BIRTH OF A FIRE ISLAND
The men aboard the small Icelandic fishing boat quickly noticed that something was different on that gray autumn morning: The sea smelled of sulfur, and the water was unusually warm. A short time later they could see a gigantic cloud of smoke rising over the ocean. It was coming from an underwater volcano lying hundreds of feet beneath the surface. Less than 24 hours later, there was a new island 20 miles south of Iceland. For about three and a half years the volcano continued to erupt, creating a total of four new islands in the sea. And though three of them soon disappeared, one of them persisted and was given the name Surtsey, after Surtr, a fire giant in Norse mythology.
That first sighting was in November of 1963, and almost 60 years later the fire island of Surtsey is still there. It attracted attention at the time because it provided geologists with their first opportunity to see the creation of an island in real time. Today erosion has lowered the highest point on Surtsey to just over 500 feet and reduced its surface area to half a square mile, but the island is expected to remain there for a long time to come. Only a few scientists are permitted to visit Surtsey.
Other visitors must board a small plane and view the island from the air. Surtsey was declared a nature reserve in 1965, and since 2008 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its great scientific value. The island is not open to the general public, not only because the fierce storms that sweep across its steep cliffs make it treacherous, but because restricting visitors is intended to protect the natural ecological succession from human interference. The first vascular plant appeared in 1965. Mosses followed in 1967 and lichens in 1970. By 2008, 69 plant species had been identified and 30 of them were established. That year the 14th species of breeding bird was also sighted. Surtsey continues to show how new land is colonized by flora and fauna.