Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.08.2019, Blaðsíða 6

What stage of
capitalism even
is this? Available
in a disturbing
number of shops
across Reykjavik,
Icelandic air is,
well, pretty much
what it sounds
like. You can buy
it in a can, but if
you want the full
experience, you
can buy it in a
pressurised canis-
ter with a special
nozzle, so you can
pretend you’re
in a really, really,
hippy version of
Mad Max. Oh, and
it costs over 1,500
ISK. Isn’t capital-
ism wonderful?
Even more
disturbing, I
remember seeing
Icelandic air for
sale when I visited
Iceland back in
2012, suggesting
that it has been
commercially
viable to sell for
over seven years,
saying things
about God and
Mammon I don’t
want to even think
about.
The real ques-
tion is whether
it is actually any
good. And here
the brilliance
of this diaboli-
cal commercial
scheme becomes
clear. For Icelandic
glacial air is gen-
erally sold in pres-
surised cans and,
unless you’re truly
stinking rich, is of
limited availability
outside of Iceland.
Now, try to take a
pressurised can
through Keflavík
Airport, and you
can expect a
welcome worthy
of the Turkish
national football
team. So you’re
pretty much
forced to try this
air in Iceland
which… doesn’t
tell you very much
about its qual-
ity. Were you to
generously huff
from the canister
in the midst of
the Port Author-
ity Bus Terminal
(which, by the way,
I wouldn’t recom-
mend), perhaps
you might discern
a difference. But
in Iceland, it just
tastes like a lot of
cold air. FR Ice
lan
di
c

G
lac
ial
Ai
r
UK media has been ablaze lately with
the revelation that British trophy hunt-
ers are coming to Iceland in droves.
Only they’re not after reindeer, or even
fluffy Arctic foxes—instead, they seek
the humble puffin, the hunting of
which is illegal in their home country.
The hunters are reportedly using guns
to bag them at volumes of up to 100
birds per trip.
This has led to calls for the ban of
importing hunted puffins from animal
rights activists and politicians. Trophy
hunting is poorly regarded in general—
but there are also contentions that
puffins are a threatened species that
could become endangered.
Just how many puffins are
there anyway?
The number of puffins migrating to
Iceland has, in recent years, decreased.
Only four years ago, Erpur Snær
Hansen, an ornithologist of the South
Iceland Nature Institute, cautioned
that even the three-day hunting season
could be detrimental to a stable popu-
lation.
Restrictions placed on hunting have
helped the puffin population stabilise,
but while this indicates that hunt-
ing is a contributory factor to declin-
ing populations, it isn’t the only one.
Climate change is also a threat, with
warming oceans driving herring—the
bird’s primary food source—away from
Icelandic waters.
Shenanigans
While the story caught like wildfire,
in the UK and in Iceland alike, there is
a strong possibility that this may be a
case of fake news.
Áki Ármann Jónsson, the director of
the gun hunting organisation Skotvís,
took a closer look at the photos being
used in the reporting of hunters posing
with piles of dead puffins. It turns out
these photos are not only from 2008
and 2010; they were also taken from the
website of The Icelandic Hunting Club,
which ceased operations years ago.
The Environment Agency of Iceland,
which plays a close part in monitoring
hunting activity, also confirmed that
only a handful of Brits sought hunting
licenses in Iceland, and then for rein-
deer and geese; not puffin.
As such, Iceland’s puffins are likely
safe from trophy hunters hoping to bag
the cuties by the score.
New Craze: Trophy-
Hunting Puffins
A sensational story looks more like fiction
Words:
Andie Fontaine

Photo:
Art Bicnick
First
We asked geologist Ed Marshall, a
postdoc in Mantle Geochemistry and
Igneous Petrology at the University
of Iceland: do Reykjavík’s several
geothermal hot spots indicate that
the city could turn into the scene of
a Hollywood disaster movie?
In short, no. A volcanic incident in
Reykjavík or its immediate vicinity
is basically geologically impossible.
But that doesn’t mean that volcanic
activity couldn’t have an impact.
Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic
ridge, so there is quite a significant
presence of volcanic and geothermal
activity across the island. But cru-
cially, there are two types of geother-
mal systems—high temperature and
low temperature. High temperature
systems, which can be volcanic, are
connected to magma systems. In
Reykjavík, we have low temperature
systems. So while there is some geo-
thermal activity, it’s simply from the
warm rocks below the capital, and
not directly connected to any mag-
ma systems. This means that there’s
effectively no risk of an eruption in
Reykjavík.
But this doesn’t mean that Rey-
kjavík can’t be affected by volcanic
activity. A volcanic eruption else-
where on the island could have wide
ranging impact, such as the closure
of key roads. More directly, eruptions
could occur close enough to bring
lava to Reykjavík, since the nearby
Reykjanes peninsula, the location
of Keflavik Airport, is a potentially
volcanic region. This risk is small—
there’s been no volcanic activity
there since the 1300s—but it could
happen. So, while there’s no danger
from volcanic activity in Reykjavík,
that doesn’t mean volcanic activity
elsewhere won’t have an effect. Of
course, Iceland is pretty well pre-
pared for such things.
ASK A
Geologist
Q: Is there any risk of
a volcanic eruption in
Reykjavík?
6 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 13— 2019
FOOD OF ICELAND
NEWS
Puffins: rumoured to be often blown out of the sky with shotguns by English poeple
Words: Felix Robertson
Photo: Dr. Barbara Kleine
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