有壳变形虫群落组成及与环境因子的关系——以山西滹沱河湿地为例

滹沱河湿地是山西省重要的湿地资源,对生物多样性的保护有至关重要的作用.有壳变形虫是一类生活在淡水生态系统中的原生动物,对环境变化响应敏感,是良好的环境生物指示剂.本研究主要对山西滹沱河流域6个湿地52个不同生境的沉积样品进行有壳变形虫物种组成及多样性分析,通过对有壳变形虫和环境因子数据进行排序分析探讨影响有壳变形虫群落分布的关键环境因子.结果显示:滹沱河湿地共记录有壳变形虫20种,其中斜口三足虫(Trinema enchelys)、顶足法帽虫(Phryganella acropodia)和线条三足虫(Trinema lineare)为优势种,相对丰度分别为23.4%、17.38%、13.48%.沉积物粒度和有机质含量对有壳变形虫的物种组成及多样性有显著影响,砂粒含量越低、有机质含量越高,有壳变形虫的丰富度和多样性就越高.CCA排序结果表明硝态氮和COD是影响有壳变形虫种类组成和分布的关键环境因子,解释量分别为19.6%和17.3%,而pH的解释量最小,为8.6%.本研究结果为山西湿地有壳变形虫的现代生态学研究提供借鉴,为湿地多样性保护、管理和修复提供理论支撑.     

Manganese-rich rock coatings from Iceland

Manganese-rich rock coatings are widespread in Iceland, especially in fractures in basalt lavas. Three common types of coating are described. A thick subsurface coating is found on whaleback forms on high plateaux. The most common type is thinner and occurs in hydrothermal clay-filled fracture systems which are especially well developed in tholeiite lavas. A third type occurs in younger rocks and is associated with tephra-rich, loessic sediment which fills open fractures and vesicles. There are differences in the chemistry, morphology, and mineralogy of these coatings which are interpreted as being due to the different microenvironments in which they form. The fracture microenvironment is regarded as being of much more importance to coating thickness and chemistry than simple age and in this respect the hydrothermal clays seem to favour rapid manganese concentration. On the other hand, there are variations in coating type, both laterally and vertically through the lava succession, which are related to regional distribution of hydrothermal alteration and rock type. The regional patterns are the result of Iceland's lateral drift and as a result there is an incidental connection between coating type and rock age. There is some evidence to suggest that the manganese coatings may be both forming and being degraded rapidly in the present environment.     

Inter-annual Arcellinida (testate lobose amoebae) assemblage dynamics within lacustrine environments

Arcellinida (testate lobose amoebae) were examined from 22 surface-sediment samples collected from homogenous environments in eastern Canadian lakes (Lac du Castor Blanc, SW Quebec; Oromocto Lake, SW New Brunswick) to: 1) evaluate the faunal consistency of assemblages within the targeted environments; and, 2) assess the Arcellinida assemblage response evident in samples collected from Oromocto Lake in 2010 CE (n = 10) and 2012 CE (n = 6) to inter-annual changes in environmental conditions. Cluster analysis and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), redundancy analysis (RDA), and Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity Matrix (BCDM) were used to identify the dominant arcellinidan assemblages, determine physicochemical controls over the Arcellinida distribution, and assess the assemblages’ faunal homogeneity, respectively. Cluster analysis, DCA, and BCDM results revealed two distinct and relatively homogenous arcellinidan assemblages: 1) Lac du Castor Blanc Assemblage; and 2) Oromocto Lake Assemblage, which could further be subdivided into Oromocto Lake 2010 CE (OL10), and 2012 CE (OL12) sub-assemblages. RDA results showed that 65.6% of the variance in the arcellinidan distribution could be attributed to four significant parameters; sand size fraction (32.1%), calcium (29.2%), manganese (2.7%), and organic content (1.5%). The OL10 and OL12 sub-assemblages aligned well with the respective sample collection dates of 2010 CE and 2012 CE, with proportions of the healthy-lake-indicating Diffluggiid taxa being higher in OL12, likely due to a concurrent slight increase in substrate organic content in the 2012 CE sediments. Our results confirm the faunal homogeneity of assemblages in limnologically similar environments, and demonstrate the rapid response of Arcellinida assemblages to changes in lake conditions at inter-annual time scales.     

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.     

