Geog a Blog in Iceland - Day 3

Following a nice lie in until 6 am we embarked on a journey to the golden circle. First, we were met by an impressive Rift Valley and wandered down some lengthy fissures where we were able to count the number of past eruptions by looking at the basaltic layers. We learnt that the Atlantic Ocean is 60 million years old due to the creation of new land from the constructive plate boundary that is the mid-Atlantic ridge. Iceland is the only part of the mid Atlantic ridge that is above sea level and it estimated to be about 25 million years old but due to the creation of new land the rocks are thought to be less than 16 millions years old. We also saw salmon in the clear blue waters ready for breeding season. At this point the torrential rain started so we headed speedily back to the warm coach. The next stop on our tour was a geyser. The monumental eruptions were truly a sight to behold. The strong smell of sulphur hit us as we wandered over. The bubbling water underneath the earths surface builds up pressure amounting in an explosion of hot water and steam. Again the rain stared pouring down so we hurried back into the warmth of the cafe and the visitor centre, met by some amazing chicken nuggets and chips. After a bus journey we saw the sight that Ella and I had been waiting for. The powerful flows of water pouring and thundering over thunder columns creating a magnificent double waterfall was the most beautiful sight we had seen in our whole lives. We learnt that the 1km long and 200metres deep gorge was most likely created by one glacial outburst event rather than continuous erosion over centuries. This was a useful example in the high magnitude low frequency versus low magnitude high frequency debate. You can clearly see the different rates of erosion in the different geologies in the steep sided gorge. The rock, even though it is igneous, it has similar properties to sedimentary rock in that you can clearly see the different layers, corresponding to different eruptions, lava flows and tephra layers. You could also see the hexagonal basaltic rock forming columns. After leaving this impressive sight we headed to an extinct volcano crater with a lake. The sight was somewhat dampened by the appearance of strong winds and hailstones almost blowing us over into the crater! However this was not a sight to be forgotten. Next on our journey was a geothermal power station. It is one of 8 geothermal power stations in Iceland. Due to Iceland’s location on a plate boundary and a hotspot, 30% of its total energy production is due to geothermal energy. The remaining 70% is produced by hydroelectric power. At the power station we went to they drilled 1-3 km into the ground and extracted water at 300 degrees Celsius and 30-70 bars of pressure. The steam is what drives the turbines and the waste water is reinjected into the ground to maintain the pressure. This geothermal energy produces 4% of average fossil fuel CO2 emissions so is not 100% carbon neutral/negative. However, this power station has come up with an ingenious way of storing carbon in the long term, a project named ‘carbfix’. The CO2 and H2S is dissolved in water and reinjected into the basaltic bedrock where it is mineralised in just over 2 years and then will be stable for millions of years. After looking round this impressive power station at the forefront of environmental technology we copped some peng new t-shirts with the inscription of “hot and steamy” - classic Ella. This was an enlightening end to a brilliant third day so we headed back to base where we ate dinner and took part in some organised fun. Katie Banks' group came #jointfirst in the #geographyquiz and Ella Honey's group came second. We then headed off to bed pretty exhausted and packed for our departure tomorrow. 

Location: Iceland

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