VOLCANO-ICE INTERACTIONS IN THE ASKJA REGION, CENTRAL ICELAND: HIGH-RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSING ANALYSES

The Askja volcanic system is located at 16.75 W, 65.02N, in the central highlands of Iceland, and rests upon a NE-SW-trending fissure swarm forming the boundary of the Atlantic and European plates. Fissure-fed and point-source volcanism have occurred throughout glacial and interglacial periods, resulting in some of the best examples of subglacial volcanic landforms such as Herðubreið, a well-developed tuya and the “tail of Herðubreið,” a classic moberg ridge. Smaller scale moberg ridges and tindars are found in the region as well. In recent years, high-resolution remote sensing data have become available, enabling new insights into the geology of the region from remote geomorphic and compositional mapping. We are using remote sensing data from: 1) IKONOS, which provides monochromatic data at 1 m/pixel spatial resolution (4 m/pixel color), 2) Hyperion, which provides hyperspectral (220 spectral bands) near infrared data at 30 m/pixel spatial resolution, 3) ASTER, which provide multispectral data at 15-90 m/pixel, and 4) the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data, which provide topographic data. We are using the data to map the geology of the greater Askja region at meter-scale in order to better understand the complicated interplay of sedimentary and volcanic processes associated with volcano-ice interactions, and to evaluate how the mineralogy of subglacial volcanic structures can be used to reconstruct an ancient hydrothermal environment. In fact, similar landforms have been identified on Mars, therefore remote sensing studies of classical features on Earth might help to evaluate evidence for volcano-ice interactions on other planets.