GSA’S FIRST ANNUAL STUDENT-ORIENTED GEOVENTURES TRIP: ICELAND, AUGUST 1-15, 2002

In the summer of 2002, the Geological Society of America offered students the opportunity to travel to Iceland to experience its geology with it first student-oriented Geoventures trip. The trip was open to any college student interested in the geology of the island. Twenty-six students from twenty-one colleges and universities across the United States participated in the two-week camping excursion that encompassed both inland and coastal areas.

The students provided their own camping equipment. Meals were prepared by the students on a rotating basis under two large communal tents which served as the central base at the campsites. Transportation throughout the country was by charter bus driven by an English-speaking, Icelandic driver who integrated local knowledge of the landscape with the trip itinerary prepared by the leader. The twenty-six students were supervised by a trip leader who guided and taught the students about the geology and a camp manager who was mainly responsible for maintaining food supplies and meal plans.

Students experienced a variety of different geological processes, such as tectonics, rifting, volcanism, glaciation, coastal and hydrogeological processes. Approximately 50 km of optional hikes through the Icelandic terrain were offered to the participants. They experienced a number of different geologic settings such as fissures, tuff cones, geothermal areas, calderas, pseudocraters, deserts, ice caps and lava flows. Among the activities in which students participated were a hike in Skaftafell National Park alongside valley glaciers descending from Vatnajokull ice cap, swimming in the Viti maar and camping in Askja caldera, walking along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, taking a boat ride through an iceberg-filled lagoon and swimming in a number of hot springs.

The trip was an amazing opportunity for students to experience the geology of one of the classic geological localities on Earth and presented students with a unique learning experience outside the classroom. Other participants fom the NE section include A. Kofner, A. Shahar, and W. Spencer.