Shape and size of the starting Iceland plume swell

Emplacement of a large igneous province is usually accompanied by kilometre-scale uplift over an area of ∼10⁶ km². We have developed a method for mapping the dynamically supported swell associated with the North Atlantic Igneous Province by inverting palaeo-topographic information from continental margins. In the forward model, latest Palaeocene palaeo-topography around Britain and Ireland is calculated by correcting present-day topography for global sea-level change, denudation and dynamic support. We initially assume a Gaussian, axially symmetric dynamic support profile. Modelled coastlines are compared with palaeo-coastlines mapped on 2D and 3D reflection seismic data. In the inverse model, the amplitude, width and centre of the dynamically supported swell are determined by minimising misfit between modelled and observed coastlines. Uncertainties associated with global sea-level variation and denudation have little effect on this calculation. The best-fit dynamic support profile from inverting palaeo-coastline positions is in good agreement with dynamic support estimates from subsidence anomalies measured in extensional sedimentary basins fringing Britain and Ireland. However, a circular planform of dynamic support cannot simultaneously account for palaeo-coastlines, subsidence anomalies and the spatial extent of the North Atlantic Igneous Province. In combination, these data suggest that the swell was more irregular in planform. This inference can be tested in future by modelling stratigraphic data from offshore Norway, Greenland and Canada. The large areal extent and short time interval for inflation of the dynamically supported swell are best explained by rapid convective emplacement of an abnormally hot mantle layer horizontally beneath the lithosphere, during the starting phase of the Icelandic convective system. We emphasise the need to interpret the igneous record jointly with the dynamic support history when discussing models of large igneous province formation and mantle convection.     

ICEARRAY: the first small-aperture, strong-motion array in Iceland

A small-aperture, strong-motion array, the ICEARRAY, has been deployed in South Iceland, a region with a history of destructive earthquakes, some exceeding magnitude 7. The array’s purpose is: (1) monitoring future significant events in the region, (2) quantifying spatial variability of strong-motion over short distances and (3) shedding light on earthquake source processes. The number of array stations and their arrangement were based on an optimisation of the shape of the corresponding array transfer function (ATF). The optimal ICEARRAY configuration comprises 14 stations, has an aperture of ~1.9 km and a minimum interelement distance of ~50 m and possesses a near-azimuthally independent ATF with a sharp main lobe, negligible sidelobes and a wavenumber range of 1.5–24 rad/km. Accordingly, the ICEARRAY has the intended capabilities of capturing seismic waves in the frequency range of 1–20 Hz, which is of main interest to earthquake engineering and engineering seismology applications.     

Geothermal control on flow patterns in the Last Glacial Maximum ice sheet of Iceland

Because it is located both on the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge and on a mantle plume, Iceland is a region of intense tectonics and volcanism. During the last glaciation, the island was covered by an ice sheet approximately 1000 m thick. A reconstruction of the ice flow lines, based on glacial directional features, shows that the ice sheet was partly drained through fast‐flowing streams. Fast flow of the ice streams has been recorded in megascale lineations and flutes visible on the currently deglaciated bedrock, and is confirmed by simple mass balance considerations. Locations of the major drainage routes correlate with locations of geothermal anomalies, suggesting that ice stream activity was favoured by lubrication of the bed by meltwater produced in regions of high geothermal heat flux. Similar control of ice flow by geothermal activity is expected in ice sheets currently covering tectonically and volcanically active area such as the West Antarctic ice sheet. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Plagioclase ultraphyric basalts in Iceland: the mush of the rift

Glassy, plagioclase ultraphyric basalts from six locations in Iceland have bimodal phenocryst size distributions where microphenocrysts (ol+plg±cpx±mt) are in equilibrium with the matrix glass, but macrophenocrysts (ol+plg±cpx) are too primitive to be so. Matrix glass compositions are similar to those of other rift zone glasses from Iceland, and oxygen isotope variations suggest they interacted with the Icelandic crust. A lack of negative Eu-anomalies in matrix glasses precludes large amounts of plagioclase crystallisation from their parental liquids. Compositions of glass inclusions in plagioclase and olivine macrophenocrysts indicate that parental magma compositions of the macrophenocryst assemblage are similar to those of primitive, Icelandic rift zone glasses. Temperatures for plagioclase macrophenocryst crystallisation obtained from Linkam^® heating stage experiments, and from glass inclusion compositions corrected for post-entrapment crystallisation, give temperatures up to 1260°C, corresponding to crystallisation at middle to deep crustal levels. Temperature differences of less than 100°C between plagioclase-hosted glass inclusions before and after post-entrapment plagioclase crystallisation show that the macrophenocrysts must have been kept at elevated temperatures prior to incorporation in their present host magmas. We suggest that the macrophenocrysts of the plagioclase ultraphyric basalts accumulated in crystal mush bodies underneath the rift zone and were picked up by their present hosts during a rifting event with increased magma supply from the mantle.     

