1932

Abstract

Volcanic systems are swarms of tectonic fractures and basalt volcanoes formed as a result of plate-pull (as the plates are pulled apart) associated with the mid-ocean ridges and the magma dynamics of the Iceland Mantle Plume. Most systems are 40–150 km long, 5–20 km wide, and develop a central volcano. They supply magma to all eruptions in Iceland. Data obtained in the last few years have greatly improved our knowledge of their volcanotectonic environment; as a result, the geometry of the plume is better constrained, and the crust, previously considered thin (∼10 km), is now modeled as thick (∼20–40 km). Depending on the location of the volcanic systems, their activity either decreases or increases faulting in the two main seismic zones. From this, we can infer that emplacement of the feeder-dike to the largest historical eruption in Iceland (that of Laki in 1783) increased shear stress in the South Iceland Seismic Zone and almost certainly triggered the largest (M∼7.1 in 1784) historical earthquake in Iceland. [Addendum posted 20 April, 2010]

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.earth.28.1.107
2000-05-01
2024-04-25
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/earth/28/1/annurev.earth.28.1.107.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.earth.28.1.107&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Literature Cited

  1. Allen RM, Nolet G, Morgan WJ, Vogfjord K, Bergsson BH, et al 1999. The thin hot plume beneath Iceland Geophys. J. Int. 137:51–63
  2. Ambraseys NN, Jackson JA 1998. Faulting associated with historical and recent earthquakes in the eastern Mediterranean region Geophys. J. Int. 133:390–406
  3. Arnadottir T, Sigmundsson F, Delaney PT 1998. Sources of crustal deformation associated with the Krafla, Iceland, eruption of September 1984 Geophys. Res. Lett. 25:1043–46
  4. Bear J. 1972. Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media. New York: Elsevier. 764 pp
  5. Bergerat F, Gudmundsson A, Angelier J, Rognvaldsson S 1998. Seismotectonics of the central part of the South Iceland Seismic Zone Tectonophysics 298:319–35
  6. Bjarnason IT, Menke W, Flovenz O, Caress D 1993a. Tomographic image of the Mid-Atlantic plate boundary in southwestern Iceland J. Geophys. Res. 98:6607–22
  7. Bjarnason I, Cowie P, Anders, MH, Seeber L, Scholz CH 1993b. The 1912 Iceland rupture: growth and development of a nascent transform system Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull. 83416–35
  8. Bjarnason IT, Wolfe CJ, Solomon SC, Gudmundsson G 1996. Initial results from the ICEMELT experiment: body-wave delay times and shear-wave splitting across Iceland Geophys. Res. Lett. 23459–62
  9. Bjornsson A, Saemundsson K, Einarsson P, Tryggvason E, Gronvold K 1977. Current rifting episode in North Iceland Nature 266:318–23
  10. Bjornsson H. 1988. Hydrology of Ice Caps in Volcanic Regions. Reykjavik: Soc. Sci. Isl. Rit. 45. 129 pp
  11. Bjornsson S. 1975. Earthquakes in Iceland. Natturufraedingurinn 45:110–33 (In Icelandic with English summary
  12. Bourgeois O, Dauteuil O, Van Vilet-Lanoe B. 1998. Pleistocene subglacial volcanism in Iceland: tectonic implications. EarthPlanet. Sci. Lett. 164:165–78
  13. Brandsdottir B, Menke W, Einarsson P, White RS, Staples RK. 1997. Faroe-Iceland ridge experiment 2. Crustal structure of the Krafla central volcano. J. Geophys. Res. 102:7867–86
  14. Camitz J, Sigmundsson F, Foulger G, Jahn CH, Volksen C, et al 1995. Plate boundary deformation and continuing deflation of the Askja Volcano, North Iceland, determined with GPS, 1987–1993 Bull. Volcanol. 57:136–45
  15. Dahlberg EC. 1995. Applied Hydrodynamics in Petroleum Exploration. New York: Springer. 295 pp. 2nd ed
  16. Darbyshire FA, Bjarnason IT, White RS, Flovenz OG 1998. Crustal structure above the Iceland mantle plume imaged by the ICEMELT refraction profile Geophys. J. Int. 135:1131–49
  17. DeMets C, Gordon RG, Argus DF, Stein S 1990. Current plate motions Geophys. J. Int. 101:425–78
