{"id":20861,"date":"2022-04-14T16:31:07","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T20:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/?post_type=dan_alert_diver&p=20861"},"modified":"2023-02-06T16:55:07","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T21:55:07","slug":"iceland","status":"publish","type":"dan_alert_diver","link":"https:\/\/world.dan.org\/fr\/alert-diver\/article\/iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"Islande"},"content":{"rendered":"

Une exploration de la terre et de la mer<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not every day you can witness the inner workings of our planet by taking a live look under the hood at the engine of creation. Some scientists claim that life on Earth began from hydrothermal vents in the ocean\u2019s abyssal reaches. That realm is much deeper than where I float now, but otherwise it\u2019s not all that different from the fascinating formation before me \u2014 a chimney below the sea in northern Iceland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pas besoin de sous-marin<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Le Str\u00fdtan<\/strong> pinnacle in Eyjafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur is a natural wonder, a unique biogeological phenomenon, and Iceland\u2019s first underwater protected area. Towering over the bottom 213 feet below, this smectite clay hydrothermal chimney gushes more than 1,500 gallons of 162\u00b0F fresh water into the surrounding cold salt water every minute. Magma underneath Iceland warms the fresh water, which scientists estimate to be about 11,000 years old. Rich in silicon dioxide, it precipitates upon contact with the magnesium in seawater to slowly grow the chimney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Str\u00fdtan rises to within about 50 feet of the surface. It and a cluster of much smaller structures a few miles away are the only known hydrothermal chimneys or smokers in the world that are accessible to recreational divers. Having descended to more than 100 feet, we spiral upward around the living structure. It is 10 to 15 feet in diameter and not plumb-line straight; its profile angles a few degrees in either direction here and there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Much of Str\u00fdtan\u2019s surface is overgrown with algae, hydroids, tunicates, and bryozoans. There are beige sea stars and clumps of black mussels. Juvenile cod tuck in close to the vertical reef, while larger adult fish hover off to the side. I am especially drawn to the white sections resembling tumorous growths \u2014 some smooth, others craggy \u2014 that are the most recent mineral deposits. Here I can see shimmering swirls of warm fresh water jetting forth, causing the nearby algae to flutter and my vision to blur. My imagination sparks, and I am convinced that if I had a microscope I would see chemicals reacting, atomic building blocks coming together, cells dividing, and life exploding into being.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A diver swims near the Str\u00fdtan hydrothermal chimney, which is adorned with white mineral deposits and sea stars. \u00a9 BRANDON COLE<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Plong\u00e9e avec les Vikings<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Connue comme la terre du feu et de la glace, l'Islande est un pays brut et \u00e9poustouflant. Des millions de touristes visitent cette nation insulaire, \u00e0 la d\u00e9rive dans l'Atlantique Nord entre le Groenland et la Norv\u00e8ge, pour admirer les chutes d'eau, escalader les volcans et ramper sous les glaciers. Tr\u00e8s peu de gens plongent sous les vagues, mais nous ne pouvons pas r\u00e9sister \u00e0 l'opportunit\u00e9 de voir autant que possible cet endroit remarquable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To experience the diving that very few people know about, we visit Akureyri, Iceland\u2019s second-largest urban area behind Reykjav\u00edk, with nearly 19,000 residents. The Norse Viking Helgi magri Eyvindarson settled Akureyri and the island of Hr\u00edsey in the ninth century. The town is now the diving hub (hub being a relative term) in northern Iceland and the gateway to exploring Eyjafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We cast off the lines and motor into the fjord. A knife-edged wind and swirling snowflakes make the 20\u00b0F air temperature feel below zero. My wife and I are already fully geared up, but our divemaster and skipper are still bareheaded and without gloves as they smile and chat away, apparently impervious to the elements. Wishing for even a single potent drop of their Viking ancestors\u2019 blood will not make me any warmer, so I compensate with a drysuit, dry gloves, an 8 mm hood, and double layers of high-tech undergarments. It is only a five-minute ride in the open inflatable from Hjalteyri harbor to the dive site, where the 41\u00b0F water is sure to be bliss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wishing for even a single potent drop of their Viking ancestors\u2019 blood will not make me any warmer, so I compensate with a drysuit, dry gloves, an 8 mm hood, and double layers of high-tech undergarments.