Rhyolite volcanism in the Krafla central volcano,north-east Iceland

At the Krafla central volcano in north-east Iceland, two main phases of rhyolite volcanism are identified. The earlier phase (last interglacial) is related to the formation of a caldera, whereas the second phase (last glacial) is related to the emplacement of a ring dike. Subsequently, only minor amounts of rhyolite have been erupted. The volcanic products of Krafla are volumetrically bimodal. Geochemically, there is a series of basaltic to basalto-andesitic rocks and a cluster of rhyolitic rocks. Rocks of intermediate to silicic composition (icelandites and dacites) show clear signs of mixing. The rhyolites are Fe-rich (tholeiitic), and aphyric to slightly porphyritic (plagioclase, augite, pigeonite, fayalitic olivine and magnetite). They are minimum melts on the quartz-plagioclase cotectic plane in the granite system (Qz-Or-Ab-An). The rhyolites at Krafla were produced by near-solidus, rather than nearliquidus fractionation. They are interpreted as silicic minimum melts of hydrothermally altered crust, mainly of basaltic composition. They were primarily generated on the peripheries of an active basaltic magma chamber or intrusive domain, where sufficient volumes of crust were subjected to temperatures favorable for rhyolite genesis (850–950° C). The silicic melts were extracted crystal-free from their source in response to crustal deformation.     

Morphology and mechanism of eruption of postglacial shield volcanoes in Iceland

Postglacial Icelandic shield volcanoes were formed in monogenetic eruptions mainly in the early Holocene epoch. Shield volcanoes vary in their cone morphology and in the areal extent of the associated lava flows. This paper presents the results of a study of 24 olivine tholeiite and 7 picrite basaltic shield volcanoes. For the olivine tholeiitic shields the median slope is 2.7°, the median height 60 m, the median diameter 3.6 km, the median aspect ratio (height against diameter) 0.019, and the median cone volume 0.2 km³. The picritic shield volcanoes are considerably steeper and smaller. A shield-volcano cone forms from successive lava lake overflows which are of shelly-type pahoehoe. A widespread apron surrounding the cone forms from tube-fed P-type pahoehoe. The slopes of the cones have (a) a planar or slightly convex form, (b) a concave form, or (c) a convex-concave form. A successive stage of a shield volcano is determined on the basis of cone morphology and lava assemblages. A shield-producing eruption has alternating episodes of lava lake overflows and tube-fed delivery to the distal parts of the flow field. In the late stages of eruption, the cone volume increases in response to the increased amount of rootless outpouring on the cone flanks. Normally, only a small percentage of the total erupted volume of a shield volcano, sometimes as little as 1–3%, is in the shield volcano cone itself, the main volume being in the apron of the shield.     

Applied volcanology in geothermal exploration in Iceland

In an active spreading area like Iceland, where the regional geothermal gradient is in the range 50–150°C/km, it is normally not a problem to find high enough temperature with deep drilling, but the difficulties arise with finding permeable layers at depth within the strata. Various volcanological methods can be applied in the search for aquifers and geothermal reservoir rocks. The flow pattern (as deduced from deuterium studies) indicates that the thermal water flows preferentially along high porosity stratiform horizons and dyke swarms from the recharge areas in the highlands to the hot spring areas in the lowlands. The primary porosity of the volcanic strata is dependent on the chemical composition and the mode of eruption of the volcanic units. Both the reservoir rocks and the flow channels forming the geothermal plumbing system are thought to vary from the Tertiary to the Quaternary provinces due to environmental conditions at the eruptive sites.     

Debris-flow release processes investigated through the analysis of multi-temporal LiDAR datasets in north-western Iceland

Debris flows are fast-moving gravity flows of poorly sorted rock and soil, mixed and saturated with water. Debris-flow initiation has been studied using empirical and experimental modelling, but the geomorphic changes, indicative of different triggering processes, are difficult to constrain with field observations only. We identify signatures to distinguish two different debris-flow release styles by integrating high-resolution multi-temporal remote sensing datasets and morphometric analysis. We analyse debris flows sourced above the town of Ísafjörður (Iceland). Two debris-flow triggering processes were previously hypothesised for this site: (i) slope failure, characterised by landslides evolving into debris flows; and (ii) the fire-hose effect, in which debris accumulated in pre-existing, steep-sided bedrock passages is transported by a surge of water. It is unknown which process dominates and determines the local risk. To investigate this question, we compare airborne LiDAR elevation models and aerial photographs collected in 2007 with similar data from 2013. We find that two new debris-flow tracks were created by slope failures. These are characterised by steep sliding surfaces and lateral leveed channels. Slope failure also occurred in two large, recently active tracks, creating the preparatory conditions for the fire-hose effect to mobilise existing debris. These tracks show alternating zones of fill and scour along their length, and debris stored below the source-area at rest angles >35°. Our approach allows us to identify and quantify the morphological changes produced by slope failure release process, which generated the preparatory conditions for the fire-hose effect. As debris flows are rarely observed in action and morphological changes induced by them are difficult to detect and monitor, the same approach could be applied to other landscapes to understand debris-flow initiation in the absence of other monitoring information, and can improve the identification of zones at risk in inhabited areas near hillslopes with potential for debris flows. © 2018 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Volcanic sands of Iceland ‐ Diverse origins of aeolian sand deposits revealed at Dyngjusandur and Lambahraun