  18. DeMets C, Gordon RG, Argus DF, Stein S 1994. Effect of recent revisions to the geomagnetic reversal time-scale on estimates of current plate motions Geophys. Res. Lett. 21:2191–94
  19. Domenico PA, Schwartz FW. 1998. Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology. New York: Wiley. 506 pp
  20. Einarsson P 1991. Earthquakes and present-day tectonism in Iceland Tectonophysics 189:261–79
  21. Einarsson P, Brandsdottir B 1980. Seismological evidence for lateral magma intrusion during the July 1978 deflation of the Krafla Volcano in NE-Iceland J. Geophys. 47:160–65
  22. Einarsson P, Bjornsson S, Foulger G, Stefansson R, Skaftadottir T. 1981. Seismicity pattern in the South Iceland Seismic Zone. In Earthquake Prediction—An International Review, ed. D Simpson, PG Richards. Maurice Ewing Series 4:141–151. Washington: Am. Geophys. Union
  23. Einarsson T, Albertsson KJ. 1988. The glacial history of Iceland during the past three million years. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 318:637–44
  24. Fjader K, Gudmundsson A, Forslund T 1994. Dikes, minor faults and mineral veins associated with a transform fault in North Iceland J. Struct. Geol. 16:109–19
  25. Gee MAM, Taylor RN, Thirwall MF, Murton BJ 1998. Glacioisostacy controls chemical and isotopic characteristics of tholeiites from the Reykjanes Peninsula, SW Iceland Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 164:1–5
  26. Gudmundsson A 1986. Mechanical aspects of postglacial volcanism and tectonics of the Reykjanes Peninsula, Southwest Iceland J. Geophys. Res. 91:12711–21
  27. Gudmundsson A 1987. Formation and mechanics of magma reservoirs in Iceland Geophys. J.R. Astr. Soc. 91:27–41
  28. Gudmundsson A 1990. Emplacement of dikes, sills and crustal magma chambers at divergent plate boundaries Tectonophysics 176:257–75
  29. Gudmundsson A 1992. Formation and growth of normal faults at the divergent plate boundary in Iceland Terra Nova 4:464–71
  30. Gudmundsson A 1995a. Stress fields associated with oceanic transform faults Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 136:603–14
  31. Gudmundsson A 1995b. Ocean-ridge discontinuities in Iceland J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 152:1011–15
  32. Gudmundsson A 1995c. Infrastructure and mechanics of volcanic systems in Iceland J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 64:1–22
  33. Gudmundsson A. 1995d. Geometry and growth of dykes. In Physics and Chemistry of Dykes, ed. G Baer, A Heimann, pp. 23–34. Rotterdam: Balkema
  34. Gudmundsson A 1998a. Formation and development of normal-fault calderas and the initiation of large explosive eruptions Bull. Volcanol. 60:160–70
  35. Gudmundsson A 1998b. Magma chambers modeled as cavities explain the formation of rift zone central volcanoes and their eruption and intrusion statistics J. Geophys. Res. 103:7401–12
  36. Gudmundsson A, Homberg C 1999. Evolution of stress fields and faulting in seismic zones Pure Appl. Geophys. 154:257–80
  37. Gudmundsson A, Marinoni LB, Marti J 1999. Injection and arrest of dykes: implications for volcanic hazards J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 881–13
  38. Gudmundsson AT, Kjartansson H. 1996. Earth in Action. The Essential Guide to the Geology of Iceland. Reykjavik: Vaka-Helgafell. 166 pp
  39. Gudmundsson MT, Milsom J 1997. Gravity and magnetic studies of the subglacial Grimsvotn volcano, Iceland: implications for crustal and thermal structure J. Geophys. Res. 1027691–77
  40. Gudmundsson MT, Sigmundsson F, Bjornsson H 1997. Ice-volcano interaction of the 1996 Gjalp eruption, Vatnajokull, Iceland Nature 389:954–7
  41. Gudmundsson MT, Sigmundsson F, Larsen G, Hognadottir T, Bjornsson H, et al. 1999. The 1998 Grimsvotn eruption. Presented at Spring Meet. 1999, Geosci. Soc. Icel., Reykjavik (Abstr. in Icelandic
  42. Gudmundsson O, Brandsdottir B, Menke W, Sigvaldason G 1994. The crustal magma chamber of the Katla Volcano in South Iceland revealed by 2-D seismic undershooting Geophys. J. Int. 119:277–96
