Nd and Sr isotope ratios and rare earth element abundances in Reykjanes Peninsula basalts evidence for mantle heterogeneity beneath Iceland

Post-glacial tholeiitic basalts from the western Reykjanes Peninsula range from picrite basalts (oldest) to olivine tholeiites to tholeiites (youngest). In this sequence there are large systematic variations in rare earth element (REE) abundances (La/Sm normalized to chondrites ranges from 0.33 in the picrite basalts to 1.25 in the fissure tholeiites) and corresponding variations in ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.51317 in the picrite basalts to 0.51299 in the fissure tholeiites). The large viaration in ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, more than one-third the total range observed in most ocean islands and mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), is accompanied by only a small variation in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7031–0.7032). These ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are within the range of other Icelandic tholeiites, and distinct from those of MORB.We conclude that the mantle beneath the Reykjanes Peninsula is heterogeneous with respect to relative REE abundances and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios. On a time-averaged basis all parts of this mantle show evidence of relative depletion in light REE. Though parts of this mantle have REE abundances and Nd isotope ratios similar to the mantle source of “normal” MORB, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr is distinctly higher. Unlike previous studies we find no evidence for chondritic relative REE abundances in the mantle beneath the Reykjanes Peninsula; in fact, the data require significant chemical heterogeneity in the hypothesized mantle plume beneath Iceland, as well as lateral mantle heterogeneity from the Reykjanes Ridge to the Reykjanes Peninsula. The compositional range of the Reykjanes Peninsula basalts is consistent with mixing of magmas produced by different degrees of melting in different parts of the heterogeneous mantle source beneath the Reykjanes Peninsula.     

Is the Iceland hot spot also wet? Evidence from the water contents of undegassed submarine and subglacial pillow basalts

Water contents have been measured in basaltic glasses from submarine and subglacial eruption sites along the Reykjanes Ridge and Iceland, respectively, in order to evaluate the hypothesis of Schilling et al. [Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London A 56 (1980) 147-178] that hot spots are also wet spots. Having erupted under pressure the water contents measured in these samples are potentially unaffected by degassing. After correcting these water contents for the effects of crystallisation (to give H₂O(8) values) they indicate that the concentration of water in the source regions increases from 165 ppm at the southern end of the Reykjanes Ridge to between 620 and 920 ppm beneath Iceland. This suggests that Iceland is a wet spot and the H₂O(8) values indicate that its influence on basalt compositions increases northwards along the Reykjanes Ridge from ∼61°N (650 km from the plume centre) towards Iceland. The existence of wetter Icelandic source regions have important implications for mantle melting, as enrichments of this magnitude depress the mantle solidus, increasing the degree of melting at a given temperature. Therefore the enhanced rates of volcanism on Iceland may be a result of wetter sources in addition to a thermal anomaly beneath Iceland.     

A general mixing equation with applications to Icelandic basalts

The mixing equation applied by Vollmer [1] to Pb and Sr isotope ratios is shown to be a general equation applicable to consideration of element and isotope ratios. The mixing equation is hyperbolic and has the form:Ax + Bxy + Cy + D = 0where the coefficients are dependent on the type of plot considered: i.e. ratio-ratio, ratio-element, or element-element. Careful use of this equation permits testing whether mixing is a viable process, places constraints on end member compositions, allows distinction between mixing of sources and mixing of magmas, and should allow distinction between recent mixing and long-term evolution of sources.The available chemical data for postglacial basalts from Iceland and along the Reykjanes Ridge are not consistent with either mixing of magmas or simple mixing of an enriched ocean island source with a depleted ocean ridge source. If the available analyses for basalts are representative of the source regions, the data are consistent with at least two models neither of which can be properly tested with the available data.(1) There are two separate mixing trends: one beneath Iceland with the alkali basalt source and a depleted Iceland source as end members; the second along the Reykjanes Ridge with a heterogeneous ocean ridge basalt source and a source similar to that for intermediate basalts on Iceland as end members. The depleted Iceland source and the depleted ocean ridge source are not the same.(2) The chemistry of the basalts is not determined by mixing. Instead the basalts are derived from a multiplicity of sources with a similar history which have been isolated for hundreds of millions of years.     

