Nomination of

SURTSEY – NOMINATION FOR THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST
Research work
The Surtsey eruption immediately aroused a great
deal of interest, both among scientists and the
general public. As a spectacular eruption in the
picturesque surroundings of the Vestmannaeyjar
archipelago, it attracted many Icelandic and
foreign visitors. The research value was further
acknowledged by the scientific community after
it became evident that Surtsey would prove
lasting, because then it was clear that Surtsey
offered an exceptional opportunity to study the
development of an oceanic volcano from its
inception on the sea floor, through the formation
of an island, to the new land's modification by
hydrothermal processes and wave abrasion.
Scientists, including earth scientists and
biologists, first stepped ashore on 16 December
1963. After that, numerous visits and expeditions
to the island followed.
The course of this exceptional, many-faceted
event was observed from the air as well as from
surface elevations. Vertical aerial photographs
were thus taken on 19 flights during the Surtsey
eruption, in the period from February 1964 to
Lava crater
Coastal sediment
Hydrothermal area 1968
Tephra Nov. 1963 - April 1964
Lava April 1964 - May 1965
Lava August 1966 - June 1967
Lava Dec. 1966 - Jan. 1967
50
200 m
Fig. 2.19. Simplified geological map of Surtsey in
1967, with the approximate extent of the hydrothermal
area indicated as it was in 1968. The shoreline of
Surtsey, as it was in 2004, is shown for comparison.
Sigurður Þórarinsson, professor and volcanologist
(1912–1983) at work in Surtsey on April 16, 1964 by
Surtsey lagoon. The Vestmannaeyjar archipelago is seen
in the background. (Photo: Hjálmar R. Bárðarson).
March 1967. Such trips have continued since the
eruption ceased and have now yielded 53 aerial
photosets, most recently from August 2004. The
photos overlap 60–80% and are of generally high
quality; six are reproduced here in Fig. 2.20. This
documentation of the construction and
obliteration of volcanic islands is unique, with no
comparable coverage existing anywhere else. In
addition, several detailed topographic and
bathymetric maps were compiled during and
after the eruption.
Numerous geological and geophysical studies
have been linked to the Surtsey eruption.
Lightning activity, for instance, typifies
subaquatic/subglacial eruptions, so during the
Surtsey eruption, field and laboratory experiments
were devised to elucidate the cause. The
conclusion was that the contact of sea water with
glowing lava at the vent led to charge separation,
resulting in negatively-charged tephra and
positively-charged steam. Lightning jumped
between the oppositely charged clouds whenever
the difference in voltage exceeded the insulating
resistance of the intervening air (Sveinbjörn
Björnsson et al. 1966; Blanchard and Sveinbjörn
Björnsson 1967).