  43. Gunnarsson B, Marsh BD, Taylor HP 1998. Generation of Icelandic rhyolites—silicic lavas from the Torfajokull Central Volcano J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 83:1–45
  44. Hardarson BS, Fitton JG 1991. Increased mantle melting beneath Snaefellsjokull Volcano during late Pleistocene deglaciation Nature 353:62–64
  45. Hardarson BS, Fitton JG, Ellam RM, Pringle MS 1997. Rift relocation—a geochemical and geochronological investigation of a palaeo-rift in northwest Iceland Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 153:181–96
  46. Helgason J 1985. Shifts of the plate boundary in Iceland: some aspects of Tertiary volcanism J. Geophys. Res. 9010084–92
  47. Helgason J. 1989. The Fjallgardur volcanic ridge in NE Iceland: an aborted early stage plate boundary or a volcanically dormant zone. In Magmatism in the Ocean Basins, ed. AD Saunders, MJ Norry, pp. 201–13. London: Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. 42
  48. Hoskuldsson A, Sparks RSJ 1997. Thermodynamics and fluid dynamics of effusive subglacial eruptions Bull. Volcanol. 59:219–30
  49. Hoskuldsson A, Imsland P. 1998. Snaefell—volcano in a future volcanic zone. Glettingur 8:22–30 (In Icelandic
  50. Jakobsson SP 1979a. Petrology of recent basalts of the eastern volcanic zone, Iceland Acta Nat. Isl. 26:1–103
  51. Jakobsson SP 1979b. Outline of the petrology of Iceland Jokull 29:57–73
  52. Jakobsson SP, Jonsson J, Shido F. 1978. Petrology of the western Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland. J. Petrol. 19:669–705
  53. Johannesson H. 1980. Evolution of rift zones in western Iceland. Natturufraedingurinn 50:13–31 (In Icelandic with English summary
  54. Johannesson H, Saemundsson K. 1998. Geological Map of Iceland, 1: 500,000, Tectonics. Reykjavik: Icel. Inst. Nat. Hist
  55. Jonsson S, Einarsson P, Sigmundsson F 1997. Extension across a divergent plate boundary, the eastern volcanic rift zone, South Iceland, 1967–1994, observed with GPS and electronic distance measurements J. Geophys. Res. 102:11913–29
  56. Jull M, McKenzie D 1996. The effect of deglaciation on mantle melting beneath Iceland J. Geophys. Res. 101:21815–28
  57. Kodaira S, Mjelde R, Gunnarsson K, Shiobara H, Shimamura H 1998. Evolution of oceanic crust on the Kolbeinsey Ridge, north of Iceland, over the past 22 Myr Terra Nova 10:27–31
  58. Lacasse C, Carey S, Sigurdsson H 1998. Volcanogenic sedimentation in the Icelandic Basin: influence of subaerial and subglacial eruptions J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 8347–73
  59. Langbacka BO, Gudmundsson A 1995. Extensional tectonics in the vicinity of a transform fault in north Iceland Tectonics 14:294–306
  60. Larsen G 1984. Recent volcanic history of the Veidivotn fissure swarm, southern Iceland—an approach to volcanic risk assessment J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 22:33–58
  61. Larsen G, Gudmundsson A. 1998. Geometry, morphology and formation of Holocene crater rows in Iceland. Annal. Geophys. 16:C189 (Abstr
  62. Larsen G, Gudmundsson MT, Bjornsson H 1998. Eight centuries of periodic volcanism at the center off the Iceland hotspot revealed by glacier tephrostratigraphy Geology 26:943–46
  63. Luxey P, Blondel P, Parson LM 1997. Tectonic significance of the South Iceland Seismic Zone J. Geophys. Res. 102:17967–80
  64. Macdonald KC 1982. Mid-ocean ridges: fine scale tectonic, volcanic and hydrothermal processes within the plate boundary zone Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 10155–90
  65. Menke W 1999. Crustal isostacy indicates anomalous densities beneath Iceland Geophys. Res. Lett. 26:1215–18
  66. Morgan WJ 1971. Convection plumes in the lower mantle Nature 230:42–43
  67. Oskarsson N, Steinthorsson S, Sigvaldason GE 1985. Iceland geochemical anomaly: origin, volcanotectonics, chemical fractionation and isotope evolution of the crust J. Geophys. Res. 9010011–25
  68. Palmason G. 1971. Crustal Structure of Iceland from Explosion Seismology. Reykjavik: Soc. Sci. Isl. Rit 40. 187 pp
