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Aerial photos

Work is underway to acquire precise aerial photographs at 25x25 cm resolution for the entire country and 10x10 cm resolution in the capital area and a large area around Keflavík Airport, with the aim of producing an accurate and comprehensive aerial photo map of the whole country. The images will be accessible to everyone through map viewers and web services for use in GIS software. Users will also be able to download the images free of charge.

The companies Meixner and Hexagon are conducting the photography, which is expected to take three years (2024–2026).

Aerial photography laboratory

At the Natural Science Institute’s facility in Garðabær, there is an aerial photography laboratory. The lab specialises in aerial photography from aeroplanes, helicopters, or drones. Image processing is based on photogrammetry, which involves processing images for measurement and 3D applications, and in fact applies to all types of photography, whether of land or sea, not just from the air. The aim of the aerial photography laboratory is to provide scientists from partner institutions with high-resolution photography suitable for creating 3D models and stereo processing for scientific purposes.

Most 3D models are published on Sketchfab.

Older aerial photographs

The Aerial photo viewer is a map viewer featuring historical aerial photographs from the Natural Science Institute’s collection. In the viewer, changes in landscape and urban areas can be observed, such as glacier retreat, lava flows, or vegetation spread. It is useful for educational purposes, for example to show students the impacts of climate change, as well as for research, planning, and historical analysis. It can also be useful for landowners to see changes to their property. 

In the aerial photo archive there are:

  • 30,546 photo frames from 1973–2000 (entire country)
  • 10,099 photo frames from 1945–1946 (AMS series, entire country)
  • 13,484 photos from 1956–1961 (DMA series, 80% of the country)
  • 40 images from 1980 (Hexagon KH9-PC satellite series, 1x1 m resolution, 80% of the country)

Use of the images is permitted free of charge in accordance with the Natural Science Institute’s terms of use.