We decided to cover the area with two more traverses and by van with the roving GPSs. James Jackson and myself took the first walk, making a zig-zagging path crossing a step in the DEM between two sets of stereo pairs.
With the weather warm and sunny, we started in a gap between two ridges on the western side of the valley. The area was extremely barren, looking very similar to some of the Mars Rover images, with flat basaltic cobbles lying horizontally over windblown ash, a natural mosaic in a featureless landscape. We completed the route in less than an hour, and so picked bilberries whilst waiting for the van (to use in James' Pork Tenderloin in the evening).
After being picked up, we went to Þeistareykja Farm, where sulphuric acid bubbles up to the surface at pH 1. Apparently about a tourist a year loses their lower limbs (or worse) to this boiling liquid poison.Quite nearby, a geothermal drill bit was being dismantled, and we sat watching whilst eating lunch. Following this, we peeked into the farmhouse, and then headed round the valley to collect picrites, at N65°55.918' W017°04.350', which contained perfectly fresh lime-green olivines... to 12mm! Another sample required, then.
The two Jameses then left, whilst Dan and I drove round to meet them. Their traverse took significantly longer than that of the morning (2 hours) due to difficult terrain.
Returning to Mývatn, work complete, we bought a little more food, and then laid back for a relaxing evening in.
Thomas arrived that evening, and briefly leapt over the garden fence for a chat. His conference is significantly smaller than that of IAVCEI (20 versus 900 participants) - clearly geothermal energy is not as exciting as volcanic eruptions!
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