  69. Palmason G, Saemundsson K 1974. Iceland in relation to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 2:25–50
  70. Passerini P, Marcucci M, Sguazzoni G, Peccihioni E 1997. Longitudinal strike-slip faults in ocean rifting: a mesostructural study from western to southeastern Iceland Tectonophysics 26965–89
  71. Rognvaldsson ST. 1994. Microearthquakes in South Iceland. Fault plane solutions and relative locations. PhD thesis. Univ. Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
  72. Rognvaldsson, ST, Gudmundsson A, Slunga R 1998. Seismotectonic analysis of the Tjornes Fracture Zone, an active transform fault in north Iceland J. Geophys. Res. 103:30117–29
  73. Rossi MJ 1996. Morphology and mechanism of eruption of postglacial shield volcanoes in Iceland Bull. Volcanol. 57:530–40
  74. Rossi MJ. 1997. Morphology of basaltic lava flow fields in Iceland. PhD thesis. Univ. Turku, Finland
  75. Rubin AM 1995. Propagation of magma-filled cracks Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 23:287–336
  76. Ryan MP. 1990. The physical nature of the Icelandic magma transport system. In Magma Transport and Storage, ed. MP Ryan, pp. 175–224. New York: Wiley. 420 pp
  77. Saemundsson K 1974. Evolution of the axial rifting zone in northern Iceland and the Tjornes Fracture Zone Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 85:495–504
  78. Saemundsson K. 1978. Fissure swarms and central volcanoes of the neovolcanic zones of Iceland. In Crustal Evolution in Northwestern Britain and Adjacent Regions, ed. DR Bowes, BE Leake, pp. 415–32. Liverpool: Geol. J. Spec. Issue. 10
  79. Saemundsson K 1979. Outline of the geology of Iceland Jokull 29:7–28
  80. Saemundsson K. 1982. Calderas in the active volcanic areas of Iceland. In Fire in the North, ed. H Thorarinsdottir, OH Oskarsson, S Steinthorsson, T Einarsson, pp. 221–39. Reykjavik: Sogufelag. 462 pp. (In Icelandic
  81. Saemundsson K 1992. Geology of the Thingvallavatn area Oikos 64:40–68
  82. Saemundsson K, Einarsson S. 1980. Geological Map of Iceland, Sheet 3, SW-Iceland. Reykjavik: Icel. Inst. Nat. Hist
  83. Searle RC, Keeton JA, Owens RB, White RS, Mecklenburgh R et al 1998. The Reykjanes Ridge: structure and tectonics of a hot-spot-influenced, slow-spreading ridge, from multibeam bathymetry, gravity and magnetic investigations Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 160463–78
  84. Selley RC. 1998. Elements of Petroleum Geology. New York: Academic. 470 pp. 2nd ed
  85. Sejrup HP, Sjoholm J, Furnes H, Beyer I, Eide L, et al 1989. Quaternary tephrachronology on the Iceland Plateau, north of Iceland J. Quatern. Sci. 4:109–14
  86. Self S, Keszthelyi L, Thordarson T 1998. The importance of pahoehoe Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 26:81–110
  87. Shen Y, Solomon SC, Bjarnason IT, Purdy GM 1996. Hot mantle transition zone beneath Iceland and the adjacent Mid-Atlantic Ridge inferred from P-to-S conversions at the 410- and 660-km discontinuities Geophys. Res. Lett. 23:3527–30
  88. Shen Y, Solomon SC, Bjarnason IT, Wolfe CJ 1998. Seismic evidence for a lower-mantle origin of the Iceland plume Nature 395:62–65
  89. Sigmarsson O 1996. Short magma chamber residence time at an Icelandic volcano inferred from U-series disequilibria Nature 382:440–42
  90. Sigmarsson O, Condomines M, Gronvold K, Thordarson T 1991. Extreme magma homogeneity in the 1783–84 Lakagigar eruption—origin of a large volume of evolved basalt in Iceland Geophys. Res. Lett. 18:2229–32
  91. Sigmarsson O, Karlsson HR, Larsen G. 1999. The 1996 and 1998 subglacial eruptions beneath Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland: contrasting geochemical and geophysical inferences on magma migration. Bull. Volcanol. In press
  92. Sigmundsson F 1991. Postglacial rebound and asthenosphere viscosity in Iceland Geophys. Res. Lett. 18:1131–34
  93. Sigmundsson F, Einarsson P, Bilham R, Sturkell E 1995. Rift-transform kinematics in south Iceland: deformation from Global Positioning System measurements, 1986 to 1992 J. Geophys. Res. 1006235–48