The origin, formation and evolution of volcanic sands are less well known than the formation of the much more common quartz‐rich sand sheets. Combining active volcanism and a cold climate, Iceland is covered for about 21% of its surface by sandy areas. The sands were analyzed in detail at two sites and results reveal their diverse origins. The first site is Dyngjusandur, located north of Vatnajökull, and the second site is the Lambahraun area, located south of Langjökull. At both sites, the sand origin is determined from field observations (wind directions from ventifacts), chemical and mineralogical analyses of rocks and sands. At Dyngjusandur, the sand is dominated by glass grains, a situation typical of sand plains in Iceland. Hyaloclastite ridges presently buried beneath Vatnajökull are the dominant source of the sand, and only large size plagioclase crystals (0.5 cm) in sands seem to be derived from the lava flows. Hyaloclastite ridges were crushed by glaciers and mechanically eroded sediments were washed out by melt‐water onto flood plains. The sand chemical composition is spatially homogeneous and similar to the average composition of neighboring sub‐aerial lava flows, reflecting efficient mixing of distinct sources below the glacier. The presence of sand north of Dyngjujökull can be taken as a way to explore the average chemical composition of non‐exposed volcanic material beneath the glacier. In the case of Lambahraun, prevailing winds indicate several potential sources of sand at the north of the sand sheet. Comparison of chemical and mineralogical analyses of sands and rock samples helped to refine the exact origin. In contrast with the first site, the sand is dominated by crystals and is chemically consistent with a mixture of material derived from the lava flows of Eldborgir and Skersli shield volcanoes. Analysis of the contact between the lava flows and the glacier reveals that basaltic sand grains formed as the result of recent advances of the glacier abrading the rocks. The direct interaction of glacial and fluvio‐glacial activity with basaltic plains appears to be necessary to produce a large amount of sands in a relatively short period of time (<4000 years). This site appears to be an excellent natural laboratory for further studies concerning the sand evolution and physical sorting processes in basaltic material, which have important implications for understanding aeolian processes on Mars. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geology of the Heimaey volcanic centre, south Iceland: early evolution of a central volcano in a propagating rift?

Heimaey is the southernmost and also the youngest of nine volcanic centres in the southward-propagating Eastern Volcanic Zone, Iceland. The island of Heimaey belongs to the Vestmannaeyjar volcanic system (850 km²) and is situated 10 km off the south coast of Iceland. Although Heimaey probably started to form during the Upper Pleistocene all the exposed subaerial volcanics (10 monogenetic vents covering an area of 13.4 km²) are of Holocene age. Heimaey is composed of roughly equal amounts of tuff/tuff-breccias and lavas as most eruptions involve both a phreatomagmatic and an effusive phase. The compositions of the extrusives are predominantly alkali basalts belonging to the sodic series. Repeated eruptions on Heimaey, and the occurrence of slightly more evolved rocks (i.e. hawaiite approaching mugearite), might indicate that the island is in an early stage of forming a central volcano in the Vestmannaeyjar system. This is further substantiated by the development of a magma chamber at 10–20 km depth during the most recent eruption in 1973 and by the fact that the average volume of material produced in a single eruption on Heimaey is 0.32 km³ (dense rock equivalent), which is twice the value reported for the Vestmannaeyjar system as a whole. We find no support for the previously postulated episodic behaviour of the volcanism in the Vestmannaeyjar system. However, the oldest units exposed above sea level, i.e. the Norðurklettar ridge, probably formed over a 500-year interval during the deglaciation of southern Iceland. The absence of equilibrium phenocryst assemblages in the Heimaey lavas suggests that magma rose quickly from depth, without long-time ponding in shallow-seated crustal magma chambers. Eruptions on Heimaey have occurred along two main lineaments (N45°E and N65°E), which indicate that it is seismic events associated with the southward propagation of the Eastern Volcanic Zone that open pathways for the magma to reach the surface. Continuing southward propagation of the Eastern Volcanic Zone suggests that the frequency of volcanic eruptions in the Vestmannaeyjar system might increase with time, and that Heimaey may develop into a central volcano like the mature volcanic centres situated on the Icelandic mainland.     

