The Aleutian low is a sub-arctic belt of low pressure that stretches across the North Pacific and is centred over the Aleutian Islands. It is separated by an area of relatively high pressure over the North Pole from a similar North Atlantic low pressure belt centred over Iceland. The Aleutian lows are most intense during mid- winter. Research Aleutian Low
The Althing is the parliament of Iceland, it was created in 928 on the lines of the previously existing Norse Thing and is the oldest parliamentary assembly in the world. It was dissolved in 1800, revived in 1843 as an advisory body and it's modern form was constituted in 1874 as a legislative body. Research Althing
The ISO (International Standards Organisation) assigns a two character code to each country name. These codes are used by Internet 'whois' databases (these two character abbreviations are the whois country codes) and also other applications.
Edda (meaning 'great-grandmother'), is the name given to two ancient Icelandic works, the one consisting of mythological poems, the other being mainly in prose. The first of these collections, called the Olderor Poetic Edda, was compiled in the 13th century. For a long time an earlier date was given, the compiler being erroneously believed to have been Saemund Sigfusson, a learned Icelandic clergyman, who lived from about 1056 to 1133. It consists of thirty-three pieces, written in alliterative verse, and comprising epic tales of the Scandinavian gods and goddesses, and narratives dealing with the Scandinavian heroes. These poems are now assigned to a period extending from the 9th to the llth century.
The prose Edda, or Younger Edda, presents a kind of prose synopsis of the Northern mythology; a treatise on the Scaldic poetry and versification, with rules and examples; and lastly a poem (with a commentary) in honour of Haco of Norway (who died 1263). In its earliest form this collection is ascribed to Snorri Sturluson, who was born in Iceland in 1178, and was assassinated there in 1241 on his return from Norway, where he had been scald or court-poet. Research Edda
In geography, a geyser (from the Icelandic geysir which in turn deribes from heysa meaning to gush or rush forth) is a term applied to natural springs of hot water of the kind that were first observed in Iceland. The geysers of Iceland, about a hundred in number, lie about 30 miles north west of Mount Hecia, in a plain covered by hot-springs and steaming apertures. The two most remarkable are the Great Geyser and the New Geyser or Strokkur (churn), the former of which throws up at times a column of hot water to the height of from 80 to 200 feet. The basin of the Great Geyser is about 70 feet across at its greatest diameter. The New Geyser, which is only 100 meters away, is much smaller in size. The springs are supposed to be connected with Mount Hecia, and the phenomenon of eruption has been explained by Tyndall as due to the heating of the walls of a fissure, whereby the water is slowly raised to the boiling point under pressure, and explodes into steam, an interval being required for the process to be repeated. The geysers of Iceland, however, were surpassed by those discovered in the Rocky Mountains in the Yellowstone Region of Wyoming Territory, the largest of which throw up jets of water from 90 to 250 feet high. The hot-lake district of Auckland, New Zealand, is also famous in possessing some of the most remarkable geyser scenery in the world. These phenomena are of three kinds: the puias (fire-springs), geysers continually or intermittently active; ngawhas or inactive puias, which emitsteam, but do not throw up columns of water; and waiariki or hot-water cisterns. This region is remarkable for the number of natural terraces containing hot-water pools or cisterns, and its lakes all filled at intervals by the boiling geysers and thermal springs, but the configuration of the country was considerably altered by the disastrous volcanic outbreak of 1886. Ngahapu or Ohopia, a circular rocky basin, 40 feet in diameter, in which a violent geyser is constantly ng up to the height of 10 or 12 feet, emitting dense clouds of steam, is one of the natural wonders of the southern hemisphere. Research Geyser
Glaciers are icy masses of great bulk, harder than snow, yet not exactly like common ice, which cover the summits and sides of mountains above the snow-line. They are found in Switzerland, Scandinavia, the Andes, etc.
They extend down into the valleys often far below the snow-line, and bear a considerable resemblance to a frozen torrent. They take their origin in the higher valleys, where they are formed by the congelation and compression of masses of snow in that condition called by French writers neve, by German authors, firn.
The ice of glaciers differs from that produced by the freezing of still water, and is composed of thin layers filled with air-bubbles. It is likewise more brittle and less transparent. The glaciers are continually moving downwards, and not unfrequently reach the borders of cultivation. The rate at which a glacier moves generally varies from 45 to 60 cm in twenty-four hours.
At its lower end it is generally very steep and inaccessible. In its middle course it resembles a frozen stream
with an undulating surface, broken up by fissures or crevasses. As it descends it experiences a gradualdiminution from the action of the sun and rain, and from the heat of the earth. Hence a phenomenon universally attendant on glaciers - the issue of a stream of ice-cold turbid water from their lower extremity. The descent of glaciers is shown by changes in the position of masses of rock at their sides and on their surface. A remarkable glacier phenomenon is that of moraines, as they are called, consisting of accumulations of stones and detritus piled up on the sides of the glacier, or scattered along the surface. They are composed of fragments of rock detached by the action of frost and other causes.
The fissures or crevasses by which glaciers are traversed are sometimes more than 30 meters in depth, and from being often covered with snow are exceedingly dangerous to travellers. One of the most famous glaciers of the Alps is the Mer de Glace, belonging to Mont Blanc, in the valley of Chamouni, about 1740 meters above sea level. It is more especially, however, in the chain of Monte Rosa that the phenomena of glaciers are exhibited in their greatest sublimity, as also in their most interesting phases from a scientific point of view.
