The Land of Ice and Fire
April 2, 2003
Due to an unusual combination of tectonic settings, many icecaps and glaciers of Iceland rest above active volcanoes. This island nation is located on the northern edge of the Mid-Atlantic ridge, at the intersection of the North American and Eurasian plates, and is one of the few places on Earth where a mid-ocean ridge is exposed above sea level. The land is built from erupted and intruded magmas concentrated around a hot spot beneath the spreading ridge. The upper image is a true-color view from the instrument's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. The lower image is a stereo anaglyph generated from the instrument's nadir and 60-degree forward-viewing cameras. Viewing the anaglyph in 3-D requires the use of red/blue glasses with the red filter placed over your left eye.
Topics:
Environment, Tectonic plates, Plate tectonics, Geology, Eurasian Plate, North American Plate, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Mid-ocean ridge, Volcano