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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R\u00e9cif \u00e0 peu pr\u00e8s circulaire dont la profondeur est comprise entre 50 et 75 pieds, Arnarnesstr\u00fdtur<\/strong> showcases the fjord\u2019s other shallow hydrothermal smokers and excellent marine life diversity. Curious Atlantic cod greet us almost immediately upon touchdown. Bronzy gold with fine spots, large eyes, and seemingly too many fins, they are handsome fish, even with their gummy lips and peculiar, single wormlike barbel dangling from their chins. We swim past a stand of\u00a0Laminaria\u00a0tangle kelp, while a lion\u2019s mane jellyfish drifts through the green water in the opposite direction. There are white plumose anemones resembling huge stalks of cauliflower sprouting from rock painted pink purple by coralline algae, hermit crabs, and salmon-colored nudibranchs with spiky gills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these species \u2014 cod excluded \u2014 evoke memories of my local diving in the Pacific Northwest thousands of miles away. All are but the prelude, however, to the wolffish Anarhichas lupus<\/em>. La principale raison pour laquelle je suis ici, pour plonger avec les Vikings en octobre, est de rencontrer le cousin de l'oc\u00e9an Atlantique de mon loup-\u00e9lan bien-aim\u00e9. Anarrhichthys ocellatus<\/em>. Arnarnesstr\u00fdtur has a handful of the beauties in residence. One reclusive wolffish is tucked way back in its den, valiantly guarding a clutch of eggs. He ignores the quahog (a clam) our guide offers. A wolffish celebrity named Alex, however, excitedly slither-glides out of his crevice to devour the treat and pose with a snaggle-toothed grin. Fifty miles from the Arctic Circle, I am in paradise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Un loup atlantique nage sur le fond. Il s'agit principalement d'un poisson s\u00e9dentaire, dont la taille peut atteindre 5 pieds de long. Distribu\u00e9 des deux c\u00f4t\u00e9s de l'oc\u00e9an Atlantique nord, il vit \u00e0 des profondeurs allant de 60 \u00e0 plus de 1500 pieds. Semblable \u00e0 l'anguille-loup (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) de l'oc\u00e9an Pacifique Nord. Le loup de l'Atlantique se nourrit de palourdes et d'autres mollusques, ainsi que d'oursins et de crabes, \u00e0 l'aide de m\u00e2choires puissantes, de plaques molaires et de grandes dents. Leur sang contient un antigel naturel qui leur permet de vivre dans des eaux dont la temp\u00e9rature est inf\u00e9rieure au point de cong\u00e9lation. Dans certaines parties de leur aire de r\u00e9partition, leur nombre a consid\u00e9rablement diminu\u00e9 en raison de la surp\u00eache et des prises accessoires. \u00a9 BRANDON COLE<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Frilled sea anemones (Metridium senile) and a Red sea urchin (Echinus esculentus) on a shallow reef also covered with sponges and coralline algae. \u00a9 BRANDON COLE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Road Trip de l'anneau<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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With our dive gear and underwater cameras packed away and replaced by hiking boots, snow pants, camera tripod, and drone, we rejoin the mainstream and point our little four-wheel-drive rental car east on Route 1, the famed 828-mile Ring Road that circles Iceland\u2019s perimeter. We will travel clockwise and visit jaw-dropping sites topside, many of which have become international Instagram favorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It pays to be choosy with so many waterfalls vying for your time. Go\u00f0afoss (\u201cwaterfall of the gods\u201d) reminds me of Niagara Falls with its semicircular shape. The new-fallen snow elevates this waterfall to among the trip\u2019s best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An hour east of Akureyri is the Lake M\u00fdvatn area, where we had planned to spend one day but stay for three. Iceland\u2019s volcanic pedigree is on fine display here. We hike to the top of the snow-mantled V\u00edti crater and fly via drone over the imposing Hverfjall volcano and the strange pseudo-craters at Sk\u00fatusta\u00f0ag\u00edgar along Lake M\u00fdvatn\u2019s southern rim. These small craters formed about 2,300 years ago when a river of lava flowed over the lake and surrounding wetlands, resulting in steam-fueled explosions that left the divots seen today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Des marmites de boue bouillonnante