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Shawn, you should make this a "pinned" comment so it stays at the top of the list so everyone sees it first. Just a thought and how others seem to do this on their channels.
Another home run, Shawn! Professor Þórðarson is an amazing and straightforward resource, an excellent match to your passion for sharing your knowledge in this fascinating field. And I agree with @crabapple1974's mention of HUMILITY. In this historical time where opinions overtly (and often destructively) dominate the dispensation of news, humility is the signature of those striving for honest and objective analysis. I have seen both you and Dr. Þórðarson say things like "not everyone agrees with me" or "we're just not certain about this, so the truth may be different". For my own part, it's the recognition that only through questioning our own assumptions can good science become better! Keep up the great work. You are providing a valuable and welcome service to us!
Or to put it another way, true scientists don't say "the science is settled"! The science is never "settled" - there is always something more to discover or correct or study.
It was an awesome moment when you asked how to differentiate between EQs and he said "you tell me". The best educators are humble and honest with what they know and don't know. Also something I would have assumed science knew but it shows just how far we have to go in understanding the planet and its complexities.
I've enjoyed these videos so much partly because I loved geology and I've hiked all over Arizona and partly because I'm going to Iceland in September!!
It was a privilege to listen in on this fascinating discussion between two professors of geology. Thank you Professor Þorvaldur Þórðarson for providing information and insights into the situation in Iceland. Thank you Professor Willsey for arranging this excellent interview.
Absolutely brilliant! Thank you both. Shawn, you have a real knack for asking the right sort of questions to make complex ideas accessible. And thanks to Professor Þorvaldur Þórðarson for his clear and informative answers 😊
A really good interview what made it so good was listening to two professionals with positive humility with one another, neither interrupting and speaking over the other. Made it a really interesting and productive interview for us novices to learn from on many levels. An opportunity to see - this is how its done. Looking forward to the next one. Thank you both gentlemen.
Thank you so much both to Profs Willsey and Þórðarson for taking time out of your busy days to do this. It is truly a privilege to be a fly on the wall for this conversation. That idea of incorporating lava flow simulations to inform municipal zoning / planning is an idea I hadn't heard of but it makes so much sense. I hope it gains traction going forward.
What a great interview! Thank you both for taking the time for this scientific discussion. May volcanologists and geologists, and all the learned experts, be listened to by the stakeholders and critical decision-makers to support communities pro-actively.
This was fascinating and better yet, being able to Listen to the Professor speak and actually understanding his explanations is a true indication of how good you have been at helping us understand the science of what s happened so far ! Thanks so much Shawn !
Really interesting interview and I got a lot better understanding of the complexities and unknowns. Good questions from the interviewer and nuanced humble answers. Greetings from Sweden.
I learned something too. I didnt realize there is a deep cap under the blue lagoon as well. Its obvious when you think of it though, those geothermal wells would be exploding if they were not insulated somehow.
As a mechanical engineer trying to understand plate tectonics, volcanism, and earthquakes it seems like you need a finite element model of the crust to understand the stress state field in the crust around Iceland. It seems rock has many temperature dependant properties. Cold rock is elastic in relation to strain energy causing earthquakes, exhibits brittle fracture at faults, plastic behavior with "warm" rock under pressure, and then buoyancy, viscosity for mixed gas/solid phase for "hot" magma that acts as a hydraulic fluid. How do you measure the stress state of insitu rock? I dream of small robots that could detail the distribution of rock, faults and thermal distribution around this area. Thousands of boreholes to understand the region
A privilege to be witnessing this conversation. I enjoyed the volcanic forensics, and appreciated the insights into the strategic vision - how to leverage the spectacle to educate and inform future choices - some common ground for both of you there.
Thank you. What a breath of fresh air you are. I really appreciate observing the Professor in a more relaxed, scientific frame. So much more useful for the world! Well done! Keep it up!
Thanks, Shawn, for this terrifically insightful interview with Professor Þorvaldur Þórðarson - I learnt an awful lot. We're so fortunate to have educators like you and Professor Þorvaldur Þórðarson who are not just willing to share their valuable time but also their in-depth knowledge. Be sure to pass on our thanks to him! :)
I knew you would ask the right questions. It was a great interview and l look forward to you doing this again not just with Dr. Thordarson but other scientists, seismologists or those who monitor these areas. I'm glad the channel is growing. I hope you're enjoying the ride.
A very interesting exchange. Thanks to both of you for doing this. One thing occurred to me whilst listening to the prof, which you might consider for a future interview: seismologists are able to use the different velocities of S and P waves in different rocks to reconstruct the wavefront through the earth from a seismic event and then work out where there is magma (even thousands of miles away from the hypocentre). I believe the Yellowstone magma chamber was mapped using signals from earthquakes around the world. I've even watched oil prospectors use heavy vibrating trucks to pump energy locally into the earth to construct 3D maps of the sub-surface terrain. From 50m away, their vibrations felt similar to those from magnitude 4 quakes that were several kilometres away. Given how many seismic events we've seen in Iceland, why do we not have a clearer idea of where the magma reservoirs are, their shape, and their size? Is it related to the wavelengths being too large to resolve smaller reserves, or is it that the area is so complex, with all the faults and fissures that the signals have become too chaotic to be usable?
What a fantastic opportunity for two professionals to talk. You both had your professional faces on and were obviously satisfied with your conversations. Well done, sirs.
Huge thanks to both of you, that was interesting, fascinating and educational. Two lovely gentlemen that treated each other with respect and integrity. I will have to save for that book on Iceland 😊.
Thank you Prof. Willsey and Prof. Porvaldur. What a pleasure this chat, so interesting and informative. Goes to show the importance of science, in this case the Volcanologist / Geologist.
