James Stewart

It isn't the first time and it certainly won't be the last.

This is the awakening of a thousand year cycle.

A rhythm that last transformed the landscape when Vikings walked these shores.

And this is no blip on the radar.

It's a geological marathon.

The activity we're seeing today could last for two to 400 years.

But this time will be different.

This isn't the Viking era.

Today, Iceland is a modern nation of geologists and engineers who aren't going to take this lava invasion lying down.

As the ground tears apart beneath their feet, they're attempting the impossible, to out-engineer a continent pulling itself in two.

So, can a modern society survive for centuries of fiery chaos?

We're going to find out.

I'm James Stewart and you're watching Astrum Earth.

Join me as we explore the youngest land on the planet, delving into the ancient cycles responsible for carving out this mythical anomaly of fire and ice, geological patterns that have left Iceland facing the ultimate test, survival.

Iceland is unique.

Not only is fermented shark considered a delicacy, but geologically there's nowhere quite like it.

It sits astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a divergent boundary where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart at a rate of around two centimetres a year.

That's roughly, by the way, the same speed your fingernails grow.

As the plates separate, magma rises to fill the gaps, cools into basalt and forms new crust.

And I know what you're thinking, there's nothing particularly unusual about that.