Glacial landscapes of Iceland

Iceland is situated in the North Atlantic Ocean covering an area of 102,775km2. It is located at a rifting plate boundary of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that separates the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates and controls the geological structure of Iceland in conjunction with the Iceland mantle plume. As a result, the youngest rocks occur within the neovolcanic zones and the oldest rocks in the western and eastern extremities. Due to high volcanic activity, interglacial lavas typically protect glacial sediments and hyaloclastites from erosion, resulting in excellent preservation of the Neogene and Quaternary stratigraphic record, which reveals over 20 glaciations during the past 4-5 million years. Iceland is mountainous with 47% of the land area situated about 500m above sea level and the highest peaks reaching 1500-2100m. The climate of Iceland is characterised by relatively mild winters and cool summers. It classifies as arctic tundra or subpolar oceanic and is largely affected by the surrounding ocean currents and Iceland’s position near the polar front. Any shift in these currents significantly influences the climate of Iceland. Warm and moist southerly winds prevail causing mean annual precipitation to vary from 5000-7000mm on ice caps in the south to 400-600 north of the main ice caps. About 10% of Iceland is currently covered by glaciers with the Vatnajökull ice cap as the largest one.