A longitudinal seismic reflection profile of the Reykjanes Ridge: Part II — Implications for the mantle hot spot hypothesis

A longitudinal seismic reflection profile of the Reykjanes Ridge, together with earthquake seismicity patterns, is interpreted in terms of the mantle plume hypothesis. Between 52°N and 57°N Reykjanes Ridge is cut by about 12 fractures whose trend, inferred from other data, is approximately east-west. North of 57° there is little or no indication of east-west fracturing.The 57°N transition from fractured to unfractured basement occurs about 900 km southwest of the postulated Iceland mantle plume. The fractured province exhibits higher seismicity and rougher basement, on transverse profiles, than does the unfractured province. A similar transition to rougher, more seismic ridge crest also occurs 900 km northeast of Iceland. We propose that flowage of hot, basalt-rich asthenosphere away from the Iceland hot spot keeps the axial lithosphere hot, thin, sparsely fractured, and relatively aseismic out to 900 km from the plume. Similar effects are evident in the vicinity of some other plumes located near spreading axes. Some plumes also exhibit a greater number of earthquakes at some distance from the spreading axis — possibly a reflection of non-axial igneous activity or fracturing due to local, plume-generated stresses.The regional basement slope along the longitudinal profile is about 8 × 10^?4. If this slope represents a balance between viscous and gravity forces in the flow, a viscosity of the order 10¹⁹ poises can be estimated from the Poiseuille equation.A peculiarly flat, opaque reflector was discovered near the Reykjanes axis, about 300 km southwest of Iceland. Several hypotheses are advanced to account for such reflectors by the exceptional volcanic activity associated with high plume discharge.     

A longitudinal seismic reflection profile of the Reykjanes Ridge: Part I — Evidence for west-flowing bottom water

A longitudinal seismic reflection profile along the east flank of Reykjanes Ridge, from Charlie fracture zone to the vicinity of Iceland, has important implications both for bottom water movement and for hypotheses of crustal generation at the axis of the mid-oceanic ridge. In this paper bottom water movement is considered. Between 52°N and 57°N Reykjanes Ridge is cut by about 12 fractures whose trend, inferred from other data, is approximately east-west. North of 57° there is little or no indication of east-west fracturing. Fracture valley bottoms are typically 1 km below the surrounding basement level; sediment fills are about 0.5 km; present bottoms are 2.1 to 2.8 km below sea level. Depositional asymmetry is apparent in 9 cases, 7 of which have the deepest and generally least reflective bottom at the northern edge. This suggests predominately west-flowing bottom currents, carrying Norwegian Sea overflow water through the fracture valleys, a result consistent with previously published data.     

A near-bottom geophysical traverse of the Reykjanes Ridge

We report here the results of a near-bottom geophysical survey of the Reykjanes Ridge, a mid-ocean ridge that is oriented obliquely to the perpendicular spreading direction. From a combination of the bathymetric profiles, side-scan sonar data, and regional bathymetric maps we infer that the present center of spreading is made up of a number of N15°E-trending en echelon ridge segments in the southern half of our survey area. Insufficient data prevent the identification of the spreading pattern in the northern half. The side-scan records show that the ridge flanks are highly fractured by inward-facing faults displaced 40 m or less and trending in a N21°E direction. The lack of side-scan features parallel to the spreading direction except in the southernmost portion of the survey area suggests that the ridge segments are not connected by transform faults in the usual sense. Although the mechanism by which en echelon ridge segments can be maintained during sea-floor spreading over time is unclear, similar patterns of crustal accretion have been reported on Iceland. It appears that the accretionary processes along the Reykjanes Ridge are more related to those of Iceland than to those of typical mid-ocean ridges.     