et une fum\u00e9e sulfureuse et naus\u00e9abonde sifflant des fumerolles nous attendent dans la zone g\u00e9othermique de Hverir. Munis de lampes frontales et de bottes \u00e0 crampons, nous nous enfon\u00e7ons dans l'obscurit\u00e9 de Lofthellir, une grotte de lave o\u00f9 des sculptures de glace surr\u00e9alistes d\u00e9goulinent du plafond et d\u00e9passent d'un sol gel\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiking along a sheep path for an hour takes us to Stu\u00f0lagil Canyon, through which the glacial J\u00f6kla River flows. Looming over this ribbon of green-blue water are sheer walls composed of hexagonal basalt columns. This magnificent, artistic, natural basaltic lava architecture was also born of fire and ice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Une femme se tient pr\u00e8s de la chute d'eau Gljufrabuifoss, dans le sud de l'Islande.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Une femme admire les sculptures de glace form\u00e9es par les gouttes d'eau dans cette grotte souterraine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

L'\u00e9tonnante c\u00f4te sud<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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down to H\u00f6fn on the country\u2019s southeastern corner. We could be in Reykjav\u00edk in six hours if we push it, but that would mean missing many of Iceland\u2019s star attractions. It will be challenging to do everything we want along the southern coast in only four days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the foot of Vatnaj\u00f6kull, the largest glacier in Europe, icebergs of all shapes and sizes in J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n lagoon jockey for position as they flow out to sea. Here they fracture into smaller pieces to be washed ashore on Diamond Beach, appearing as precious gems gleaming on sand as black as velvet. We later join guided tours to trek over the fissure-riven surface of the mighty Vatnaj\u00f6kull and beneath its belly to explore ice caves glowing sapphire and cerulean.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Divers explore Silfra fissure, a freshwater-filled rocky chasm in a rift valley in Thingvellir National Park near Reykjav\u00edk. \u00a9 BRANDON COLE<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sturdy Icelandic ponies take us for a ride along Reynisfjara\u2019s black sand beach near the village of V\u00edk \u00ed M\u00fdrdal, while winds howl and waves crash into the menacing, fanglike rock spires just offshore. We are so thoroughly drenched by misty spume while photographing Seljalandsfoss and Glj\u00fafrab\u00fai waterfalls that perhaps I should have pulled out my underwater camera housing for the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Un rendez-vous avec les plaques<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have come full circle and are back in Reykjav\u00edk, where this Icelandic saga began. But it is not over quite yet. Onboard a zodiac, we spy humpback whales and white-beaked dolphins doing their thing in Faxafl\u00f3i Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although we have been gazing at the galaxy every night, we have not seen the northern lights dancing in the sky due to cloud cover and cosmic luck, so we content ourselves with the Aurora Reykjav\u00edk museum\u2019s stellar virtual experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nous marchons avec pr\u00e9caution sur les nouveaux champs de lave du volcan Fagradalsfjall, qui est entr\u00e9 en \u00e9ruption il y a quelques mois \u00e0 peine, puis nous trempons nos corps fatigu\u00e9s dans les piscines ext\u00e9rieures divines chauff\u00e9es par g\u00e9othermie du Blue Lagoon. Nous faisons le tour du Cercle d'or pour voir le geyser Strokkur et la chute d'eau Gullfoss, tout en attendant avec impatience Silfra dans le parc national de Thingvellir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undoubtedly the most popular dive site in Iceland, Silfra is a fissure at the northern end of Lake Thingvallatan. Created by earthquakes in 1789, the Silfra fissure cut into an underground spring, allowing glacial meltwater to flow into the site. We submerge and go with that flow, following single file behind our dive guide, swimming slowly while descending and ascending as we follow the chasm\u2019s ragged contours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My eyes are wide with amazement at the scenery. The fissure walls and the boulders below look as if immortal giants chiseled them. And the visibility is seemingly forever \u2014 300 to 400 feet. The water is so clear that my freezing brain insists it must be fake \u2014 a clever, computer-generated backdrop. But the rock to either side of us is real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We pause for a photo at a choke point, stretching our arms wide to span