Icelandic Volcano Sends Shivers Globally

A volcano erupted earlier this week on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, spewing lava and smoke across an extensive area after weeks of intense seismic activity.

News agencies provided some details about the potential impact of the current volcanic activity and the previous eruptions in Iceland. If the eruption maintains its current intensity, it will produce significant atmospheric pollution, wrote volcanologists from the University of Iceland on Facebook. "The good news is that the wind is blowing from the northwest, and according to the forecast, it will continue northward in the coming days. Therefore, it is possible that the smoke from the eruption will be pushed away from inhabited areas," said the researchers.

Situated between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, among the largest on the planet, Iceland is a significant seismic and volcanic hotspot because these two plates move in opposite directions. Monday night's eruption is the fourth recorded on Reykjanes in recent years and the largest in the area since 2021. In 2021, volcanic activity in the region continued for six months, attracting thousands of Icelanders and tourists. In August 2022, another eruption occurred in the same area, lasting three weeks, followed by another in July 2023. In 2010, ash clouds from the eruptions of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southern Iceland spread over extensive regions of Europe, disrupting about 100,000 flights on the continent and beyond and forcing hundreds of Icelanders to evacuate their homes. Unlike Eyjafjallajokull, the volcanic systems in Reykjanes are not trapped under glaciers, and therefore, similar ash clouds are not expected to form. Geologists stated that the lava seemed to flow away from the coastal town of Grindavik, the only city in the area, located 40 kilometers southwest of the country's capital, Reykjavik. The 4,000 residents of Grindavik were evacuated in November as a precautionary measure after several days of seismic activity, and roads in the area were closed. The volcano is located about 30 kilometers from Reykjavik. Keflavik International Airport is closer, as is the Blue Lagoon, a famous geothermal attraction popular among tourists visiting Iceland. The Blue Lagoon has been mostly closed since the current seismic activity was detected. In the Reykjanes Peninsula, there are five to six different volcanic systems, said Halldor Geirson, an associate professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland. Monday's eruption is part of the Svartsengi volcanic system, different from Fagradalsfjall, which is nearby and erupted in 2021 and 2022. The eruption is taking place on a fissure that was last active about 2,000 years ago. Lava flows dropped from 200-250 cubic meters per second in the first two hours of the eruption to about a quarter on Tuesday morning. It is normal for fissure eruptions to decrease after an initial burst, but it could continue "for a while," said Geirson. The fissure that formed at the Earth's crust was about 4 kilometers long, with its southern end located about 3 kilometers from Grindavik, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office.