The lava pouring from the ongoing volcanic eruption at the Sundhnúkur crater series on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula may be about to change direction.
Since the eruption began on November 20, red-hot lava has been oozing from a huge fissure in the ground, slowly moving to the west and to the east of the crater. However, according to an update from the Icelandic Meteorological Office on December 3, the lava flow may soon be affected by a potential collapse of the volcanic crater.
“The crater continues to charge up, increasing the risk of its collapse. If this happens, lava could change direction, but given the location of the crater, infrastructure is not considered to be at risk,” they said in a statement.
AP Photo/Marco di Marco
“There has been little change in the activity of the crater in the last few days, and turbulence measurements support this conclusion. Lava flow from the active crater continues to flow mostly southeast towards Fagradalsfjall.”
This eruption marks the seventh in this region in less than a year, with the first occurring on December 18, 2023, followed by subsequent eruptions on January 14, February 8, March 16, May 29 and August 22.
NASA images reveal how the lava from this most recent eruption poured from a 1.8 mile-long fissure in the ground near Stóra Skógfell peak and flowed eastwards and westwards. To the west, the lava approached the famous Blue Lagoon hotsprings, engulfing its parking lot in molten rock.
The Blue Lagoon was evacuated ahead of the lava flow, and 50 homes in the nearby town of Grindavík were also evacuated. The town’s 3,800-strong population has had to flee several times in the past year due to the recurring eruptions nearby, one of which resulted in lava encroaching on the town’s edge and burning houses to the ground.
“Lava temperatures vary. Basaltic lava such as that erupting near Grindavik is typically 1,100 to 1,200 degrees Celsius [2,012 to 2,192 degrees Fahrenheit]. As that is much higher than the temperature at which wood ignites, the danger is high for homes and other buildings catching fire,” Rachel Beane, a professor of natural sciences at Bowdoin College, told Newsweek.
Lava continues to flow from the fissure, but the edges of the lava’s affected areas have not changed or proceeded much over the past few days.
“There have been slight changes in the lava margins, but in general the advance of the lava margins is small,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
This eruption is thought to be ranked second of those over the past year in terms of lava volume released.
“The lava bed that has been formed in this volcanic eruption has an area of 9.1 km2 [3.5 square miles], its volume is about 47 million m3 and the lava bed is on average just over 5m [16.4 feet] thick,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office said on November 29.
Icelandic volcanic eruptions release various gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), water vapor, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methane and carbon monoxide, among others.
These gases, particularly SO2, caused poor air quality conditions in areas near the eruption over the weekend.
“The Norwegian Meteorological Agency’s experts measured the emission of SO2 from the eruption yesterday, November 28. The measurements showed that about 64–71 kg/s [141–157 pounds per second] of SO2 flowed from the eruption,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office said on November 29.
“Gas pollution from the eruption over the next few days can therefore continue to be expected, which could cause discomfort or be unhealthy. This is especially true on the hiking trails at Fagradalsfjall and are close to the geysers.”
It is unclear when this particular eruption will end, nor when the Reykjanes Peninsula will see its next eruption. Some experts fear that these recent eruptions are a sign that the region will see regular activity for a long time to come.
“In the case of the Reykjanes Peninsula following a long period of hiatus (~780 years), seismic and volcanic unrest began in 2020, accompanied by inflation—this suggested new melt was indeed making its way into the crust,” Jenni Barclay, a volcanologist at the University of Bristol, previously told Newsweek.
“Since then there have been multiple episodes of eruption and then inflation—and this is the latest in them. This may go on for some time.”
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