Infrastructure and evolution of ocean-ridge discontinuities in Iceland

There are two main ocean-ridge discontinuities in Iceland: the Tjörnes Fracture Zone (TFZ) and the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ). The TFZ is a 120-km-long and as much as 70-km-wide WNW-trending zone of high seismicity. It has three main seismic lineaments: the Husavik-Flatey Fault (HFF), the Dalvik lineament, and the Grimsey lineament. The HFF, a dextral strike-slip fault and active as a transform fault for about 9 Ma, has a cumulative transform-parallel displacement of some 60 km. Offshore, the HFF is marked by a transform (fracture-zone) valley, 5–10 km wide and 3–4 km deep. Onshore the Flateyjarskagi Peninsula the HFF is marked by a 3–5-km-wide zone of intense crustal deformation with numerous strike-slip and normal faults, transform-parallel dykes, dense sets of mineral veins, and subzones of completely crushed rocks, that is, fault cores. Where the HFF comes on land on Tjörnes there is a similar, but much thinner, zone of crushed rocks. The seismic lineaments are located a few tens of kilometres south (Dalvik) and north (Grimsey) of, and run subparallel with, the HFF. Both lineaments are composed of sets of NNW-trending sinistral faults arranged en echelon.The SISZ is a 70-km-long and 10–20-km wide zone of almost continuous seismicity located between the overlapping West and East Volcanic Zones. It produces the largest earthquakes in Iceland, some of which exceed M7, during which the N–S width of the zone may be as great as 50–60 km. The SISZ is partly covered with Holocene lava flows where the seismogenic faults occur as dextral NNE-trending and sinistral ENE-trending conjugate arrays with push-ups between their nearby ends. The same fault-segment trends occur in the Pleistocene pile north of the Holocene lava flows.The HFF is neither perpendicular to the nearby ridge segments nor parallel with the spreading vector. As a consequence, the North Volcanic Zone has propagated to the north and the Kolbeinsey Ridge to the south during the past 1 Ma, resulting in the development of the Grimsey and Dalvik lineaments. Similarly, the tip of the East Volcanic Zone has been propagating rapidly to the southwest during the past 3 Ma. The tip has been at its present location for no more than several hundred thousand years, thus making the SISZ less stable than the HFF. If the propagation of the tip of the East Volcanic Zone continues, it will eventually reach the Reykjanes Ridge, whereby either the West or the East Volcanic Zone becomes extinct. Then the SISZ dies out as a major seismic zone.     

Magnetic anomalies and rock magnetism of basalts from Reykjanes (SW-Iceland)

This study presents rock magnetic properties along with magnetic field measurements of different stratigraphic and lithologic basalt units from Reykjanes, the southwestern promontory of the Reykjanes peninsula, where the submarine Reykjanes Ridge passes over into the rift zone of southwestern Iceland. The basaltic fissure eruptions and shield lava of tholeiitic composition (less than 11500 a old) show a high natural remanent magnetization (NRM, J_r) up to 33.6 A/m and high Koenigsberger ratio (Q) up to 52.2 indicating a clear dominance of the NRM compared to the induced part of the magnetization. Pillow basalts and picritic shield lava show distinctly lower J_r values below 10 A/m. Magnetic susceptibility (κ) ranges for all lithologies from 2.5 to 26×10⁻³ SI.     

Petrogenetic relationships of acid and basic rocks in iceland: Sr-isotopes and rare-earth elements in late and postglacial volcanics

