Building Iceland's Lava Barriers

[@CatMeow24-qr7uo]

A D11 with lava in the background is sick 😮

[@AaronWitt]

yeah it was a life highlight for me for sure

[@CatMeow24-qr7uo]

@@AaronWitt I love large heavy equipment 😅 so your literally living my dream! Please keep sharing it with us. (Stuff like seeing a 9800 irl and all of that is my dream)

[@davidanalyst671]

the most powerful earthmover man has made, versus the earth

[@CatMeow24-qr7uo]

@@davidanalyst671 well said!

[@tristenklein5940]

@@AaronWittyou’re trip to visit Iceland and having the opportunity to view the awesome power of Mother Nature up close is definitely not only a trip of a lifetime but also has to be one of the greatest experiences anyone could ever have. 👍👍 Thanks for sharing!!

[@otmgi3865]

Bad air? Use dirt. Bad water? Use dirt. Bad lava? Use dirt. Bad politics? Use dirt. Use dirt to solve your problems.

[@mikeo.1593]

It’s solved many problems of mine

[@deth3021]

"When soldiers come, use generals to block them; when water comes, use earth to keep it out."

[@Daniel-uj1nu]

Missed opportunity to make a jack sparrow jar of dirt reference

[@otmgi3865]

@Daniel-uj1nu lol u right. I'm partial to Brian Regan tho... "I call it, cup of dirt."

[@subshadow1]

Rub some Bacon on it?

[@Macvombat]

The Dutch over there all high and mighty about their battle with the ocean. Meanwhile Iceland: Hold my beer

[@Pesmog]

Watching some of the many other videos elsewhere on KZbin of these machines operating, the machine operators have been very brave operating only meters from live lava with very high temperatures where they were trying to divert live lava flows. I hope Iceland gives them some form of official recognition for their work. 👍

[@davidanalyst671]

its a ways from the volcano. Its not smoking super bad.

[@iceboi5983]

@@davidanalyst671 I don't know exactly what you're referring to but the site in this video is less than 2 km away from the volcanic fissure. Machine operators have occasionally been working mere dozens of metres away from flowing lava, at one point racing against time to close a gap in the lava berms. Machine operators are also very often interacting with solidified (freshly formed) lava, sometimes revealing molten lenses of lava inside. It's not a ways from the volcano.

[@abm2958]

@@iceboi5983 You should check out a steel mill or foundry.

[@susanjacquier5358]

I know one of those sites ( a young drone operator who has a camera mounted watching this live) On that site, the berm builders are affectionately called "The Bermians". I watch the channel as much as the weather permits.

[@mick00000000002]

This video no safety. Shown pore. Mick Australia 🇦🇺 I work with slag. Same as lava. No information was given. For the people working in this condition

[@adamfrbs9259]

D11's and lava, my inner child has entered the chat. Lol

[@taylorschils1694]

Hey, to help you out, I recognize that orange excavator. It’s a Develon DX800LC-7. What’s really mind-boggling is that the construction workers in Iceland? They don’t seem to be too startled by lava. Those guys are heroes.

[@mramsch]

Yeah, but even they don't want to come too close to the lava, so they always keep a distance − 2 meters at least! 😜

[@phantomsrage6523]

its not like they ever let it get close enough to them to take them by surprise

[@hornetscales8274]

Dude, your description of their equipment gives you away: You're like a 5 year old on a vacation to see "Tonka" in action, like their imagination come to life! Nothing more. Wish I was there!

[@RedHillsRancher]

I bet the wear rate on tracks and ground engaging tools is insane.

[@MrKorton]

Factual error: The Svartsengi powerplant doesn't produce any of Reykjavík's power, it's only for the inhabitants in the Reykjanes peninsula. 🧐

[@Guds777]

Aldrei að skemma góða lygasögu með sannleikanum...

[@TheCraigy83]

do you get any power from uk ?

[@jules9094]

@@Guds777 in Australia we say, never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

[@lordomacron3719]

I am curious. Is the Svartsengi power plant on the same Grid as Reykjavik? I know there is a Geothermal power plant nearer Reykjavik that supplies it. I just wonder if there are on separate electricity grids as well?

[@Minuz1]

​@@lordomacron3719 Just one grid apart from Grimsey and Flatey which run on disel generators locally.

