On Friday the 22nd of May, a group of intrepid geo-enthusiasts braved the elements to visit the extraordinary rocks found on the island of Holsnøy. The field trip was led by Håkon Austrheim from UiO. Håkon took us to three localities on the island where we saw world-class examples of high-pressure and ultra-high-pressure metamorphic rocks that were transformed deep below the surface and exhumed during the Caledonian orogeny. The metamorphic rocks of Holsnøy will help us better understand dehydration processes and earthquakes that occur in subduction zones, which is the central goal of project SWaMMIS. More excursions are planned over the next four years, so stay tuned if you missed this one – we can’t guarantee as moist an outing, but the rocks are sure to be as impressive!

You can find additional background on the Holsnøy field area and our field trip leader Håkon Austrheim here.