For the fifth time this trip, we woke up and had breakfast, today I had a Nutella pancake and it was so good, I had to go for another. We departed to our next destination, the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, and the Diamond Beach.
On our trip to the glacier, we passed through many flat lands that resembled a desert, with large mountains as its backdrop. The roads were quite straight, with the occasional one-lane bridge, but the most important aspect I found was the fact that the once longest bridge in Iceland had shut down. The bridge was built so high up to avoid a river, but due to its elevation, it caused casualties. Eventually, the river dissipated and an adjacent road was built. Having to constantly adapt to the ever-changing environment of the southern region of Iceland is tough, but the engineers have employed various strategies to withstand the forces of nature.
Additionally, as we arrived at the glacier there was a suspension bridge that connected two sides of the road, divided by strong currents from the melting glacier lagoon, and large icebergs floating along. A suspension bridge was chosen here because a truss bridge or a beam bridge would not withstand the distance without support in the river. However, with the rapidly moving currents caused by the eddies, or heavy waves, a suspension bridge was chosen to avoid needing support. Using these strategies, Icelandic civil engineers have built bridges that suspend themselves over glacier lagoons and avoid interacting with the strong forces of nature these currents create. Fabricating a low-to-the-ground bridge, allows drivers to avoid any large gusts of winds, or casualties similar to the longest bridge. Overall, the engineers of Iceland definitely have their work cut out for them, constantly being challenged by the complex geological environments of southern Iceland.
In other news, with my pictures today, I really wanted to continue my technique of perspective. Challenging myself to eliminate tourists (it was hard) and really capture the terrain of Iceland. The diamond beach really was a complex task with wherever you looked there being a figure. Someone got engaged so that was really exciting! The Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon felt like a playground for a photographer offering so many various locations, and elevations to take pictures from. I found this pipe that is used to drain rainwater into the lagoon, and captured a really (in my opinion) cool angle from it. It’s been really fun and exciting taking all these pictures, so excited to sort through all of them and print them out!
Swanson School of Engineering 