Radon Changes Associated with the Earthquake Sequence in June 2000 in the South Iceland Seismic Zone

An earthquake sequence at the transform plate boundary in South Iceland, that included two magnitude 6.5 earthquakes in June 2000, was anticipated on the basis of a centuries-long seismicity pattern in the area. A program of radon monitoring in geothermal water from drill holes, initiated in 1999, rendered distinct and consistent variations in radon in association with these events. All seven sampling stations in a 50 × 30 km zone covering the epicentral area showed a consistent pattern. Four types of change could be identified: 1) Preseismic decrease of radon. Anomalously low values were measured 101–167 days before the earthquakes. 2) Preseismic increase. Spikes appear in the time series at six stations 40–144 days prior to the earthquakes. These anomalies were large and unusual if compared to a 17-years history of radon monitoring in this area. 3) Coseismic step, most likely related to the coseismic change in groundwater pressure observed over the entire area. 4) Postseismic return of the radon values to the preseismic level about three months later, also concurrent with groundwater pressure changes.     

Weather radar observations of the Hekla 2000 eruption cloud,Iceland

The Hekla eruption cloud on 26–27 February 2000 was the first volcanic cloud to be continuously and completely monitored advecting above Iceland, using the C-band weather radar near the Keflavík international airport. Real-time radar observations of the onset, advection, and waning of the eruption cloud were studied using time series of PPI (plan-position indicator) radar images, including VMI normal, Echotop, and Cappi level 2 displays. The reflectivity of the entire volcanic cloud ranges from 0 to >60 dBz. The eruption column above the vent is essentially characterised by VMI normal and Cappi level 2 values, >30 dBz, due to the dominant influence of lapilli and ash (tephra) on the overall reflected signal. The cloud generated by the column was advected downwind to the north-northeast. It is characterised by values between 0 and 30 dBz, and the persistence of these reflections likely result from continuing water condensation and freezing on ash particles. Echotop radar images of the eruption onset document a rapid ascent of the plume head with a mean velocity of ~30 to 50 m s^–1, before it reached an altitude of ~11–12 km. The evolution of the reflected cloud was studied from the area change in pixels of its highly reflected portions, >30 dBz, and tied to recorded volcanic tremor amplitudes. The synchronous initial variation of both radar and seismic signals documents the abrupt increase in tephra emission and magma discharge rate from 18:20 to 19:00 UTC on 26 February. From 19:00 the >45 dBz and 30–45 dBz portions of the reflected cloud decrease and disappear at about 7 and 10.5 h, respectively, after the eruption began, indicating the end of the decaying explosive phase. The advection and extent of the reflected eruption cloud were compared with eyewitness accounts of tephra fall onset and the measured mass of tephra deposited on the ground during the first 12 h. Differences in the deposit map and volcanic cloud radar map are due to the fact that the greater part of the deposit originates by fallout off the column margins and from the base of the cloud followed by advection of falling particle in lower level winds.Editorial responsibility: P. Mouginis-Mark     

Petrochemistry of the Gjálp-1996 subglacial eruption, Vatnajökull, SE Iceland

In October 1996 a subglacial fissure to the north of the Grimsvötn caldera in W-Vatnajökull produced about 0.4 km³ of Fe-rich basaltic andesite–icelandite—in an area characterized mostly by tholeiitic basalt. In this paper the chemical composition of volcanic systems in the region is discussed with the help of six new analyses and others from the literature, and a tentative model for their evolution is proposed, in which magma produced by the partial melting of a two-component mantle mixes with hydrous, silicic melt in the crust. The Vatnajökull 1996 magma belongs to a separate volcanic system, intermediate between Bardarbunga and Grimsvötn.     

Fungal weathering of basaltic rocks in a cold oceanic environment (Iceland): comparison between experimental and field observations

This paper presents evidence for strong biochemical weathering of basaltic outcrops induced by fungal communities in a cold environment. Weathering rind formation is considered to be a consequence of the biological activity. Comparisons between in vitro experiments and in situ observations allow a characterization of fungal effects on rocks and help to define the place of these micro‐organisms in the cold environment weathering chain. It is concluded that biological weathering is chronologically the first process of weathering, probably leading to the subsequent expression of cryogenic processes. Information presented here suggests the need for reconsideration of the traditional frost‐driven morphogenetic system normally considered for subpolar areas. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.