Icelandic Volcanoes

Volcanoes are a spacially significant feature in the frigid European country of Iceland. Iceland's volcanoes have played an important role in a number of ways for the country. One of these important roles is the very formation of Iceland, as the large amounts of volcanic activity from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on which Iceland is situation upon. This volcanic activity caused the formation of Iceland in three different sections, the Tertiary flood basalts in the Northwestern parts of the Island, the Quaternary flood basalts in the Southwestern, Eastern and Central parts and the Fissure Swarm covering the rest (Jóhansson, 2020).

Since the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has such a high concentration of geological activity, it is no surprise that around 35 active volcanoes are situated within Iceland (Global Volcanism Program, 2023). These volcanoes and other volcanic activity have resulted in geothermal springs and geysers, and volcanoes even today cause the island to grow (Jóhansson , 2020).

It is also to be mentioned that volcanic eruptions tend to be associated with danger, and in a country with such a concentrated population as Iceland, it does not take a major in Anthropology to understand that the threat of a severe volcanic eruption could spell doom for Iceland's people.

The Volcanoes of Iceland form very interesting patterns and trends.

We can see here, in this map I have created using geolocational data from the Smithsonian's Global Volcano Program and the National Centres for Environmental Information's Natural Hazard Viewer, we can see the interesting patterns displayed by the volcanoes of Iceland. First of all, we can see several linear patterns emerge, drawing lines from the peninsulas of the island into the centre. We can also see clustered concentration around the Southern area of the Island. As well, there is a notable outlier within the Kolbeinsey Ridge. All of this can help us understand how and where volcanoes form on Iceland. These patterns are also incredibly important once we also realize Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, is merely a few dozen kilometres away from several volcanoes. It is important to note that the volcanoes I have documented here are Holocene Volcanoes, which can be defined as volcanoes which have erupted within the past 11,000 - 12,000 years (Global Volcanism Program, 2023).

Speaking of eruption, Iceland's volcanoes follow an interesting trend when it comes to eruption, a trend which may be changing. Firstly, before 2021, Iceland's volcanoes notably erupted at a rate of around one eruption per 3 - 6 years (Icelandic Institute of Natural History, 2024). Yet, as of 2021, it seems the rate has been increasing to around one eruption every 1 year (Visit Iceland, 2023). I could not find a reason to exactly why this has occured, yet it could have something to do with the movement of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge or the increase in Volcanism worldwide (Global Volcanism Program, 2023).

A primary connection which can be drawn with the Volcanism of Iceland is the connection it has to fault lines. As mentioned prior, the Iceland is situated upon the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a fault line caused in the meeting of the North American and Eurasian plates (Jóhansson, 2020).

We can see by this orange fault line that the volcanoes of Iceland are mostly concentrated in close proximity to a part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge's fault line. This likely has caused the volcanic formation, and the spreading of the ridge has perhaps caused an increased volcanic activity within the area of the fault. And where the fault effects the volcanoes, the volcanoes effect the fault, with the magma flow caused by the volcanoes above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge able to transmit the fault's resources througout the island (Icelandic Institute of Natural History, 2024). Without a position on the magma plume of this particular area of the fault, the volcanos- and therefore Iceland -would not exist.

The continued volcanic activity within Iceland creates significant factors in the more complex areas of Icelandic life.

Volcanism in Iceland from a social perspective displays the complex impacts that volcanic eruptions cause to the people of Iceland. From a social perspective, these people are the main stakeholder when a volcano erupts. For example, in the recent eruption of Fagradalsfjall in 2023, Gridavik, a community based close to the mountain of about 3,500 people were forcibly removed from their homes for months on end as the volcano erupted, threatening to take their homes and histories (Andrews, 2023). The volcano itself had very little warning before a slew of earthquakes a few days before it's eruption, earthquakes which tore Grindavik apart (Andrews, 2023).

Volcanoes in Iceland do not just effect the people, as volcanic activity has also caused economic devastation. Before, during and after the eruption of Fagradalsfjall, the small town of Grindavek has suffered damages of around 50 - 60 billion Icelandic kronor (Charrel, 2023), an absolutely insane amount for such a small community. Other areas of economic value also were in great danger of the eruption of Fagradalsfjall, such as the Blue Lagoon Resort (Andrews, 2023) and the small yet important Grindavik International Airport (Charrel, 2023). If these areas were to have been impacted by Fagradalsfjall (which they currently have not been) (Charrel, 2023), it would have cost both airline companies and the resort untold millions in repairs and damages. Icelandic companies and the government of Iceland have a heavy economic insentive to assure that the damages of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes such as those present around Fagradalsfjall will be minimized.

Taking into account the extent of the social and economic factors present in volcanic eruptions around iceland, we can finally move onto the political side of these sorts of disasters. Primarily, the government is tasked with evacuating citizens and making sure relief is paid to those who are affected by the disaster, such as with the Icelandic government's promise of aid to the people of Grindavik for the tens of billions of Icelandic kronor in damages (Charrel, 2023). The government also has done things such as passing bills to guarentee stable wage payments for those left unemployed by evacuation events (Charrel, 2023). Although I am using Fagradalsfjall as an example here, the Icelandic government also attempts to help its citizens by providing useful information (Iceland, 2024). The Icelandic government makes sure to gain as much insight as possible, such as with the Icelandic Meteorolgical Office monitoring the Fagradalsfjall eruption as closely as possible (Andrews, 2023).

(Note: I can't get the Indending to work right, my apologies)

Andrews, R. G. (2023, November 13). Iceland bracing for unprecedented volcanic eruption. National Geographic Science.  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/startling-volcanic-activity-town-in-iceland-bracing-for-eruption-crisis  

Charrel, M. (2023, November 20). In Iceland, an imminent volcanic eruption is causing concern about the economy. Le Monde.fr.  https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2023/11/20/in-iceland-the-imminent-volcanic-eruption-is-also-causing-concern-about-the-economy_6270309_19.html  

Global Volcanism Program. (2023). Global volcanism program: Has volcanic activity been increasing?. Smithsonian Institution | Global Volcanism Program.  https://volcano.si.edu/faq/index.cfm?question=historicalactivity  

Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. (2023). Global volcanism program: Iceland volcanoes. Smithsonian Institution | Global Volcanism Program.  https://volcano.si.edu/volcanolist_countries.cfm?country=Iceland  

Government of Iceland. (2024). Volcanic activity in Reykjanes.  https://www.government.is/topics/public-safety-and-security/volcanic-activity-in-reykjanes/  

Icelandic Institute of Natural History. (n.d.). Volcanic activity. Icelandic Institute of Natural History.  https://www.ni.is/en/geology/volcanic-activity  

Jóhansson, J. G. (2020, March 5). How was Iceland formed. Reykjavik Outventure.  https://reykjavikout.is/how-was-iceland-formed/  

National Centres for Environmental Information. (2023, December 13). Natural Hazards Viewer. Natural hazards viewer.  https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/hazards/  

University of Iceland | Institute of Earth Sciences. (2014). Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes. Íslensk eldfjallavefsjá.  https://icelandicvolcanoes.is/?volcano=FAG#