Today was another great day of exploring Iceland’s southern coast! We visited diamond beach and the Jökulsáron Glacier Lagoon. The south coast of Iceland is very unique because it has been shaped by volcanic activity, glaciers, and seismic forces, which all make for a very interesting engineering challenge. Engineers are forced to create and develop roads and bridges to resist these natural forces while being as eco friendly as possible.
The south coast’s geology is characterized by earthquakes, floods, and volcanic activity. Volcanoes spew lava and ash which damage and change the terrain and the floods wash away vital infrastructure. All of these issues can make a lot of the soil unstable. Engineers need to work around these issues that can hopefully withstand all of this nature.
Engineers have addressed these challenges by incorporating several different strategies. Bridges are designed and built higher up with reinforced material to withstand floods and earthquakes. Barriers are made to help slow down and prevent flooding into the infrastructure. The roads and bridges can be made with more flexible asphalt to resist the moving landscape. Smart monitoring systems are also used to help collect and send data that can help with maintenance and provide help in emergency situations. Different environmentally friendly technologies are used to help build this infrastructure with little environmental impact. Everyday more innovation is happening and every piece of infrastructure will continue to improve with time.
By incorporating sustainable engineering solutions Iceland has been able to create infrastructure that is able to withstand its harsh climate with little environmental impact. With continued work it will all slowly get better and these examples now will be able to be used in the future in other areas around the world as the climate continues to change.
Swanson School of Engineering 