The Flyover

Sky, Water And Life

Linda Lou Burton posting from Perlan, Reykjavik, Iceland – Florida and Iceland have a lot in common. Granted there aren’t any volcanoes in Florida, but when it comes to the Gulf Stream, the two are hand-holding partners. It seems almost illogical, a little bitty island far north in Arctic waters getting warmed by Gulf Stream waters, but it’s true. It all began back in the Cenozoic era, when the open waters between (what is now known as) North and South America closed up, redirecting the currents. Look at Perlan’s map, and explanation.

The Central American Seaway Closes. The closing of the Central American Seaway, after which the Isthmus of Panama links South and North America, stands as one of the most globally significant natural events of the Cenozoic era, driving profound transformations on land and in the sea. The cut-off of the inflow and outflow between the two oceans strengthens the Gulf Stream, rerouting warm, nutrient-rich currents from the Caribbean Sea toward Iceland. The warm, salty water releases more heat into the Arctic and northern European atmosphere. It also brings several new Pacific invertebrates, including molluscs, brachiopods, and echinoderms to Iceland.

Ocean Currents. Iceland sits where three powerful ocean currents meet. The Gulf Stream brings warm, salty water from the south. The fast-moving East Greenland Current transports less salty, cold water to the Icelandic coast. The East Iceland Current brings more cold water south from the polar region.

Perlan tells about Iceland’s fresh water too, with a Glacier Exhibit (more than a tenth of the country is covered in glaciers); a Water In Icelandic Nature exhibit, Underwater World, and even an Ice Cave to wander through. We wandered, looking up and looking down; sitting once in a while. The planetarium was my favorite; lots of sitting and IMAX surround featuring an incredible array of northern lights. I’m convinced now – Iceland isn’t gray at all! Its sky is colorful, its buildings are colorful, and there is a never-ending round of tours and activities waiting to show the country off.

More coming up in other posts about geysers spewing, rivers flowing, and water falling and splashing (you can count 10,000 waterfalls!). One last point about water here: the water flowing from springs is considered among the cleanest in the world – filtered through layers of lava and rocks for decades. And then there’s that rain coming down, that we’ve witnessed today. As to what lives and grows in such an abundantly watered environment – I will tell you two things that don’t. There are no mosquitos or snakes in Iceland! There are sheep and goats and the interesting and unusual Icelandic horse. Seals and whales to tell about later, and the cute arctic fox, which was actually the first land mammal on the island. Stay tuned.

The first two photos are from Perlan’s coverage of the Aurora Borealis which includes myths and stories about the showy skies. The last photo isn’t from Perlan but something I found online showing a favorite pastime for Icelanders – relaxing in a nice warm geothermal pool or hottub under the beautiful nighttime sky. Seriously!  See what I mean about color?

Perlan https://www.perlan.is/

Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik, Iceland https://www.centerhotels.com/en/hotel-plaza-reykjavik

Next Post: The Flyover

Earth, Wind And Fire

Linda Lou Burton posting from Perlan, Reykjavik, Iceland – I am rendered speechless. Bet you thought you’d never hear me say that. But when it comes to volcanoes, the forces of nature can overwhelm. A volcano is the attention-getter in the room, the loud, showy extrovert that demands to be noticed. And Iceland is, pure and simple, a hunk of volcanic aftermath. Which keeps on growing. And going. Remember the Great Rift Valley in Africa, where we’ve been hanging out the last few weeks? Tectonic Plates, continental movement? The same thing is going on in Iceland — it straddles the North American and Eurasian plates, and they are moving apart. And below that rift/underwater crack is a magma hotspot (the Iceland Plume) that results in Iceland being one of the most active volcanic regions in the world. They have a volcanic eruption about every three years – one happened near Keflavik airport in August but calmed down just before we got here. There are about 30 active volcanic systems on this small island today. I won’t get into the details of types or activity (as I’m speechless about the whole thing), but Perlan’s exhibits can set you thinking. Here are the pictures I took and “what’s happening” in their own words and descriptions.

Dynamic Beauty

Iceland’s volcanoes, earthquakes, and glaciers keep it geologically young, active, and spectacularly beautiful. Land is created and destroyed here faster than anywhere else in the world. Straddling divergent tectonic plates, Iceland stretches by about two centimeters per year. The sea erodes the shore at about the same rate. Mountains, islands, lakes and gorges come, go, and transform. It’s a land whose story always seems to be starting a new chapter.

Iceland Becomes an Island

Continents drift. The ocean widens. The land bridge can no longer survive. The mantle plume props up the western arm of the land bridge, but it ultimately crumbles and tumbles into the ocean. Only Iceland endures, an island at last, riding the very forces that destroyed the land around it. Furious volcanoes, earthquakes, and glaciers continuously renew and reshape isolated Iceland, replenishing rock and soil as quickly as they are worn away.

Now let me switch floors in this beautiful building full of Iceland’s wonders so I can show you the aurora borealis (beautiful sky!), the story of water, and the life that exists in this splendor.

Next Post: Sky, Water and Life

Perlan https://www.perlan.is/

Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik, Iceland https://www.centerhotels.com/en/hotel-plaza-reykjavik

Domed If We Do

Linda Lou Burton posting from Perlan, Reykjavik, Iceland – It was raining a goodly amount this morning; breakfast in the cozy basement of our hotel was splendid, tables piled with skyr (thicker than yogurt) and pylsur (sausage) and eggs and fruits and rich dark breads just waiting to be buttered. Steaming hot coffee, tall urn. But the windows upstairs framed rain. So what do you do when it rains a lot? Make your windows bigger, in fact, dome up so the entire sky above your head is visible in every direction. Add a motorized device to rotate you slowly over an hour so you can see every horizon, no matter what the weather. Soak it up! That’s what they’ve done in Reykjavik at Perlan’s domed restaurant, high on a hill above town, high atop a museum of such awesome natural wonders you have to keep going back (get an annual pass!); all of this high atop six tanks filled with water, which is, well, sort of what started the entire enterprise.

The “Pearl” as it is affectionately known, was designed by architect Ingimundi Sveinssson and opened in 1991. The first water tank, however, was built in 1939; high enough on the hill to provide ample pressure to serve the needs of the town. Tanks were added; today each of the six can hold over a million gallons of geothermal water. This hot water provides heating for homes, schools, municipal buildings, and, via a network of pipes under the pavement, keeps Reykjavik’s streets free of ice and snow in the winter. Building something on top of the tanks evolved from a 1930s idea to build a “temple” on that hill covered in mirror panels “so the northern lights could reach the people’s feet.” Function and beauty – ah! Johannes Kjarval, who was going for beauty, also proposed crystals on the roof and spotlights on the tanks so the building would respond both to the light of day and the symbols of night. The Pearl, which came about sixty years later, pretty much does all of that, and so much more.

Perlan was at the top of my list for Reykjavik “must-dos,” so we stepped out the hotel door to a waiting taxi and rode through blowing rain. We bought tickets for “the works” – The Wonders of Iceland, giving us access to the Planetarium, the exhibits, the observation deck, and above it all, the fabulous domed restaurant. There is no possible place better to spend a rainy day. Or a sunny one. I’ll tell you about the exhibits in upcoming posts (there is so much to tell!). As to the restaurant itself, we both had tasty fish and chips, very nice; but it was the dome that held our attention. Some of the following photos are mine; some I found to show how the world looks when you choose to love it rain or shine, day or night, as they seem to have decided to do on a little island called Iceland.

Perlan https://www.perlan.is/

Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik, Iceland https://www.centerhotels.com/en/hotel-plaza-reykjavik

Next Post: Earth, Wind and Fire