Part 4: Tsutsi Island
Part 4
Questions 31-40
Questions 31-36
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
How surtsey was formed
In 1963 the activity from an underwater 31 ………………………… started to form an island.
Fishermen saw 32 ……………………….. coming up out of the sea
What scientists found in the early days
The first plant life was a type 33 ………………………………..
The first sign of the life found by scientist was a fly.
Scientists were surprised by the widespread growth of 34 …………………………………..
Later findings
In the 1960s, birds bought seed to the island
In the 1970s, 35 …………………………… were probably carried to the island.
The first green vegetation- marchantia formed a thick 36 ……………………………….. in surtsey
Contrast:
Surtsey- an island only 39 years old. The 37 …………………………. where obtained as early as
5 years after the eruption! However, 38 ……………………… observation suggest that volcano is very energetic.
Climate and future:
The enormous waves of winter 39 ……………………………
An assessment assuming
that the island will survive for many 40 …………………………..
Key
- volcano
- smoke
- flower
- grass
- bacteria
- carpet
- fossils
- radio
- storm
- century
Transcript
Lecturer: Section 4. You will hear a part of the lecture about Tsutsi, a new island.
Lecturer: Tsutsi Island, located in the southern coast of Iceland. The island was formed from below the sea surface due to eruptions of a volcano. The process was recorded in 1963. Fishing vessels crew aborted a trolling ceiling. Their Iceland spotted a column of smoke rising from Tsutsi’s surface. The ship’s captain thought it might be a boat on fire and turned his vessel to investigate. What they found was an island being born. The eruption ultimately lasted three and a half years, ending in June 1967.
The birth of this new landform wasn’t the end of Tsutsi’s story. In the spring of 1965, only a few scientists are permitted to land on Tsutsi. The only way anyone else can see it closely is from a small plane. This allows natural ecological succession for this island proceed without outside interference.
Ecological Development
Lecturer:
- The first higher plant was discovered at the shoreline is a flower called Sea Rocket.
- Fly arrived on Tsutsi soon after its formation and was first detected in 1964. They are carried to this island by winds and their own power.
- Scientists are also shocked that a large area was covered by a wide ground grass in 1974.
- Scientists took half of it for analysis and discovered 663 plant species.
- In the 1960s, regular bird observations were maintained on Tsutsi. These were directed primarily at staging migrants in spring and autumn. Their importance of carrying pioneering plant seeds to this island is a new investigation.
- A year after eruption started, the number of bacteria species increased rapidly to 35 until about the 1970s, and then leveled off and has increased slowly since with the number of species fluctuating around 40 to 50 species recorded on each sampling occasion in the 1990s.
- The same survey was repeated the following year, now also including the registration of habitat choice and habitat abundance for each species.
- In 1971, 36 species were also found, of which 20 were new to the island, including the first liverwort species.
- For the first time, scientists found a green vegetation called Matinsa, formed a thick carpet in the westernmost of the largest crater.
- The findings of fossils on Tsutsi, an island only 39 years old, were obtained as early as five years after eruption.
Geological Activity and Future
Lecturer:
- Radio observations suggest that very energetic particles produced by the eruption is still active.
- The volcanic ash samples collected from locations by scientists also indicate this island is still on the move of new formation.
- Tsutsi is situated in the region of extremes in winter weather and wave climate.
- The violent explosions caused by the meeting of lava and sea water, meant that this island consisted a loose pile of volcanic rock by storms during the winter.
- Wave data near Tsutsi have been recorded by maritime administration since 1998.
- This island is unlikely to disappear entirely in the near future. Investigation assuming that the rate of erosion will be slow suggests that this island will last for at least many centuries.
- Human impact is a small hut which is used by researchers while staying on this island.
