The Hlid campsite is near Lake Mývatn, on the western border of the volcanic zone that cuts through Iceland. The distinctive table mountains and ridges around the lake were created by eruptions under an ice sheet. We will sample a variety of volcanic rock types created by lava flows at various time periods to learn about the minerals that were transformed during those periods.

At the Grimsstadir campsite, we will collect volcanic soils and rocks of varying compositions. We will examine surface samples and cores with a portable field spectrometer that measures reflected light across near-infrared wavelengths. This is critical for us to identify when water interacted with volcanic rocks and to better understand the data collected by Mars orbiting spacecraft.

Our campsite in the Herdubreidarlindir nature reserve will put us between Mt. Herdubreid and the Lindaa River. Mt. Herdubreid is a tuya, a flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet. In fact, Mt. Herdubreid is so steep and its sides so unstable that no one successfully climbed it until 1908. We will sample volcanic soils from the Ódáðahraun desert and the surrounding region.

The Dreki campsite is located in the shadow of the Askja stratovolcano, which last erupted in 1961. Astronauts with the Apollo program trained nearby to prepare for the conditions they would encounter on the Moon. We will sample glassy volcanic soils and rocks and make spectroscopic field measurements to understand the depth at which water and ice altered the minerals.