  94. Sigurdsson H, Sparks RSJ 1978. Lateral magma flow within rifted Icelandic crust Nature 274:126–30
  95. Sjoholm J, Sejrup HP, Furnes H 1991. Quaternary volcanic ash zones on the Iceland Plateau, southern Norwegian Sea J. Quatern. Sci. 6:159–73
  96. Smallwood JR, White RS, Staples RK 1998. Deep crustal reflectors under Reydarfjordur, eastern Iceland: crustal accretion above the Iceland mantle plume Geophys. J. Int. 134277–90
  97. Spera FJ 1980. Thermal evolution of plutons: a parameterized approach Science 207299–301
  98. Staples RK, White RS, Brandsdottir B, Menke W, Maguire PKH, et al. 1997. Faroe-Iceland experiment 1. Crustal structure of northeastern Iceland. J. Geophys. Res. 102:7849–66
  99. Stefansson R, Halldorsson P 1988. Strain release and strain build-up in the South Iceland Seismic Zone Tectonophysics 152:267–76
  100. Stefansson R, Bodvarsson R, Slunga R, Einarsson P, Jakobsdottir S, et al 1993. Earthquake prediction research in the South Iceland Seismic Zone and the SIL project Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull. 83:696–716
  101. Thorarinsson S. 1967. Surtsey. The New Island in the North Atlantic. New York: Viking. 47 pp
  102. Thordarson T. 1990. The eruption sequence and the eruption behavior of the Skaftar Fires, 1783–85, Iceland: characteristics and distribution of eruption products. MSc thesis. Univ. Texas at Arlington, Arlington. 239 pp
  103. Thordarson T. 1991. The 1783–84 Laki eruption: tephra production and course of events. Reykjavik: Univ. Iceland Spec. Geosci. Publ
  104. Thordarson T, Self S 1993. The Laki (Skaftar Fires) and Grimsvotn eruptions in 1783–1785 Bull. Volcanol. 55:233–63
  105. Thordarson T, Miller DJ, Larsen G, Self S, Sigurdsson H. 1999. New estimates of sulfur degassing and atmospheric mass-loading by the ∼935 Eldgja eruption, Iceland. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. In press
  106. Tryggvason A. 1998. Seismic tomography—inversion for P and S wave velocities. PhD thesis, Uppsala Univ., Uppsala, Sweden. 99 pp
  107. Tryggvason K, Husebye, ES, Stefansson R 1983. Seismic image of the hypothesized Icelandic hot spot Tectonophysics 100:97–118
  108. Vadon H, Sigmundsson F 1997. Crustal deformation from 1992 to 1995 at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Southwest Iceland, mapped by satellite radar interferometry Science 275:193–97
  109. Vink GE 1984. A hotspot model for Iceland and the Voring Plateau J. Geophys. Res. 89:9949–59
  110. Walker GPL 1960. Zeolite zones and dike distribution in relation to the structure of the basalts of eastern Iceland J. Geol. 68:515–27
  111. Walker GPL 1965. Some aspects of Quaternary volcanism in Iceland Q.J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 49:25–40
  112. Walker GPL 1966. Acid volcanic rocks in Iceland Bull. Volcanol. 29:375–406
  113. Werner R, Schmincke HU, Sigvaldason GE 1996. A new model for the evolution of table mountains: volcanological and petrological evidence from Herdubreid and Herdubreidartogl volcanoes (Iceland Geol. Rundschau 85390–97
  114. Wells D, Coppersmith K 1994. New empirical relationships among magnitude, rupture length, rupture width, rupture area and surface displacement Seismol. Soc. Am. Bull. 84:974–1002
  115. White RS, Bown JW, Smallwood JR 1995. The temperature of the Iceland plume and origin of outward-propagating V-shaped ridges J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 152:1039–45
  116. Wilson JT. 1965. Evidence from ocean islands suggesting movement in the earth. In A Symposium on Continental Drift, ed. PMS Blackett, E. Bullard, SK Runcorn. R. Soc. London, Phil. Trans. Ser. A. 258:145–67
  117. Wolfe CJ, Bjarnason IT, VanDecar JC, Solomon SC 1997. Seismic structure of the Iceland mantle plume Nature 385:245–47
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.earth.28.1.107
Loading
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.earth.28.1.107
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error