Silfra\u2019s narrow gap. On one side we touch the North American tectonic plate, while the other hand grips the Eurasian plate. It was epic. I imagine that the walls are pressing in on me, but the opposite is true. The two continents are drifting apart at about an inch per year. Iceland is geology in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we lumber back to the parking lot on legs not yet returned to the living, a well-dressed, elderly gentleman from a group of nondivers who have just disembarked from a tour bus asks me, \u201cIsn\u2019t the water freezing? Why would you do this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I struggle for words, still locked in mental hibernation induced by our 52-minute immersion. Sputtering to life, I smile and say, \u201cBecause it\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With my teeth chattering, I excuse myself and waddle on, eager to dive between worlds again. After all, it\u2019s not every day you can throw yourself into the middle of a tug-of-war between primordial forces, stealing a glimpse into what makes the boiling, freezing heart of Iceland beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Comment la parcourir<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Se rendre sur place et se d\u00e9placer :<\/span><\/strong> All international flights to Iceland arrive in Keflav\u00edk (KEF), about 30 miles from Reykjav\u00edk. Once in Iceland, many visitors join organized group tours on day trips, which often provide transportation. Other visitors rent vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conditions :<\/strong> <\/span>People visit Iceland year-round. Tourism is more popular in summer, when the weather is warmer and the days are longer. Each season has its perks. Choose summer, for example, to hike and camp in the interior, kayak among icebergs, and see puffins. To explore blue ice glacier caves, go dogsledding, and have a chance to see the northern lights, you\u2019ll need to visit in winter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Hjalteyri est une ville situ\u00e9e dans le Eyjafjord, au nord de l'Islande, juste au nord de la ville d'Akureyri. Hjalteryi dispose d'un centre de plong\u00e9e sous-marine (Strytan Divecenter) et propose \u00e9galement l'observation des baleines. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

May through September are the most popular months for diving. Eyjafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur and ocean dive sites are weather dependent, and cancellations due to rough seas can happen any time of year. Ocean temperatures near Akureyri range from upper 30s\u00b0F in winter to upper 40s\u00b0F in summer; it is a little warmer near Reykjav\u00edk. Visibility varies widely from 10 to 60 feet. Silfra is much less weather dependent, with water temperatures of 36\u00b0F to 38\u00b0F year-round, and the visibility is consistently excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le mat\u00e9riel :<\/span><\/strong> Portez une combinaison \u00e9tanche, soit la v\u00f4tre, soit celle fournie par l'organisateur de la plong\u00e9e. Certains op\u00e9rateurs exigent la preuve d'une certification de sp\u00e9cialit\u00e9 de plong\u00e9e en combinaison \u00e9tanche ou offrent le cours. Un v\u00eatement de pluie (veste et pantalon) est conseill\u00e9 pour les activit\u00e9s en surface. Apportez des sous-v\u00eatements en polaire, en laine et en polypropyl\u00e8ne pour la superposition. Des chaussures de randonn\u00e9e robustes et imperm\u00e9ables sont indispensables. Les photographes auront int\u00e9r\u00eat \u00e0 se munir d'un tr\u00e9pied pour les paysages et d'un filtre \u00e0 densit\u00e9 neutre pour les photos de cascades en pose longue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soutien :<\/strong> <\/span>Dive infrastructure is limited outside of the Reykjav\u00edk and Akureyri areas. Most operators can provide all the gear you need if you do not bring your own. Many dive sites, such as Str\u00fdtan and Silfra, require you to dive with a guide. To learn more about Iceland\u2019s marine life, visit sealife.is<\/em>. Tour companies can facilitate the many topside adventures Iceland offers, such as viewing waterfalls, hiking glaciers, chasing the aurora borealis, and trekking the Highlands. Iceland\u2019s official tourism site is visiticeland.com<\/em>, et guidetoiceland.is<\/em> est utile pour rechercher des lieux et r\u00e9server des excursions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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En savoir plus<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

See more of Iceland in Brandon Cole\u2019s bonus photo gallery.<\/em>
Watch the video below to see the Str\u00fdtan hydrothermal chimney in action.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\n\t\t

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