Icelandic Low

The winter warmth after the Pinatubo emption was concentrated over Scandinavia and Siberia and central North America. These temperature anomalies were associated with marked departures in sea-level pressure patterns in the first northern winter. There was a pole-ward shift and strengthening of North Atlantic westerlies at —60° N, associated with corresponding shifts in the positions and strengths of the Iceland Low and Azores High. These effects have been modeled as a result of changes to the atmospheric circulation around the Arctic (the Arctic Oscillation Thompson and Wallace (1998)) arising from the differential heating effects of the volcanic aerosol... 

Its center lies at an altitude of about 5 km, that is, in the center of the troposphere, and is frequently located over the Baltic Sea. The location, the strength, and the cyclonic or an ticy clonic character of this j et stream determines the weather of the Baltic Sea. Two global action centers over the North Atlantic—the Icelandic Low and the Azores High—regulate its dynamics. North Atlantic lows with their fronts and wedges at intermediate altitudes are very often embedded in this westerly wind system. Usually, they move rapidly from west to east across the Baltic Sea and its coasts. 

FIGURE 5.11 Modified scheme proposed by Albeit and Hagen (1997) for the atmospheric winter circulation over the northern Atlantic Ocean indicating two distinct modes of the North Atlantic Oscillation, which is described by the difference in sea-level air pressure ( Ap) between the Icelandic Low (7) and the Azores High (H)-. (a) I Ap (NAO) corresponds to intensified westerlies conveying warm/humid (W) air masses toward western Europe and reduced inflow of cold/dry (O Siberian air masses,(b) -Ap (NAO) corresponds to the opposite situation of (a). 

There is a comparable set of climate indices for the North Atlantic that potentially exert controls on the intensities of storms, both extratropical storms and hurricanes, although those relationships are not as firmly established as in the Pacific and there is some debate as to their analyses and interpretations. Comparable to the NPI for the North Pacific, the atmospheric pressure difference between the Iceland Low and Azores High defines the North Atlantic Index (NAI), with research having shown that an increase in this index produces higher intensity storms and the heights of the waves they generate. The Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) is somewhat analogous to the PDO in the Pacific, based in practical terms... 

Axelsson, G. et al. 1994. Injection experiments in low temperature geothermal areas in Iceland. Proceedings, World Geothermal Congress, 1995, 1991-1996. 

Similarly, rivers in Iceland (Vigier et al. 2002) showed a strong fractionation from the presumed-invariant isotopic composition of their solute sources (8 Li = +17.1 to +23.9, compared to approximately +4 for pristine basalts). Rivers draining terranes with the oldest exposed lavas yield low 5T i a positive correlation exists between dissolved Li concentration and 5T i in Icelandic rivers. These observations are consistent with the data of Pistiner and Henderson (2003) for naturally weathered, historically-erupted Icelandic basalt. The outermost 4 mm of the basalt erupted in 1783 was shown to have 5T i 2%o lighter than the interior of the sample, suggesting weathering over 200 yr, even in the arctic climate, lead to appreciable release of isotopically heavy Li to surface waters. 

Not every fishing system works as well and preserves fish as long as the ones used in Iceland and Norway. Spoilage at sea is very common and contributes substantially to the loss of fishery resources. Several factors affect the keeping quality of fish held cai trawlers. One factor is the temperature of the water from which the catch is taken. Fish from hi temperature water needs less chilling to inhibit enzyme activity fish from very low temperature waters need very low temperature chilling to retard enzyme activity (13). 

Arnorsson, S. 1975. Application of the silica geothermometer in low-temperature hydrothermal areas in Iceland. American Journal of Science, 275, 763-784. 

Arnorsson, S., Bjornsson, S., Johannesson, H. Gunnlaugsson, E. 1992. The Production Characteristics of the Reykjavik District Heating Service low-Temperature Geothermal Systems. Arbok Verkfrcedingafelags Islands 1991/1992. Reykjavik, 344-366. (In Icelandic.)... 

Figure 44 The percentage of batches of 20 cod which exhibited post-mortem pH values of 6.6 or over during a year. The fish were obtained from several grounds, and the results show that the phenomenon of low pH in summer is widespread. (After Love, 1979.) Grounds , Shetland O, Faroe +, North Sea x, West Scotland A, Iceland , North Norway , South Norway.

It is not just Iceland s renewable energy base that makes it an ideal laboratory for this experiment. Iceland is practically a city-state, with about 62 percent of the population living in or around the capital city, Reykjavik.21 A hydrogen infrastructure on this remarkable little island can be established at relatively low cost—a few fueling stations in Reykjavik and on the roads around the island could easily serve most of the needs of the population. So the chicken-and-egg problem is far less daunting here. For example, on... 

The proposed Icelandic hydrogen economy is a very special case based on geothermal electricity of zero fuel cost and very low total cost. The economics overween the poor thermodynamics. Even so, the news is of slow progress. 

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