Strontium isotope ratios and rare-earth element abundances have been measured in acid, intermediate and basic rocks from three late to postglacial volcanic complexes, and several other postglacial basalts in Iceland. Late and postglacial basalts in Iceland have been generated from a source region which is essentially homogeneous with respect to⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr. The mean⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio for the basalts analysed is 0.70328 and the range is from 0.70317 ± 6to0.70334 ± 5 (2σ).Acid rocks from the Kerlinganfjöll and Namafjall volcanic complexes have⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios which are indistinguishable from analysed basalts from the same complexes. However, intermediate and acid rocks from the Torfajökull complex have significantly higher⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and could not have been derived by fractional crystallization from basaltic magmas similar to those found in the same complex. These latter rocks have most probably been produced by remelting of Tertiary gabbroic rocks in Layer 3. Most of the basalts analysed have higher total rare-earth element abundances than typical dredged ocean-ridge tholeiites, and show less light rare-earth depletion. Intermediate and acid compositions show overall higher abundances and light rare-earth enrichments. The measured rare-earth abundances are compared with abundances generated by differential partial melting of various model source regions.It is shown that both the tholeiitic and alkali basalt compositions could be generated from the same source material by different degrees of partial melting. Variable partial melting of gabbroic material may account for the rare-earth element abundances of both the rhyolitic rocks (small degrees of melting) and the intermediate rocks (more extensive melting).     

Geodynamic processes that are involved in the generation of the Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

This paper contains a comparative analysis of the theoretical parameters involved in the subsidence of spreading ridges into the asthenosphere: Reykjanes, Kolbeinsey, the Azores segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, as well as the following aseismic ridges: the Ninety East Ridge, Maldives, Hawaiian-Emperor, and Louisville ridges due to the influence of a mantle plume. We conclude that the respective geodynamic processes involved in generating spreading ridges in the North Atlantic and the aseismic ocean ridges due to hotspot action are similar. The main phases in the evolution of the Iceland region are substantiated using geological and geophysical data and computer simulation. We discuss the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the region, calculated and plotted paleogeodynamic reconstructions of the North Atlantic Ocean in the hotspot system for 60, 50, and 20 Ma.     

The Reykjanes Ridge: structure and tectonics of a hot-spot-influenced, slow-spreading ridge, from multibeam bathymetry, gravity and magnetic investigations

We report a comprehensive morphological, gravity and magnetic survey of the oblique- and slow-spreading Reykjanes Ridge near the Iceland mantle plume. The survey extends from 57.9°N to 62.1°N and from the spreading axis to between 30 km (3 Ma) and 100 km (10 Ma) off-axis; it includes 100 km of one arm of a diachronous ‘V-shaped' or ‘chevron' ridge. Observed isochrons are extremely linear and 28° oblique to the spreading normal with no significant offsets. Along-axis there are ubiquitous, en-echelon axial volcanic ridges (AVRs), sub-normal to the spreading direction, with average spacing of 14 km and overlap of about one third of their lengths. Relict AVRs occur off-axis, but are most obvious where there has been least axial faulting, suggesting that elsewhere they are rapidly eroded tectonically. AVRs maintain similar plan views but have reduced heights nearer Iceland. They are flanked by normal faults sub-parallel to the ridge axis, the innermost of which occur slightly closer to the axis towards Iceland, suggesting a gradual reduction of the effective lithospheric thickness there. Generally, the amplitude of faulting decreases towards Iceland. We interpret this pattern of AVRs and faults as the response of the lithosphere to oblique spreading, as suggested by theory and physical modelling. An axial, 10–15 km wide zone of high acoustic backscatter marks the most recent volcanic activity. The zone's width is independent of the presence of a median valley, so axial volcanism is not primarily delimited by median valley walls, but is probably controlled by the lateral distance that the oblique AVRs can propagate into off-axis lithosphere. The mantle Bouguer anomaly (MBA) exhibits little mid- to short-wavelength variation above a few milliGals, and along-axis variations are small compared with other parts of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Nevertheless, there are small axial deeps and MBA highs spaced some 130 km along-axis that may represent subdued third-order segment boundaries. They lack coherent off-axis traces and cannot be linked to Oligocene fracture zones on the ridge flanks. The surveyed chevron ridge is morphologically discontinuous, comprising several parallel bands of closely spaced, elevated blocks. These reflect the surrounding tectonic fabric but have higher fault scarps. There is no evidence for off-axis volcanism or greater abundance of seamounts on the chevron. Free-air gravity over it is greater than expected from the observed bathymetry, suggesting compensation via regional rather than pointwise isostasy. Most of the observed variation along the ridge can be ascribed to varying distance from the mantle plume, reflecting changes in mantle temperature and consequently in crustal thickness and lithospheric strength. However, a second-order variation is superimposed. In particular, between 59°30′N and 61°30′N there is a minimum of large-scale faulting and crustal magnetisation, maximum density of seamounts, and maximum axial free-air gravity high. To the north the scale of faulting increases slightly, seamounts are less common, and there is a relative axial free-air low. We interpret the 59°30′N to 61°30′N region as where the latest chevron ridge intersects the Reykjanes Ridge axis, and suggest that the morphological changes that culminate there reflect a local temperature high associated with a transient pulse of high plume output at its apex.     

