ABSTRACT
The extremely dynamic nature of the geological and geomorphological processes operating in Iceland provides an unrivalled natural laboratory within which to study a variety of features. This chapter examines a number of buried sequences in Eyjafjallasveit, southern Iceland; the sites examined in detail are Seljaland, Thorsmork and Laufatungur. The area is sufficiently close to the most frequently active volcanoes Hekla and Katla to allow the principles of tephrochronology to be used to interpret landscape change. Soil erosion is a major problem in Iceland. Thoroddsen has described the phenomenon of mistur, which is the yellowish-brown cloud of dust that is carried to the remote quarters of the island. Research into the effects of katabatic winds from the glaciers and ice caps of central Iceland has shown that wave formation and the descent of dry air coming pre-dominantly from Arctic air masses is associated with the belt of severe soil erosion in southern and central Iceland.
