Iceland is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world, but its seismic nature is related to geological processes at a much larger scale. In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists, supported by an ESA Science for Society project, have uncovered the underlying forces that forged the North Atlantic’s fiery volcanic past. The study provides, for the first time, direct evidence that it was thin lithosphere beneath the eastern part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province that focussed the flow of plume material and localised uplift and magmatism there, including in the vast Antrim Lava Group with its famous Giant’s Causeway, and numerous other magmatic centres.

Read full story: North Atlantic’s volcanic secrets – it’s all about being thin