Katla Geopark's elective course at Víkurskóli

In the fall semester of 2023, which has just ended, the Geopark taught an elective course at Víkurskóli school in Vik. The elective course was an extension of the Víkurfjara beach project, which is a research project that the students of Víkurskóli, in collaboration with the Geopark and Katla Centre, have been conducting since 2021. This is the second time that the Geopark has had an elective course in Víkurskóli, and the aim is for this to become a regular part of future operations of the Geopark.

In the elective course, the students measured the beach just like in the project, but now each student had their own profile on the beach and there was enough time for each student to work on their own results from the measurements. Then each student also took sand samples from the beach, and they were then dried and sieved to find the distribution of the grain size of each sample. The students also looked at the sand samples under a microscope, together with sand from other places in Iceland and from abroad for comparison, described the sand and took photographs of it. Then the students also flew a drone over the beach and took aerial photos and photographs of the beach for preservation for the future. Along with the students' research, they also learned about the groynes in Víkurfjara beach and how they work, waves and wave directions, erosion of beaches and what causes it, as well as learning a little bit about tsunamis. The students therefore gained a good comprehensive knowledge of coastal areas in the course, and the Geopark would like to thank the students and Víkurskóli for a pleasant course.