Crustal stress in Iceland

Hydrofracturing stress measurements have been carried out to about 0.4 km in two boreholes in Quaternary volcanic rocks in Reykjavik, Iceland, on the flank of the Reykjanes-Langjökull continuation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The measurements indicate a dominant orientation of _{H max} approximately perpendicular to the axial rift zone, in contrast to earthquake focal mechanism solutions from within the axial rift zone of the Reykjanes Peninsula. In one hole (H32) a depth-dependent change in stress orientation is indicated, with ₁ horizontal above a depth of about 0.25 km, and vertical below it; however the orientation of _{H max} remains unchanged. The data thus suggest reconciliation of an apparent conflict between the dominantly compressive indications of shallow overcoring stress measurements and dominant extension as required by focal mechanism solutions. The measured stresses are supported by the more reliable of overcoring measurements from southeast Iceland, and by recent focal mechanism solutions for the intraplate Borgarfjördur area. A fundamental change in crustal stresses appears therefore to occur as a function of distance from the axis of the axial rift zone. The data seem reasonably explicable in terms of a combination of thermoelastic mechanisms associated with accretion and cooling of spreading lithosphere plates. Stresses directly associated with the driving mechanisms of plate tectonics apparently do not dominate the observed stress pattern.     

The Reykjanes Ridge between 63°10′N and Iceland

Along the Reykjanes Ridge from 63°10′N to 63°50′N we identify 10 en-echelon shallow closely spaced axial volcanic ridges (AVR). The AVRs are confined to the crest of the Reykjanes Ridge. This has been suggested to imply intense tectonic erosion of the ridges and subsequent sediment covering as they drift off axis. All AVRs studied are small and their length does not exceed that of individual eruptive fissures on land. Recent seismic activity is concentrated near Fuglasker seamount and the two AVRs in the Húllið graben. Tectonic strike changes drastically at the Skerjadjúp graben from N28°E to N40°E. Historic volcanic activity has been intense in this area with up to 14 eruptions, the last confirmed eruption occurring in 1926. New multibeam and backscatter data in the area of AVR 1 and the northernmost tip of AVR 2 show that the ridges were created by multiple eruptions, with clearly defined volcanic centres or cones, in contrast to monogenetic Pleistocene hyaloclastite ridges on land in Iceland with similar dimensions. In this area there was a series of eruptions during the years 1226–1238 in which the craters could have formed. The data also show normal faults in the Húllið graben. The western boundary faults have a drop of more than 25 m, while the eastern faults are smaller but denser.     

Thermal and rheological state of the lithosphere and specific features of structuring in the rift zone of the Reykjanes Ridge (from the results of numerical and experimental modeling)

