ICELAND'S LANDSCAPES

Iceland's Landscapes- Melting and freezing processes, their interactions and Major Influences



Contents

Introduction3

Field Trip3

Iceland3

Melting and Freezing Processes4

Major Interactions5

Role of Rates6

Role of Magnitude8

Role of Timescales10

References12

Iceland's Landscapes- Melting and freezing processes, their interactions and Major Influences

Introduction

In this essay, we intend to discuss the melting and freezing processes of Iceland's landscapes. Along with the basic process their major influence would also be discussed with respect to the magnitude, rate and timescales.

Field Trip

The observation and discussion would be based on our field trip to Iceland. We visited many places in Iceland i.e. Reykjavik, Thingvellir, Gullfoss, Hellisholar, Seljalandsfoss, Skogarfoss and Gigjokull. The processes of melting and freezing, their interactions with each other and major influences would be discussed primarily based on our field trip experience and to the core literature that exists on the process of melting and freezing of Iceland's landscapes.

Also, the major influences on the landscapes would be discussed based on the rate, magnitude and timescales involved. Our field trip played a vital role in enhancing our knowledge about the process; it also gave us a chance to witness the phenomenon and draw inferences about it based on proven scientific knowledge.

Iceland

Iceland is situated between the juncture of Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans. The main area of the country is spread to the south of the Arctic Circle. It passes through the small island of Grímsey off the main island's northern coast. Iceland is located between the latitudes of 63° and 67° N and longitudes 25° and 13° W (Alley, 2001, pp. 190).

Iceland is considered to be a major part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge passes through the oceanic crust (Blindhein, 2004, pp. 559). The part of the mid-ocean ridge is located above the mantle plume which causes Iceland to exist above the sea level. The ridge draws the boundary between the North American and Eurasian Plates. Iceland came into existence due to the rifting and accretion due to volcanoes along the ridge.

Melting and Freezing Processes

In our field trip to Iceland, we got to see the natural processes of the melting and freezing of major landscapes in the country. Iceland is considered to be the only country in the North Atlantic Ocean region; situated on the sub polar convergence (Broeker, 1991, pp. 78). It is quite unusual to witness the transformation of terrestrial land-system and its conversion to the ocean. However, as we witnessed, due to the atmosphere circulation in the country and its geographic location, the process of melting and freezing of landscapes is quite common in the country.

If we thoroughly analyze the Holocene glacial history of the country, it provides extensive evidence that a rigid variability exists in the atmospheric circulation of Iceland. It was also noticeable in our field trip to various locations in Iceland (Lamb,1979; Guðmundsson, 1997; Stötter et al., 1999). The general chronologies often lack the entirety and temporal resolution of icebergs and the sedimentary marine proxy series. However, they do provide specific information regarding the 'cryospheric responses' in the region and their ...