The Volcanic Island of Surtsey, Iceland, a Quarter-century After it ‘Rose from the Sea’
An account is given of the island of Surtsey, which rose out of the sea near the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland as the result of a submarine volcanic eruption in November 1963. In the nearly twenty-six years since it emerged, the surface of Surtsey has undergone rapid–on the geologic...
Published in: | Environmental Conservation |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1989
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892900008936 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0376892900008936 |
id |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0376892900008936 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0376892900008936 2024-03-03T08:45:44+00:00 The Volcanic Island of Surtsey, Iceland, a Quarter-century After it ‘Rose from the Sea’ Fridriksson, Sturla 1989 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892900008936 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0376892900008936 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Environmental Conservation volume 16, issue 2, page 157-162 ISSN 0376-8929 1469-4387 Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law Nature and Landscape Conservation Pollution Water Science and Technology journal-article 1989 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0376892900008936 2024-02-08T08:46:31Z An account is given of the island of Surtsey, which rose out of the sea near the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland as the result of a submarine volcanic eruption in November 1963. In the nearly twenty-six years since it emerged, the surface of Surtsey has undergone rapid–on the geological time-scale–transformation especially by the actions of wind and water. Indeed the changes have been far more rapid and considerable than had been expected. Despite the harsh conditions for colonization by biota, a fair amount of vascular-plant-dominated vegetation now covers an estimated 1–2% of the surface of the island, aided particularly by winds and birds bringing in disseminules. These and other features are being studied so far as possible without disturbance. Despite a general shortage of water, as rain seeps rapidly into the surface lava, sand, or tuff, a total of 25 species of vascular plants (including one fern) have been identified as having attained ecesis on the island, but not all have persisted. Five species of birds have so far colonized Surtsey, and now nest there, in addition to which there are numerous migrants coming and going, and the overall conclusion is that, despite the generally difficult environmental conditions, ‘a flourishing growth of vegetation can be expected to develop’ eventually. These studies and their implications could be useful indicators for the possibilities of rehabilitation of land areas that have been devastated by human conflict or other abuse. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Surtsey Cambridge University Press Surtsey ENVELOPE(-20.608,-20.608,63.301,63.301) Environmental Conservation 16 2 157 162 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law Nature and Landscape Conservation Pollution Water Science and Technology |
spellingShingle |
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law Nature and Landscape Conservation Pollution Water Science and Technology Fridriksson, Sturla The Volcanic Island of Surtsey, Iceland, a Quarter-century After it ‘Rose from the Sea’ |
topic_facet |
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law Nature and Landscape Conservation Pollution Water Science and Technology |
description |
An account is given of the island of Surtsey, which rose out of the sea near the Westman Islands off the south coast of Iceland as the result of a submarine volcanic eruption in November 1963. In the nearly twenty-six years since it emerged, the surface of Surtsey has undergone rapid–on the geological time-scale–transformation especially by the actions of wind and water. Indeed the changes have been far more rapid and considerable than had been expected. Despite the harsh conditions for colonization by biota, a fair amount of vascular-plant-dominated vegetation now covers an estimated 1–2% of the surface of the island, aided particularly by winds and birds bringing in disseminules. These and other features are being studied so far as possible without disturbance. Despite a general shortage of water, as rain seeps rapidly into the surface lava, sand, or tuff, a total of 25 species of vascular plants (including one fern) have been identified as having attained ecesis on the island, but not all have persisted. Five species of birds have so far colonized Surtsey, and now nest there, in addition to which there are numerous migrants coming and going, and the overall conclusion is that, despite the generally difficult environmental conditions, ‘a flourishing growth of vegetation can be expected to develop’ eventually. These studies and their implications could be useful indicators for the possibilities of rehabilitation of land areas that have been devastated by human conflict or other abuse. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fridriksson, Sturla |
author_facet |
Fridriksson, Sturla |
author_sort |
Fridriksson, Sturla |
title |
The Volcanic Island of Surtsey, Iceland, a Quarter-century After it ‘Rose from the Sea’ |
title_short |
The Volcanic Island of Surtsey, Iceland, a Quarter-century After it ‘Rose from the Sea’ |
title_full |
The Volcanic Island of Surtsey, Iceland, a Quarter-century After it ‘Rose from the Sea’ |
title_fullStr |
The Volcanic Island of Surtsey, Iceland, a Quarter-century After it ‘Rose from the Sea’ |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Volcanic Island of Surtsey, Iceland, a Quarter-century After it ‘Rose from the Sea’ |
title_sort |
volcanic island of surtsey, iceland, a quarter-century after it ‘rose from the sea’ |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1989 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892900008936 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0376892900008936 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-20.608,-20.608,63.301,63.301) |
geographic |
Surtsey |
geographic_facet |
Surtsey |
genre |
Iceland Surtsey |
genre_facet |
Iceland Surtsey |
op_source |
Environmental Conservation volume 16, issue 2, page 157-162 ISSN 0376-8929 1469-4387 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0376892900008936 |
container_title |
Environmental Conservation |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
157 |
op_container_end_page |
162 |
_version_ |
1792501371654635520 |