Specific features of the bottom topography structure and the character of morphostructural segmentation of the rift zone of the Reykjanes Ridge change substantially along the ridge strike with increasing distance from Iceland’s hotspot. A clearly pronounced regularity of changes is observed in the rift zone’s morphology from the axial uplift (in the northern part of the ridge) to the rift valleys (in the southern part of the ridge) through an intermediate or transitional type of morphology. The results of numerical modeling showed that changes in the rift zone’s morphology along the Reykjanes Ridge strike are largely caused by changes in the degree of mantle heating and depend on the intensity of magma supply. It is shown that under conditions of ultraslow spreading, it is these parameters that control the presence or absence of crustal magma chambers, as well as the thickness of the effectively-elastic layer of the axial lithosphere. The experimental modeling of topography-forming deformations and structuring on the Reykjanes Ridge showed that under oblique extension, specific features of the formation of axial fractures and the character of their segmentation mainly depend on the thickness of the axial lithosphere, its heating zone width, and the kinematics of spreading. The experiments also showed that the tendency of fractures to develop obliquely to the extension axis is caused by the action of the inclined zone of the location of the deformation, and shear deformations play a substantial role in the lithosphere’s destruction as the inclination angle increases.     

Intraglacial volcanism in the Western Volcanic Zone, Iceland

The Western Volcanic Zone in Iceland (64.19° to 65.22° N) has the morphological characteristics of a distinct Mid-Atlantic ridge segment. This volcanic zone was mapped at a scale of 1:36.000, and 258 intraglacial monogenetic volcanoes from the Late Pleistocene (0.01–0.78?Ma) were identified and investigated. The zone is characterized by infrequent comparatively large volcanic eruptions and the overall volcanic activity appears to have been low throughout the Late Pleistocene. Tholeiitic basaltic rocks dominate in the Western Volcanic Zone with about 0.5?vol.?% of intermediate and silicic rocks. The basalts divide into picrites, olivine tholeiites, and tholeiites. Three main eruptive phases can be distinguished in the intraglacial volcanoes: an effusive deep-water lava phase producing basal pillow lavas, an explosive shallow-water phase producing hyaloclastites and an effusive subaerial capping lava phase. Three evolutionary stages therefore charcterize these volcanoes; late dykes and irregular minor intrusions could be added as the fourth main stage. These intrusions are potential heat sources for short-lived hydrothermal systems and may play an important role in the final shaping of the volcanoes. Substantial parts of the hyaloclastites of each unit are proximal sedimentary deposits. The intraglacial volcanoes divide into two main morphological groups, ridge-shaped volcanoes, i.e., tindars (including pillow lava ridges) and subrectangular volcanoes, i.e., tuyas and hyaloclastite or pillow lava mounds. The volume of the tuyas is generally much larger than that of the tindars. The largest tuya, Eiríksj?kull, is about 48?km³ and therefore the largest known monogenetic volcano in Iceland. Many of the large volcanoes, both tuyas and tindars, show a similar, systematic range in geochemistry. The most primitive compositions were erupted first and the magmas then changed to more differentiated compositions. The ridge-shaped tindars clearly erupted from volcanic fissures and the more equi-dimensional tuyas mainly from a single crater. It is suggested that the morphology and structure of the intraglacial volcanos mainly depends on two factors, (a) tectonic control and (b) availability of magma at the time of eruption.     

A detailed paleomagnetic survey of the type location for the Gilsa geomagnetic polarity event

A total of 163 cores have been taken from a maximum of 40 separate lavas in three separate sections of the Jökuldalur, southwest of Egilsstadir, Iceland, and subjected to paleomagnetic analysis and some K-Ar dating. Previous work on the sections by McDougall and Wensink (1966) led to the establishment of the Gilságeomagnetic polarity event, with an age of about 1.60 m.y., during the reversed polarity Matuyama epoch. This earlier study described a possible reversely magnetized lava separating the Gilsáevent from a second normal polarity lava, perhaps representing the Olduvai event. Such a possibility was subsequently a source of speculation from diverse sources concerning the polarity history for the lower Matuyama. The present study indicates clearly that there is no second normal polarity event represented in the sections. Only one normal polarity event is therefore represented in the lower Matuyama of the Jökuldalur, and the age of the lavas involved is confirmed to be approximately 1.58 ± 0.08 m.y. Because of uncertainties in the interpretation of the original K-Ar results from Olduvai Gorge, it is still not possible to be certain that the Olduvai and Gilsáevents are separated in time. An incidental result of the survey is evidence to show that, contrary to recent suggestions by Einarsson (1972), there is no substantial hiatus between the major lower parts of the section and lavas believed to represent extrusions after a regional tilting and peneplanation.     