I think that's the best interview with Prof. Þorvaldur Þórðarson that I've seen so far. He really got to explain things in depth. So many of the media interviews were short and asking basic questions, some of them impossible to answer concisely. Not His fault but down to the nature of news clips I guess. This one has been great. Thank you both. 👍
Shawn, brother, I just feel compelled to leave a comment, which is rare for me although I spend my days writing and composing. I am such a big fan. I have spent a lifetime out exploring Nature. With so many questions about how in the world these wonders of Nature were created. Watching your channel has advanced and accelerated my understanding and comprehension of the forces of our planet literally light years away from where my years of my humble observations during my solitude had gotten me. Thank you for answering so many of my questions. I'm very grateful. You are a Master educator, Godspeed. Peace
Awesome interview Shawn! Been watching for months now and I love how informative, educational and enlightening you have made geology, volcanism, etc so accessible and interesting. Keep up the good work!
Congratulations on your first interview. Very well done and very informative. Looking forward to learning more. Thank you both for taking the time to do this.
One of the most interesting interviews I have heard! Thank you, Shawn, for inviting this interesting man to your program. Þorvaldur is an amazing scientist, straightforward, knowledgeable and informative. I have learned so much while listening to your conversation - will definitely repeat the pleasure and listen again! ❤
What an absolute treat! I've watched an interview with this professor before and really enjoyed him, so getting both of y'all in one go was just awesome! Both of you are just real down to earth (pun intended) people with the ability to traverse the intricacies of this topic without causing a mental overload on our parts.
Great interview. I really hope you get to have him on again. I really appreciate how both of you are so accessible to us non-geologists. Thanks to you both!!
This was outstanding!! Keep it up!! I am learning massive amounts about a subject I never expected to study. Your approach to teaching makes the subject accessible to mere mortals. Thank you.
Great and interesting interview! i have only read the information from Þórðarson before and it is my first time listening to him "live" but he gives a really good impression to me!
All since I was a kid I've been really fascinated by volcanoes and have had some curiosity towards them, but my curiosity never really came close to my other interests of music and motorsport, which I have spent a lot of my childhood and into adulthood learning and even getting my education in. But interestingly something has changed now that I've become older and I think the eruptions at Fagradallsfjall spiked my curiosity for it again. I've started watching videos from Just Icelandic and later on I found you, and I must say that your videos has been really great for me to get an understanding the basics of geology and volcanism. I find myself looking at rocks, parts of mountains and landscapes back home here in Norway and I look at it all in such a different way than I used to do. I find this interview really great and so fascinating, because you both are able to explain things in such an easy way that makes even me as a complete novice to understand what you guys are talking about. And I find it so much fun to watch you two, as knowledgable as you two are, just talking about the things that you love and even learning from eachother as you go. It seems like you two could've continued talking about these subjects for hours, and I would've still listened 😂 I hope more of these interviews are coming, because I find them very interesting and they make for great learning experiences. The more I watch, the more curious I get and the deeper I want to look into all of this. I am a nerd and you know how nerds are. If you first realize you're nerdy about something, you might aswell just go down the rabbit hole and explore it all!
Thank you so much for this great interview! Lots of objective info, humble and honest answers, it's such a cool way to learn, I love that. Many thanks to prof. Þorvaldur Þórðarson! Looking forward to the next one!
Absolutely fantastic being able to hear this candid conversation about Icelandic volcanism and where we are now. How 'bout that ash and steam cloud we saw on this channel as the lava flow was waning. Wowee. Gotta say...great for tourism besides the northern lights.
Fascinating listening to thess two who actually know what they're talking about, and if they don't know, they say so. But still they give their best educated opinion. Thank you both!
Thanks so much for doing this interview, and also for teaching us so much geology over these past few months so that we can understand the concepts the two of you discussed.
Hey Shawn - Great interview!! You seemed very well prepared, great questions, and not nervous at all :) Geology is an interesting topic, for sure! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Enjoy your weekend!
I've been following your videos from Scotland for the last few months and have very much enjoyed the content. Tonight's show with Prof from Iceland was excellent, if you can do this say monthly it would add an important local component to your already excellent analysis of the ongoing situation. Thanks for your excellent channel, keep up the good work, Alex.
Thank you so much for that fantastic interview. really enjoyed it. so much great information i learned some new things sat here with a big smile thank you.
Thank you for a very educational and interesting interview. It is a long time (30 years) since I studied plate tectonics and geology as part of my Environmental Studies Bachelor of Science degree here in the UK. I have always had a love of Iceland and hope to get back there soon. The events and eruptions have awakened my interest in this field of science again and your informative channel and today’s interview have aided in helping people understand the processes at work. Looking forward to seeing more. Thank you again.
Fascinating. Learned a lot about the system on the peninsula. Thank you to Professor Þórðarson. Really enjoyed the discussion on infrastructure planning and mitigation too!
Wow ,what a great conversation between my two favorite geologist and volcanologist Prof Polvardur and Shawn ,thanks a lot for this ,very illuminating topic ,lots to learn from both of them !
Those 40 odd minutes went by really quickly. It was really good to hear him, I had in fact no idea his English would be so good. Thanks for this rare opportunity.
Geologist vulcanolgist , and thanks, for sharing this and more! Because of you I have witnessed live eruptions with the most expert guide. That is in addition to the informative videos you give us for free. Awesome
Awesome interview. Thank you. Do more of these interviews. BTW, I'm so glad you mentioned the geologist Nick Zeitner in your last podcast. I discovered him 2-3 years ago, and wondered if you knew of him or corresponded with him, etc...
