Discussion:
An Examination of Surtsey Succession
In 1963 a fiery volcanic eruption underwater just off the Iceland coast pushed the island of Surtsey above the waves. At first, it was a black cinder cone, barren of life. Surtsey grew to about a square mile in area. Ecologists seized on the chance to see how life would go about colonizing Surtsey. Within forty years, hundreds of species were living on Surtsey. Surtsey was the first really well-studied process of succession, which of course is still taking place.