{"id":3188,"date":"2026-02-18T20:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/?p=3188"},"modified":"2026-02-18T20:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:42:12","slug":"national-parks-series-returns-with-icelandic-volcano-presentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/2026\/02\/national-parks-series-returns-with-icelandic-volcano-presentation\/","title":{"rendered":"National Parks Series Returns with Icelandic Volcano Presentation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Clare Sherman —<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Gardner-Harvey Library\u2019s National Parks Talk Series returned for the semester recently with an informative lecture by Geologist Dr. Tammie Gerke. Zoom participants tuned in for a comprehensive look at Iceland\u2019s volcanoes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Parks Series has evolved in recent years from presentations about the National Parks to the participating community\u2019s geological interests. The theme for the current spring semester is volcanoes, with the first lecture focusing on Iceland\u2019s volcanic activity. At next month\u2019s meeting, the group will learn about Mount Vesuvius, followed by a group book discussion of \u201cKrakatoa: The Day the World Exploded\u201d by Simon Winchester in April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s lecture, which had an impressively large Zoom audience, began with an overview of the topics to be discussed, including plate tectonic review, Iceland\u2019s formation, volcanoes and glaciers, and even folklore. Dr. Gerke, excited to share her research, encouraged all participants to comment and ask questions throughout the evening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure the audience\u2019s understanding of the Iceland-specific topics to come, Dr. Gerke began with a plate tectonic review. The types of plate boundaries\u2014divergent, convergent, and transform\u2014 were explored. Iceland sits atop a divergent plate boundary, meaning that the North American and Eurasian plates are spreading apart at approximately two centimeters per year. It is the only country in the world with a major divergent plate boundary\u2014the Mid-Atlantic Ridge\u2014above sea level, and people can hike between the plates at \u00deingvellir National Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to Iceland\u2019s complex and active geology is a major hotspot, which sits right on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This unique situation leads to many heavy, dense Basaltic rock eruptions. The added weight of Basaltic rock causes the folding and rising of the surrounding crust, accounting for the above-sea Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This interaction between the hotspot and the tectonic plates caused the intense volcanic activity that created Iceland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Gerke also touched on the fire and ice dynamic of Iceland\u2019s volcanic activity. Because the island\u2019s surface is 10-11% glacier material, Iceland\u2019s most active volcanoes sit directly on top of glacial ice. Interestingly, the interaction with ice inhibits the formation of the volcanoes, causing them to take a \u201ctable-top shape\u201d as opposed to the triangular shape of most volcanoes. The interaction of fire and ice also leads to flash floods when volcanoes erupt, and they are often just as devastating as the eruptions themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notable facts and famous eruptions of five of Iceland\u2019s most well-known volcanoes\u2014Katla, Eyjafjallaj\u00f6kull, Hekla, Laki, and Fagradalsfjall\u2014were discussed in detail. Dr. Gerke cited Katla as the most active and explosive volcanic system, with eruptions occurring every 40-80 years. Eyjaffjallaj\u00f6kull, whose magma system is connected to Katla\u2019s magma system, is most famous for its March 20th, 2010 eruption. Over 20 countries were affected in the aftermath, totaling billions of dollars in economic damage. In a historic fun fact, Dr. Gerke revealed that the crop failure associated with Laki\u2019s 1783 eruption is speculated to have been a trigger for the French Revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Folklore concluded the presentation, as Dr. Gerke spoke about Hulduf\u00f3lk. Translated to \u201cHidden People,\u201d Hulduf\u00f3lk are mythical beings believed to live in volcanic environments. A large percentage of Icelanders have long believed in and respected Hulduf\u00f3lk, seeing them as protectors of the land. Land and construction projects have even been altered to avoid disturbing their peace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the comprehensive lecture, Dr. Gerke\u2019s passion for Iceland’s geology showed through. In addition to enthusiastically teaching the material, she also revealed that some materials were new even to her, expressing appreciation for opportunities to make discoveries and share them with the community. Furthermore, the participants were actively involved with comments and questions, and at the end of the evening, one participant shared stories and photos from her trip to Iceland. Many tips were shared for those wanting to go themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Parks Talk Series will return on March 17th to learn about Mount Vesuvius, and on April 21st to discuss \u201cKrakatoa: the Day the World Exploded,\u201d by Simon Winchester. To stay updated on all Gardner-Harvey Library events, please visit their event calendar.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Clare Sherman — The Gardner-Harvey Library\u2019s National Parks Talk Series returned for the semester recently with an informative lecture by Geologist Dr. Tammie Gerke. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":9443,"featured_media":3189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-communities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3188"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3190,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3188\/revisions\/3190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/mu-regional-pulse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}