll show some...
Read More about Volcanoes galore in Iceland

Standing between tectonic plates in Iceland

Sitting in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean is the island country of Iceland. Visiting Iceland is on pretty much every geologist's "bucket list" because of its unique above-water position on a plate boundary where two plates are moving apart from each other (i.e., diverging). During a trip there with other geologists in July, I explored the landscapes of...
Read More about Standing between tectonic plates in Iceland

About the Blogger

Karen (here with Mt. Shasta in background) is a geology professor emerita who aims to provide a "pocket geologist" for world travelers. Follow the blog to explore the landscapes of our planet and figure out what causes them to look the way they do.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Categories

Archives