Relatively old basalts from structurally high areas in central Iceland

This study reports K/Ar ages for basalts from four areas in central Iceland where erosion of structural highs has exposed stratigraphically older levels of the lava pile. The four areas are the Eyjafjördur regional anticline and the Tjörnes horst in north Iceland and the Borgarnes and Hreppar regional anticlines in south Iceland. Three of the areas have their older plateau basalts within the range of at least 8.5–9.5 m.y. old. Only the Hreppar area does not have any exposed rocks much older than about 2.5 m.y. The Tjörnes data confirm that the exposed Husavik faults have played a major role in the transform displacement of the Tjörnes Fracture Zone. The results are further evidence that the spreading axes through Iceland have had a history of shifting their location. Analysis of our results suggests that the regional anticlines of Iceland, a seeming structural anomaly in a spreading regime, have resulted from shifting spreading axes which transitionally coexist and create regional anticlines in between.     

Stress Changes Modelled for the Sequence of Strong Earthquakes in the South Iceland Seismic Zone Since 1706

The South Iceland seismic zone is, roughly speaking, situated between two sections of the mid-Atlantic ridge, i.e., the Reykjanes Ridge southwest of Iceland and the Eastern Volcanic Zone on the island. It is a transform zone, where earthquakes are expected to occur on E-W-trending left-lateral shear faults, equivalent to conjugate, N-S-oriented right-lateral, rupture planes. In fact, earthquakes take place on en-échelon N-S-oriented faults, which is indicated by the distribution of main shock intensities, aftershocks as well as by surface fault traces. The stress field continuously generated in the fault zone by opening of the adjacent ridges is computed and superimposed on the stress field changes induced by a series of 13 earthquakes (M 6) between 1706 and 2000. The level of the pre-seismic stress field is analysed as well as the size of the area under high stress. Finally, the post-seismic stress field of June 2000 is analysed, to see where high stresses might have accumulated. The modelling indicates that the rupture planes located on separated parallel N-S-striking zones are dense enough to lead to an area-wide stress release by the series of events. The obtained pre-seismic stress level for most events is high and stable with the exception of situations when several strong shocks occur over a time span of several days, i.e., display typical main shock-aftershock patterns. The size of areas under high stress aside from of the rupture plane, i.e., where no event occurs at the specific time, is of medium to small size.     

Plate boundary deformation and man-made subsidence around geothermal fields on the Reykjanes Peninsula,Iceland

We present Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data from 1992–1999 and 2003–2008 as well as GPS data from 2000–2009 for the active plate boundary on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest Iceland. The geodetic data reveal deformation mainly due to plate spreading, anthropogenic subsidence caused by geothermal fluid extraction and, possibly, increasing pressure in a geothermal system. Subsidence of around 10 cm is observed during the first 2 years of production at the Reykjanes geothermal power plant, which started operating in May 2006. We model the surface subsidence around the new power plant using point and ellipsoidal pressure sources in an elastic halfspace. Short-lived swarms of micro-earthquakes as well as aseismic fault movement are observed near the geothermal field following the start of production, possibly triggered by the stresses induced by geothermal fluid extraction.     

The chemistry of icelandic lava incrustations and the latest stages of degassing

Minerals that occur as incrustations in cooling lavas are formed by fractional condensation of volatile halides. Sulfates are of secondary origin formed during oxidation of the degassing volatiles. The trace metal compositions of the incrustations are controlled by the F/Cl ratio of the transporting gas phase rather than by element abundances in the silicate melt. The F/Cl ratio of the gas phase, inferred from incrustation mineral equilibria, indicates regional differences in the halogen contents of Icelandic magmas. The rift zone volcanism (tholeiites) is distinguished by low halogen content and very low F/Cl ratios, while the off-rift volcanism (alkaline rocks) is associated with high halogen content and high F/Cl ratios.