Fire and Ice
Iceland is a unique volcanic island. Lying directly on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge - the massive chain of underwater mountains that run through the North Atlantic Ocean, the island is slowly being prised apart as the Eurasian and North American plates diverge at a distance of about 2.5 cm per year. Iceland also happens to lie above a mantle plume, where hot magma upwells from deep below the surface and these two factors combine to make it one of the most actively volcanic landscapes on earth. Add its position at the edge of the Arctic circle and this land of extremes make it a fascinating place to study the earth in all its moody, youthful glory.
“This is a living land. Here, creation and destruction are simultaneous… Ice, etched in a thousand shades of grey, lies on the land like tyranny. Under and around it tumble fire and brimstone, building up mounds which wait to be sculpted by rain and wind into ever-changing forms.”
— Guðmundur Andri Thorsson
“Veins of volcanic ash, trapped between layers of ice, cracked and turned - brief moments of heated violence fossilised by the chill”
