Iceland 2011 Geological Field Trip

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1 Rocscience was proud to be a Silver Sponsor for the Iceland 2011 Geological Field Trip August 17-31, 2011 Students from Laval University, Quebec City Quebec, Canada

2 Iceland: A Student Geological Jouney Our planet has plenty of geological wonders where not just geologists, but where people as well, dream to discover. Iceland is one of those anomalies where we actually had the chance to go. Group picture at Laki Last August, a group of twelve students and their teacher, Marc Constantin, from the department of geology and geological engineering at Laval University, Quebec City, went for a two-week long journey through Iceland s legendary landscapes and geological phenomena. We all had an urge to conquer Iceland s hostile grounds and volcanic formations, an urge that was to be quenched by solidified lava, sulphuric fumes and hyaloclastites. As you may or may not know, Iceland is the youngest piece of land on Earth, being 13 to 15 million years of age. The secret to Iceland geologic singularity is its location on the mid-atlantic ridge between the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates. All photos by Julien Mailloux, 2011

3 Actually, our first stop was the bridge between two continents where it is possible to see the opening of the fault caused by the ridge. The reason Iceland has emerged from the ocean is the presence of a hot spot beneath the crust under Iceland s highest peak, Oraefajökull, at Vatnajökull glacier, which is the largest glacier outside the Arctic Circle with an area of 8000km2 that covers about 8% of Iceland. The geological unicity of that land enable us to see and understand volcanic and glacial phenomena that cannot be seen elsewhere on the planet. The eruptions of Eyafjallajökull in 2010 and Grimsvötn last May show the actual activity of our living planet. Jokulsarlon proglacial lake The initial goal behind this excursion was to acquire knowledge of geology through field studies in a different context than our own Canadian land. As part of a credited geological excursion course, we planned the trip giving us experience in teamwork and in leading a project to success. Then, we read and studied general phenomena and specifics to certain locations in order to choose the best spots, to be ready and to be able to understand and appreciate what is being displayed before our eyes. Each one of us was responsible for a day of the excursion to lead and explain to the others.

4 During the trip, we had the chance to see tectonics faults, geothermal fields and power plants, a geyser Strokkur, neighbour of Geysir, the geyser that gave its name to the phenomenon, craters from explosive eruptions, caldeiras, stratovolcanoes, subglacial volcanoes, table mountains, volcanic fissures, pillow lava, basaltic columnar joints, several waterfalls, glaciers, and more. We also called for local expertise for some guided visits: Gretar Ivarsson at the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant, Einar Sigurdsson for a glacier walk on the Svinafell tongue of the Vatnajökull, and Steinunn Sigríður Jakobsdóttir at the Icelandic Meteorological Office Earth Hazard Monitoring Department for seismic and volcanic activity. Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant Stokkur geyser, neighbour of Geysir

5 It is not easy to decide what could be our favourite spots, but the highlights of our journey would be the Laki fissural volcano, the Askja caldeira and the road through Landmannalaugar Iceland is simply breathtaking. Group picture by a scoria cone in the volcanic zone of Krafla This trip has definitely pushed us forward as student and as future geologists. After living such an experience, one can only imagine what the next destination is going to be. Eruptive fissure of Laki Being back home, it is possible to say that the excursion was a success and that we learn a great deal about volcanic activity and the different faces it can wear. Opening of a fault caused by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at Thingvellir Park