Surtsey: The Birth of an Island

A fishing trawler sailing on the South coast of Iceland noticed a menacing plume of black smoke on the morning of November 14, 1963. Thinking it was a boat on fire the crew of the trawler moved closer to help. On closer inspection the crew realized this wasn’t a ship on fire, but rather something very few have ever witnessed: a volcanic island being born. Over the next few months the island would fend off the eroding forces of the Atlantic to grow to over 2.5 square kilometers in size.

The event wasn’t total unexpected. In the Icelandic capital city of Reykjavík seismologists registered small tremors of an unknown origin. A research vessel off the coast recorded warmer than normal seawater temperatures. About 2 days before being sighted by the trawler, townspeople in the mainland town of Vik, about 80km away, reported smelling sulfur. The eruption likely started a few days before the 14th. At the site, the depth of the water was 130 meters (426 ft), which would have at first concealed the explosions.

The island was named after a “fire giant” in Norse mythology called Surtr. Surtsey grew to a size of 500 meters in length and about 50 meters in height over the first few weeks. Even while being rapidly eroded by the Atlantic Ocean there was enough lava flow to continue growing the island. In December of 1963 three journalists from the French magazine Paris Match became the first to step on the island. They jokingly claimed ownership of the island, which Iceland was quick to rebuff.

Scientists were excited as anyone over this new island development. Never before could they study the colonization of an island in real time.  In 1965 the first plant was discovered growing. The number of known plant species has jumped to 30 since then, including a bush found in 1998. In 1984 a colony of gulls were discovered, and evidence of Puffins in 2004. The island was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it’s scientific value. The island is also an Icelandic nature reserve and off-limits to all but a few select scientists.

Limiting the impact of humans on Surtsey has not gone perfectly. A rogue group of visitors planted potatoes on the island. When discovered they were immediately dug up and destroyed. Some mishandled human waste from scientists resulted in a Tomato plant taking root. It too was quickly removed. Today the only evidence of humans on the island is a small shelter built for visiting scientists.

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