Rockin' on the Reykjanes Ridge, Iceland
Posted by JAC on 2/19/2010, 7:27 am


The Icelandic coast of Reykjanes where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge comes above sea level.


http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/43/11/1987


The interaction between the Iceland plume and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is complex, with a step in the mid-ocean ridge across the island.




There are no recently active volcanoes on the peninsula just south of Reykjavik - most are to the east, such as Krafla, Grimsvötn and Hekla, but the Reykjanes Ridge is part of the SW rift zone, so obviously a place where volcanism could occur.







The Reykjanes Ridge is known to have submarine volcanism off the coast of Iceland, with young lava flows discovered in 1992 after seismic swarms.

http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/1995/95JB00048.shtml

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/vol_extra.cfm?name=Northern%20Reykjanes%20Ridge

There are many geothermal prospects in this part of Iceland - part of the energy infrastructure of the island nation - along with known basaltic fields.







http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HIGP/Faculty/hey/rr2007/icelandgeo.html

The last known eruption on the of the rift system was in 1879, although there have been numerous eruptions noticed since humans arrived on Iceland in the 9th century, especially at the excellently named submarine Reykjaneshryggur.

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1701-02=

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1701-02=&volpage=erupt

An eruption in 1830 produced a VEI 3 eruption that might have formed a temporary island.

A number of suspected submarine eruptions may have occurred along the Reykjanes near Iceland since 1879.

The last eruption on Iceland was at Grímsvötn in 2004, a VEI 3 eruption that produced a jökulhlaup - glacial outburst flood produced by a volcanic eruption.



http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1703-01=

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=14189

You can see some great images of the event, including pictures of the plume from the eruption taken from aircraft on this website - albeit that the descriptions are in Icelandic.

http://www.raunvis.hi.is/~mtg/04gv/gv2004.htm

There is even video from the eruption, again in Icelandic (but accompanied by Queen).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqlaR7Fb-U4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVWiL7yzIvI&NR=1

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Iceland Swarm - JAC, 2/18/2010, 12:49 pm
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