Iceland
Aaron R. Shay
Iceland
• Iceland is an island created by volcanoes, the
land however does contain ice, though the
amount of ice is misleading to the extent of its
latitude and name. It is covered by glaciers to
the extent of only 11 percent
• Has a flourishing fishing industry
*Native Iceland people
• Iceland boasts a literacy rate in the ninety-ninth percentile
• Iceland is not currently part of the European Union, however it is part of
the European Economic Area (EEA), which allows it to participate in the
European single market without joining the European Union.
• There native language is Icelandic which is a Northern Germanic
language
*http://www.vidiani.com
Note: Relative high Latitude, just south of Arctic Circle
*http://solotravelerblog.com
• The Capitol of Iceland is Reykjavik, consequently this is the
location of where I will show a climograph in a preceding slide
• 64° 7’ 52” N/ 21° 56’ 20” W
Reykjavik
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Capital of Iceland
Latitude of 64° 7’ 52” N
Longitude of 21° 56’ 20” W
The areal extent of the town is 106 square
miles
Koppen climate zone
for Reykjavik, Iceland
(Cfc)
• Mild midlatitude climate
• Marine west coast
• Cfc (wet all year; cool summer)
• Other regions that experience this climate include:
• Northern Alaskan Panhandle
• Southern point of Chile
• Australian Alps
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Precipitation
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• With a land mass largely controlled through the ocean a temperate
environment often emerges, this is shown by little fluctuation of
temperature and precipitation. On average the annual temperature
difference between the warmest and coldest month is a mere 20°F, and
precipitation change is only 1.7” comparing the wettest to driest month of
the year.
To stimulate the Cfc climate additional
climographs are shown below:
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Cfc cont’d
• By definition these regions are situated on the
western side of continents usually between
40° and 60°
• Consequently these climates are subject to
the westerlies.
• This climate area in Iceland is relatively small,
only the southern coastal front is classified as
Cfc
Ocean Current
• The warm north equatorial waters feed the
Gulf Stream which flows northward
• The flow of warm Gulf Stream water is then
diverged to the East to form the North Atlantic
Drift
• The North Atlantic Drift reaches Europe where
the water divides north forming the
Norwegian stream and South forming the
Canary stream
• Even through this extensive journey there is
still warmer water reaching Iceland
*http://reinep.wordpress.com
• The key factor is that the warm ocean current
creates warmer bodies of air over the island
• The extent of the water effect out weights any
effect of typical land mass to water situations
• One might assume that the cold high pressure
land would induce off shore winds in contrast
with the ocean, however most any effect of
this is overburdened by the generally warm
ocean current
Wind Patterns
• By definition of the latitude of Iceland the
Westerlies have little to do with Iceland,
however they play a larger picture than what
first may appear
• The extensive ocean current that feeds Iceland
with warm water is due to the prevailing
westerly winds off the subtropical highs.
• These anticyclonic conditions catapult the Gulf
Stream northward
• There are other factors that cause Gulf Stream to
flow this direction but the Westerlies are the
main assister, other reasons why the flow is
northward are as such:
– Natural pole ward flow of warm water to colder
– Salinity difference, the gulf is denser from it’s salt
content
*http://besthike.wordpress.com
• The Westerlies are met by the Polar
Easterlies at this location
• This creates cyclonic conditions however
precipitation is moderate because the
average temperature is still cold enough to
not induce extensive amounts of rain.
*Cold air has low water vapor capacity
Dust Storms
• Iceland has over 7500 square miles of sandy
deserts
– Glacial deposits and volcanic eruptions
• Cyclonic conditions updraft dust and send
over to U.K.
• Major air pollutant to other parts of the
world
Pictures of volcanic eruption and dry land
with snow
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com
Land-Water Contrast
• So what effect does the oceans and winds
have on Iceland’s climate?
• Well with out these factors Iceland would look
about like Greenland does!
Wikipedia.org/Greenland eastcoast.jpg
• Enhanced color infrared satellite picture
Latitude
• What all these factors do is emplace an island
at 66°N and still have moderate temperatures
• You can expect cloudy days here being that
the island resides at the same location as the
polar front
• You can’t escape light/dark differences at this
latitude. Don’t expect to get over four hours
of light in the dead of winter
Fishing
• Cod is the cornerstone of the fishing industry
off the shores of Iceland
*http://photography.nationalgeographic.com
• Iceland was one of the first to set quotas on
how many fish could be caught
• Regulates that only residence of Iceland may
fish with in there set boundaries
– 200 mile boundary around Iceland
• The term “Cod Wars” was coined
• Because of there stability they are able to
export a sustainable amount of fish every year
Time permitting
• Formation of Iceland
– Hot spot and Mid-Atlantic Ridge
– Glaciers effect
– Heating of Homes
– Island enlargening
http://fionamariecarter.wordpress.com
http://www.lonelyplanet.com
Works Cited
Goodeve, Emily D. "Iceland And The European Union." Scandinavian Studies 77.1
(2005): 85-104. Literary Reference Center. Web. 27 Oct. 2013
Hess, Darrel, Tom L. McKnight, and Dennis Tasa. McKnight's Physical Geography.
New York: Learning Solutions, 2011. Print.
"Icelandic Language." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1.
Literary Reference Center. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
"Iceland Met office: Monthly Averages for Reykjavik". Iceland Met Office. 2012.
Retrieved on 4 January 2013.
"NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
Rosenberg P. D. , et al. "Aircraft-Based Observations And High-Resolution Simulations
Of An Icelandic Dust Storm." Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics 12.22 (2012):
10649-10666. Environment Complete. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Webster, Donovan. "Cod World: Can Iceland Save Its Fisheries Without Killing Its
Fishing Industry?." Virginia Quarterly Review 87.3 (2011): 4-33. Literary
Reference Center. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
"World Weather Information Service – Punta Arenas". May 2011. Retrieved 3 March
2011.
Valdimarsson, Hedinn, et al. "Icelandic Coastal Sea Surface Temperature Records
Constructed: Putting The Pulse On Air–Sea–Climate Interactions In The
Northern North Atlantic. Part I: Comparison With Hadisst1 Open-Ocean
Surface Temperatures And Preliminary Analysis Of.." Journal Of Climate
19.21 (2006): 5652-5666. Academic Search Elite. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.