[@ryanlotgd]

been watching this happen on live streams but getting up close like this puts it into a different perspective of just how much is moved.

[@ProudPapaw88]

Great video, Aaron. Very educational. I enjoy you taking time to educate us on your travels. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend!!

[@AaronWitt]

thank you!!

[@Rorschach.]

Great video and thanks to the heroes at Istak for all they're doing. Watching these guys hard at work through the Afar TV webcams, we ironically refer to them as Tonka Toys due the distance the cam has to zoom-in from the neighbouring hilltop but seeing them up close, the vehicles are every bit as impressive as you'd expect.

[@Sindrijo]

I'm pretty sure it's not only Ístak, they are probably contracting a lot of smaller operators in Iceland, they probably don't have all this kit in their own fleet.

[@NathansWargames]

Fun fact, Iceland has won Worlds Strongest man 9 times which puts Iceland Second only to the USA and just ahead of the UK. Iceland is also the home of Lazy Town, Bjork and Sigur Ros, not bad for a country with a population less than the city of Manchester in England.

[@jamesslagowski1109]

I used to be stationed at NAS Keflavik and our transmitter station was there at Grindavik. You can still see the 2 towers in the video, one at 800 feet and the other at 1000 feet. I left Iceland in 2000 and I sometimes wish I could have stayed. It is a beautiful country and the people were so nice to this sailor and made me feel like I was at home there. I worked at Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station and we did everything, microwave, receivers, transmitters, Base Telephone and internet. I had RM's (now IT's), ET's, Seabees and Icelandic citizens working for me. Wish I was still there but the base closed down in the mid 2000's.

[@roberts9785]

Love seeing the big boys knock it out like it's child's play.

[@scottbruner9266]

So, technically speaking, they are fighting lava with lava….😂

[@AaronWitt]

Bingo

[@imarchello]

fighting water with ice;.

[@amosbackstrom5366]

It's like fighting water with ice on a frozen planet that occasionally springs a leak. Sounds like a pretty good idea actually

[@wthorwirth]

Have seen this all over weeks from the webcams, far away from the Thorbjoern... your film is absolutely the nearest ground... Welldone,

[@JustPeace_]

I love your videos! The reason why i started to work on earth moving equipments! :D

[@AaronWitt]

right on!!!!

[@patallen5095]

Thanks for this. Was wondering what they were doing to curb, deflect the lava flow away from critical infrastructure! Good old Mother Earth! 👍

[@shaunpapworth4269]

I've been watching all of the eruptions in Iceland and still am. From the live webcams those machines look like dinky toys but seeing this video holly crap they are massive, really enjoyed this video thanks Aaron for sharing for us all to see them very cool.

[@Jennifer-gd1xj]

Are they working 24/7?? This is AMAZING!!

[@Jpaydirt]

Interesting, just paydirt's two cents..............next time get the real time audio of those machines ripping and dozing

[@nl1cat]

Haha, Jeff wins..😂

[@f-j-Services]

I want to hear them barkin really good

[@Pleb1776]

Ole Jeff 🇺🇸

[@wincoder]

A really well produced and informative video

[@4453kevin1]

EXIT that way!

[@CaptCorgi]

tbh I fell like this would be some of the most fulfilling work, doing some work with cool big machines and doing something extremely important for your entire country

[@kjartanB]

Looking forward to the next video from the project in the east as I've worked on that delivering and pumping concrete for the bridges

[@edward9]

Your video editing is world class. Truly excellent.

[@wendywilson18]

Incredible video~ and my thanks for the insight to the work done by the incredible workers of Iceland!

[@SneezingEagle]

This is metal as anything. Super badass work

[@staggerinstanton56]

Thats such a cool project

[@LucianosExcavation]

Such an amazing video! What an opportunity. Volcanoes are wild!! I’d love to see if they have lava flow operations in the Cape Verde islands

[@rzfbgjy]

Pretty cool pele lets them do that…here in Hawaii we aren’t aloud to do this. Everyone would freak out and lose their minds

[@Secretlyanothername]

Lava is sacred

[@sigisoltau6073]

​@@SecretlyanothernameIn Hawaii yes, but not in Iceland.

[@joshparkey2018]

Wish this video was longer lol really enjoyed it!

