Ridge jump process in Iceland

Abstract : Eastward ridge jumps bring the volcanic zones of Iceland back to the centre of the hotspot in response to the absolute westward drift of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Mantellic pulses triggers these ridge jumps. One of them is occurring in Southern Iceland, whereas the exact conditions of the last ridge jump in Northern Iceland remain controversial. The diachronous evolution of these two parts of Iceland may be related to the asymmetric plume-ridge interaction when comparing Northern and Southern Iceland.