Glaciers exist in all zones in which mountains rise above the snow-line. Those of Norway are well known, and they abound in Iceland and Spitzbergen. Hooker and other travellers gave accounts of those of the Himalaya. They are conspicuous on the Andes, while the Southern Alps of New Zealandrival in this respect the Alpine regions of Switzerland.
The problem of the descent of the glaciers is of extraordinary interest, and various theories have been put forward to account for it. It was shown by Professor Forbes, of Edinburgh, that a glacier moves very much like a river; the middle and upper parts faster than the sides and the bottom; and he showed that glacier motion was analogous to the way in which a mass of thick mortar or a quantity of pitch flows down in an inclined trough. His theory is known as the viscous theory of glaciers, which presupposes that ice is a plastic body, and this plasticity has been satisfactorily explained by Professor James Thomson of Glasgow by the phenomenon of the melting and refreezing of ice.
Water, he discovered, when subjected to pressure, freezes at a lower temperature than when the pressure is removed. Consequently when ice is subjected to pressure it melts; if it is relieved of pressure the water again solidifies. Therefore if two pieces of ice are pressed together, they tend to relieve themselves by melting at their points of contact, and the water thus produced immediately solidifies on its escape. If ice is strained in any way it similarly relieves itself at the strained parts, and a similar regelation follows. This, when applied to the glaciers, gives a complete explanation of their plasticity. Pressed downwards by the vast superincumbent mass, the ice gradually yields. Melting and re-freezing takes place at some parts, at others the gradual yielding at strained points goes on. In the latter process there is no visible melting, but there is the gradual yielding from point to point to the pressure above, and there is the transference relatively to each other of the molecules that constitute the, at first sight, solid mass. If, however, at certain points the strain is intense, the ice becomes extremely brittle. The latter fact disposes of Tyndall's objection to Forbes' theory, which was based on the fact that crevasses proved the brittleness, and not the viscosity of ice. Research Glacier
The Cod (Gadus) is a genus of fish of the family Gadidae. They are found in the Atlantic and Baltic. Cod are distinguished by the following characters: A smooth, rectangular, or fusiform body, covered with small soft scales; ventrals attached beneath the throat; gills large, seven-rayed, and opening laterally; a small beard at the tip of the lower jaw; generally two or three dorsal fins, one or two anal, and one distinct caudal fin.
The most interesting species is the common or Bank cod (Gadus morrhua). Though once found plentifully on the coasts of other northern regions, as Britain, Scandinavia, and Iceland, a stretch of sea near the coast of Newfoundland is the favourite annual resort of formerly countless multitudes of cod, which visit the Grand Banks to feed upon the crustaceous and molluscous animals abundant in such situations, and thus attract fleets of fishermen - by the end of the 20th century the number of cod was so severely depleted by industrial fishing that fears grew that the ocd might become extinct.
Cod has long been recognised as a good food stuff and the oil extracted by heat and pressure from the liver is of great medicinal value, and contributes considerably to the high economic value of the cod. The cod is enormously prolific, the ovaries of each female containing more than 9,000,000 of eggs; but the numbers are kept down by a host of enemies. The spawning season, on the banks of Newfoundland, begins about the month of March and terminates in June; The cod takes from three to four years to reach maturity and achieves an average length of around one meter, and a weight between 30 and 50 lbs, though sometimes formerly cod were caught weighing three times this. The colour is a yellowish-gray on the back, spotted with yellowish and brown; the belly white or reddish, with golden spots in young individuals. Research Cod
The deal-fish (Trachypterus arcticus), so called from its excessively compressed body, is a fish found around Iceland and Norway. It is between four and eight feet long, a silvery colour and has minute scales. The dorsal fin extends along the whole length of the back. Research Deal-fish
The eider (Somateria mollissima) is a coastal duck of the family Anatidae found from 45 degrees north to the arctic. Its favourite haunts are solitary rocky shores and islands. In Greenland and Iceland they occur in great numbers, and also breed on the western islands of Scotland. The eider duck is about twice the size of the common duck, being about 70 cm in length, 90 cm in breadth of wing, and from 6 to 7 lbs. in weight. The male is black, with the head and back white, with a black crown. The female is reddish drab spotted with black, and with two white bands on the wings. The eider feed largely on shell-fish, crustaceans, etc.
Their nests are usually formed of driftgrass, dry sea-weed, etc, lined with a large quantity of down, which the female plucks from her own breast. In this soft bed she lays five eggs, which she covers over with a layer of down. If this, with the eggs, is removed the bird repeats the process. One female generally furnishes about half-a-pound of down, but the quantity is reduced by cleaning. This down, from its superior warmth, lightness, and elasticity, is in great demand for beds and coverlets; and the districts in Norway and Iceland where these birds abound are guarded with the greatest vigilance as a most valuable property. As found in commerce this down is in balls of the size of a man's fist, and weighing from 3 to 4 lbs. It is so fine and elastic that 5 lbs. of the best quality is sufficient for a whole bed. The down from dead birds is little esteemed, having lost its elasticity. The king eider duck (Somateria spectabilis) is another species resembling the preceding and inhabiting the same coasts. Research Eider
The Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) is a sea bird which lives on the sub-arctic shores of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans being found in Iceland, Great Britain, Brittany, the western coast of Norway, Greenland during the breeding season, the rest of its time being spent at sea. The Fulmar is predominantly whitish in colour with pale brown wings and tail above and is about 47 cm in length. The nest is built on rocky sea islands or coastal cliffs and one or sometimes two eggs are laid which are incubated by both parents taking turns for the fifty-two day incubation cycle The young leave the nest able to fly after about fifty days and reach maturity at seven years. Research Fulmar
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Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Aleutian Low
