27 April, 2003

The first day

The bags were packed, the passport was set, the gloves were matched, all I needed was a great nights sleep. My new son must have realized this as he decided to keep me up all night with a stomachache. The flight to Albany, New York proved to be restful and as I arrived in Albany I was well rested and ready to meet the rest of my team.

Geology of the North Atlantic Region

The theory of Plate tectonics states the Earth's crust is divided into plates. The plates fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Plate boundaries are areas were two or more different plates come together. Plates can slide by each other, slam into each other or pushed apart. Running the length of the Atlantic Ocean is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This plate is an area where the two plates on each side are being pushed apart. As these plates are pushed apart magma from below the Earth's crust fills in the area. This molten rock is considered "new" rock and pushes apart the plates at about two centimeters per year.

The Mid Atlantic Ridge runs directly through the middle of Iceland. Because of this, Iceland has many volcanoes and fissures were molten magma is released as very young rocks along the boundary. As you move away from the boundary the rocks are older.

Unlike Iceland, Greenland is made of sedimentary rock deposited early in Earth's history. This sedimentary rock has been affected over history by ice, pressure, weather, and heat! The rocks are so old that they are considered our planet's oldest rocks as 3.87 billion years old.