On the Expedition
Help develop the science of predicting volcanic activity and understanding magma flows in Iceland’s beautiful Eastern Volcanic Zone.
This expedition seeks to discover how magma moves and gets stored at relatively shallow depths beneath the Eastern Volcanic Zone (EVZ) in Iceland.
Working in the northern part of the EVZ, you’ll help scientists conduct gravity studies and collect GPS data from field sites around the Vatnajokull ice cap, as well as near Upptyppingar volcanic mountain and the Askja and Krafla volcanoes. Because of recently identified magma movements in these areas, researchers have a great opportunity to study magma flows and improve predictions of future volcanic activity.
Meals and Accommodations
You’ll stay in a single room in the Krafla power station workers’ accommodations. Hot water is available, and bathroom facilities are shared. WiFi is available at a nearby hotel. We will travel to the field sites each day by car or bus. Journey times will be between 10 minutes and two hours, depending on where you will be working on any particular day.
Most of our meals will be taken with the power house staff in their canteen, and will consist of typical Icelandic fare. Breakfast is likely to include bread, cheese, meat, jam and coffee, while dinner will be meat or fish with vegetables. We will also make a packed lunch to have in the field each day. Tap water is considered safe to drink throughout Iceland, including the water at the accommodations where you can fill your water bottle. Chocolate bars will be provided as snacks.
Please alert Earthwatch to any special dietary requirements (e.g. diabetes, lactose intolerance, nut or other serious food allergies) as soon as possible. Accommodating special diets is not guaranteed and can be very difficult due to availability of food, location of field sites, and other local conditions. Please also be aware that it is often difficult to accommodate strict vegetarians and vegans. If this poses a problem, then participation on this Earthwatch Expedition should be seriously reconsidered.
About the Research Area
The northern part of Iceland’s Eastern Volcanic Zone is free from permanent ice caps and relatively flat, comprised of post-glacial flood plains from which the volcanoes Askja and Krafla, and Upptyppingar Mountain, rise dramatically.
The area around Askja was famously used to prepare US astronauts for working in and studying lunar geology conditions during NASA’s Apollo Program. The region’s stark landscape is dotted with geothermal lakes and explosion craters. A massive eruption of Askja in 1875 sent heavy and poisonous ash throughout the landscape, as well as into Norway and Sweden, and led to a massive wave of emigration from Iceland. The last major eruption was in 1961. In recent years, Prof. Hazel Rymer has noticed increasing seismic activity around Askja, but the implications remain unclear.
Krafla is one of Iceland's most spectacular and most active volcanoes. During the 1970s and 1980s, it became famous for its "Krafla Fires" - curtains of lava fountains from a system of fissures inside the high caldera.
Upptyppingar is a cluster of tuff (a type of mineral) mountains north of Vatnajokull, formed by eruptions under the glacier at the end of the last Ice Age. These mountains are part of the overall volcanic system in the region, and are showing signs of increased seismic activity.
Modrudalur is the highest farm in Iceland (469 meters/almost 1,539 feet above sea level), and is surrounded by mostly unspoiled and undisturbed beauty; it has been a waypoint for travelers for centuries, with a historic church and small settlement in the sight of Iceland’s most famous mountain, Mt. Herdubreid.