PEDD 9641 - Geology and Natural History of Iceland - Part 2

Course Description

This course will cover the geology and natural history of Iceland in a 10-day field trip to the island. Iceland is an exceptional place to observe the mechanisms of plate tectonics. Large glaciers are actively eroding the volcanoes with erosional and depositional features of glaciers on display including spectacular waterfalls. The human history of the island will be explored as we visit the original homestead of Eric the Red and his son Leif Eiriksson. Very little of the native plant life has survived human occupation. We will observe and discuss the effects on the animal life of the island, especially birds. In this course we will focus on the following; The time spans of the eras, The age of the Earth, The 3 major rock types, The processes involved in the formation of the rock types, Examples of each rock type, The products of volcanism, The types of volcanoes & The magma composition of each type of volcano as well as the Characteristics of each type of volcano, Describe basalt plateaus and pyroclastic flows, What is responsible for the distribution of volcanoes, and photos, diagrams and information from each Field Trip Stop