Why Iceland?

The life of a graduate student has predominately been classwork (as a student as well as a teacher), but now I finally get to do what I have wanted to do since I got into geology years ago. I will be doing field work in Iceland for 5 weeks. The field work is a part of my Master's thesis, in which I am trying to determine, as most geologists in Iceland do, the origin of many of the volcanic rocks. Iceland sits on a portion of the Earth's crust in which volcanism is favored for multiple reasons. First, the Earth's plates are being pulled apart here, this phenomenon makes for a prime location for volcanic activity on its own. In addition to the plate movement however, the mantle under Iceland is anomalously active causing even more volcanism than in a normal rift setting. These circumstances have drawn volcanologists and other geologists to the island for decades; now, with the help of my advisor, Sheila Seaman, and my great friend and field assistant, Brianna Force, I hope to add my small piece to the geologic puzzle that is Iceland. Work will consist of mapping and collecting of rock samples. A key goal that I have made for myself is to be able to identify individual lava flows within the complex; this will require very meticulous mapping.

The field area is in North-Central Iceland, just to the southwest of the city of Akureyri. It is an 8-9 million year old volcanic complex that spans a region roughly 35 km by 20 km and has been dissected by past glacial growth and movement.
-Jason