In this offering of Yackety Science, Uncle Doctor Traveling Matt reports on his excursion to the Land of Ice and Fire. What is the difference between Pāhoehoe and ‘A‘ā lava? How do you predict the next eruption and thus avoid being dispatched by Pāhoehoe and ‘A‘ā? How do glaciers (and ice skaters) actually move? What creature showed up in Iceland for the first time in 2025? How do you pronounce the word narwhal? How long can Matt talk about Vanadium batteries? Find out the answers to all of these Icelandic questions and more on the latest episode of Yackety Science.

Got a question, comment, or correction? Yack right back at us at YacketyScience@gmail.com. And please follow us on Spotify, Instagram (@yacketysciene), Facebook (Yackety Science), and YouTube (@YacketyScience).

Episode Art: Photo by Matt Smith. Modified by Brian Cross.

Theme music: “Funky Machine” (ID874) by Lobo Loco (Accessed through FreeMusicArchive.org.; CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Production help provided by Scott Gregory.

Yackety Science is recorded at the studios of Public Radio Tulsa, Kendall Hall, University of Tulsa, and at the Center for Creativity at Tulsa Community College.

Links:

Geology of Iceland

• Natural Science Institute of Iceland (https://www.natt.is/en/geology)

Predicting Volcanic Eruptions:

• FJiaxuan Li et al. Minute-scale dynamics of recurrent dike intrusions in Iceland with fiber-optic geodesy. Science 388,1189-1193(2025). DOI:10.1126/science.adu0225

Moskítófluga (Mosquitoes in Iceland):

• The Arctic’s growing mosquito problem. Sciencen392,235-235(2026). DOI:10.1126/science.aeh9505

Marine Heat Waves and Their Effects

• Karl Michael Werner et al. Major heat wave in the North Atlantic had widespread and lasting impacts on marine life. Sci. Adv.12 ,eadt7125(2026). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adt7125

  
  

Ourobookos, A Yackety Science Book Club

Next Book Selection:

The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack

“. . . a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know.”