[@Johnmonty85]

Loved the video

[@gheice_modelism]

I had an opportunity to drive a dumper for Ístak in 2015 and declined it for another job. I still regret it nowadays.

[@gregorygrimaldi9030]

Been a operator in the PNW and Alaska for over 20 years I'd be gone in a heartbeat to do a hitch like this no questions asked.

[@FFMacker]

i fall in love of youe videos

[@cliffhanger20]

That was way cool, loved the comparison of the two dozers, great video.

[@johit103067]

Awesome!

[@vbito.69]

love seeing these big monster machine’s in action

[@bloom2272]

Hmmm very impressive construction work. Have a super mao mao day mr Aaron🤠👌 brilliant camera work

[@charlesgregory3747]

Great video, but PLEASE use something realistic for the 'thumbnail' image. The photo at 2:28 would convey the same idea, with realism. Thanks. - Volcano Nerd

[@fd15k]

Kudos to ISTAK.

[@stco2426]

Fab. Not seen your channel before, but impressed with the first video.

[@---l---]

awesome coverage

[@Planet-ICELAND]

We CAN do it 💪

[@ProfessorNugget]

Great vid!

[@codymichael1475]

Really neat

[@timanders3151]

Need long form videos of stuff like this..

[@267BISMARK]

nature always wins.

[@OrionsKelt]

*laughs in dams built for flood control*

[@HvV8446]

You don’t need to “win” from nature, you just need to guide it in a way so it doesn’t interfere with human lives.

[@robertrietmeijer1249]

Sure, nature wins. Just let it win elsewhere

[@nebtheweb8885]

@@HvV8446 Mama nature will invariably intersect with human lives, as she is indifferent to what or who lies in her path. She continues her course regardless of the presence of man's artificial structures and life itself. She exists on all planets in the universe in different forms depending on the conditions that exist there.

[@andrewdavies4604]

That is wild collection of heavy metal.......

[@Flugmorph]

awesome video!

[@boone7777777777]

It's wild if you think about how dirt is literally the rarest resource in the known universe

[@bazzab1000]

Been waiting for a Docu on this

[@Mobilegaming0624]

4:44 probably one of the most insane operations I’ve ever seen

[@frankbullitt4556]

Very cool video

[@mattabesta]

The plates are going apart across the whole Atlantic, the reason Iceland is an island and not the bottom of the ocean is a volcanic hotspot that coincides with the plate boundary. The earth moving started well before the eruptions, which mostly output in the first few days and then die down.

[@dgsantafedave1]

Awesome video! Do they have a tank farm for all the diesel being consumed on site?

[@Eisenwolf.de1]

Ich habe lange auf dises Video gewartet, schönes Video 🎉

[@rockkitty100]

I"ve developed a project in lava cap in CA and it DESTROYS the iron!!!

[@Brian-Mondeau37]

Any reason why they use the rippers and beat on the machines opposed to blasting?? Probably just cost right, not big enough of an operation to justify the blasting versus some extra maintenance wear and tear on the dozers... great video Aaron thank you

[@benja_mint]

hot damn, the machines are out in force today. not only being filmed in the video, but also commenting beneath it 😅 the bots love Aaron

[@AaronWitt]

hahaha I'll take the added engagement

[@ptminiaturasportugal]

excelente trabalho o teu e da tua equipa , super profissional , continua força 💪

[@hooXpoo]

Wow that would be a fun job to work on.

[@ajaxthegreat8008]

A d11: 😀 A cat 374: 😀 A d6:😀 A cat 352:😀 A doossan: ??????

[@groggentv6796]

Doosan Hitachi Kobelco etc are way better excavators than Cat Volvo etc. Not even comparable

[@tugboat2739]

Cool video

[@teeslunk]

I wanna go out there.

[@bobcaleyrealtor]

Love it!

[@IAmKrueger]

Its too bad that they can't get the Acco Super Dozer shipped there to help with this...i think that would be pretty amazing to see!

[@Yoshi92]

Do they have filters and specially sealed cabins or sth, against the toxic fumes from the lava?

[@charlieparker5977]

I guess that the question that I would ask would be if you're going to build a road/wall through a certain area, why not lay out your path, then use the dozers to push the land within two to three hundred yards next to the path to build up that road/wall verses hauling dirt in from another area. You build a VERY large moat area and push all that material up into one long barrier to help direct lava flow to specific directions.

