Iceland GeoSurvey (ÍSOR) is a consulting and research institute providing specialist services to the Icelandic power industry, the Icelandic government and foreign companies, in particular in the field of geothermal sciences and utilisation. It also aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

landmass and its

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. The headquarters are in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

with an affiliate in

Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nicknamed ...

, North

. Iceland GeoSurvey is a self-financed, non-profit governmental institution which operates on project and contract basis. It was established in 2003 and took over all responsibilities of the former GeoScience Division of the National Energy Authority of Iceland
Orkustofnun
. Research on Iceland’s indigenous energy resources goes back to the 18th century. Systematic energy research by Icelandic government institutes started in 1944 and has been carried out continuously ever since. Iceland GeoSurvey and its predecessor have from the start played a key role in this work. This research and the activities of the Icelandic power industry have resulted in that over 50% of the primary energy use in Iceland at present has its source in geothermal energy.

Services

Iceland GeoSurvey provides a wide variety of energy research, exploration and development services on contract in Iceland and abroad. The main services provided are: Geothermal and hydropower resources: * Exploration and research on geothermal resources. * Consulting services related to exploration,

earth sciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four sphere ...

, drilling and production. * Services related to geothermal system management, operation and exploitation. * Geothermal system modelling. * Technical and economic feasibility studies related to utilisation options. * Supervision and training of geothermal scientists. *

Geodetic surveying Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure ( geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equiva ...

. *

Geological mapping A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with str ...

. * Exploration and evaluation of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

resources. Environment: * Environmental impact assessment of energy development and

chemical pollution A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

. * Geological and chemical investigations. * Basic data collection and appraisal of undeveloped energy resources. * Monitoring of environmental impact of energy production. Other research: * Marine geosciences including oil and gas prospecting. * Processing and interpretation of

seismic survey Reflection seismology (or seismic reflection) is a method of exploration geophysics that uses the principles of seismology to estimate the properties of the Earth's subsurface from reflection (physics), reflected seismic waves. The method require ...

s. *

Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

studies. * Geotechnical studies for tunnels and constructions.

Services

See also