[@keitharnett2647]

We use weld ripper shanks back together and use exchange D11blades for mining companies in KY and WV . Built coal buckets for Cat 992 30’ wide load semi trucks in hurray !

[@premix3663]

are they not using scrapers for this job mostly due to the rocks?

[@daltonlightfoot6889]

You should also focus on a second wall. closer to the plant to help redirect in case of breach

[@pablomax9376]

Take that, Nature!!

[@jacopomorero4652]

damn... Boys will see this and say "hell yeah". Sick video and footage!!

[@jamesbell6996]

Genuine question, why would they use the rippers rather than do some blasting to loosen the rock up enough to move it? Because they're working close to the lava flow?

[@whuzzzup]

Because it's dangerous (-> needs more safety stuff) and more expensive (drill holes and blast them) and you won't even get good results? It's not like you put a giant bomb a few meters below and get giant amounts of fine material. The only thing you get is a comparable tiny hole and now even more problems to move the stuff.

[@chriss7930]

Eventually nature will always win

[@LukeSeed]

You without a helmet, I was not ready for this

[@chrischickcowski3477]

Bad ass

[@FFMacker]

volcano movie be like in real life:

[@GearWheelTech]

Lunch time, best part of the job.

[@simonwilkinson2133]

Where did the elevens come from in Iceland!? Man that's a cool job.

[@justusmuller802]

The floor is lava!

[@robertthallium6883]

Iceland is so metal it's actually lava.

[@andrewflees4568]

that'll be an epic road some day. Might be cheaper to move the town though

[@littlehills739]

what could they use the cooled rock for ? other then landscaping? crush it make minral wool ?

[@UncleManuel]

Now THIS is a hot topic! 🔥😁🤘

[@huntermcn6036]

1:40 the kids living in that houses can play the floor is lava for real. so jealous.

[@anthonyjohnson100]

I wish they would do this here on the Big Island of Hawaii to divert the lava flows around communities but the Hawaiian’s won’t let it happen because they believe the Goddess Pele will get mad. I get it but still feel we should protect our people and amazing places. We lost so much in 2018 it’s just not the same anymore and it could have been avoided.

[@sparksmcgee6641]

OK all I've seen when I looked into things in Hawaii was people that didn't want to pay for infrastructure for decades paying for it later. The people running for government and getting elected were incompetent. But the only people that were getting elected were ones promising to NOT make expensive improvements. Now remember that all happened and continues to happen on an active volcano. Every one of those houses was built on an active volcano.

[@jimsvideos7201]

I _understand_ how big a D11 is but I still can’t wrap my head around it.

[@JordanBeagle]

A fire truck putting out lava is a hilarious site

[@frankfirst6863]

Good to see big CATS in the wild where they belong ❤❤

[@eddielane9569]

I did not realize when you said that you were driving 6 hours down the coast to go to a new road project that Iceland was that large of a country.

[@noahtornlund9642]

Let’s build that barrier boy’s

[@Chromaz]

I was in Grindavick the day they evacuated for the first time last year there were constant earthquakes i think the biggest i felt while i was in a restaurant on the harbour was a 5.4

[@worawatli8952]

10:00 That temporary exit sign is clever, one type for both left and right, no need to stock 2 types.

[@fraserturner112]

When people say “hot lava” it’s kinda redundant because lava is hot by definition “cold lava” is just rock

[@mramsch]

Don't you just love those true tautologies? But you should embrace redundancies as a measure of safety (so they really get it). Better than dealing with inconsistencies! :)

[@grumpyg9350]

molten rock that issues from a volcano or from a fissure in the surface of a planet (such as earth) or moon. also : such rock that has cooled and hardened

[@AstraOG]

i mean technically water turns to something consistent with rock below a certain temp so water is kinda "lava"

[@Nick-mt4wk]

Something is either redundant or it's not. Using 'kinda' is redundant. Kind of ironic, really.

[@KubotaManDan]

Awesome, I had watched the build from a far on the local network of web cams and it's pretty astonishing. Why Hawaii doesn't use this technique is mind boggling. Those Hawaiians lost multi-million dollar property's for Not.

[@EpicATrain]

Why don't they put a catalytic converter on top of the volcano to convert the toxic gas to something less toxic?