A 6,000-year-old sleeping volcano erupted in Iceland – and it’s amazing

After months of earthquakes, a long-dormant volcano in southwest Iceland erupted on Friday night, leading to dramatic videos and splendid red skies near the country’s capital.

According Icelandic Meteorological Office, the eruption near Mount Fagradalsfjall, about 20 miles southwest of Reykjavik, occurred at 8:45 pm. Although considered small, the eruption created a fissure about 1,640 feet long and expelled more than 10 million square feet of lava, sometimes in fountains that reach heights of more than 300 feet.

It was the first volcanic eruption in this part of Iceland – the Reykjanes Peninsula, home to Reykjavik, where most of the country’s residents live – in 781 years. And it was the first time that this particular volcano exploded in about 6,000 years.

The eruption in the Geldinga Valley was remote enough that evacuations were not necessary and no structures were in danger.

“As of now, it is not considered a threat to neighboring cities,” said the prime minister of iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, on Twitter Friday night. “We ask people to stay away from immediate areas and stay safe.”

Experts have warned residents to beware of emissions of hazardous gases, including carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, and there have been some congestion resulting. Drones were temporarily banned from flying over the area, to allow scientists first access, but flights to and from Keflavik International Airport were not affected.

The head of emergency management in the country said people must close their windows and stay indoors to avoid pollution from volcanic gas, which can spread to Thorlákshöfn, a town about 30 miles south of Reykjavik.

But on Saturday, the meteorological office said, “Currently, gas pollution is not expected to cause much discomfort for people, except near the source of the eruption.”

The eruption is underway and could last “a day or a month,” Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, told RÚV, Iceland’s National Broadcasting Service.

This makes this latest Icelandic geological event totally different from the large-scale earthquake at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010, which caused the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights across Europe for weeks after the ashes spread across northern Europe and Britain. This was described as the biggest shutdown of airspace since World War II.

“The more we see, the smaller the eruption,” Páll Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, told the Associated Press on Saturday.

Despite the relatively small size, the eruption gave residents unique views – and people in the region shared photos of the skies, while scientists created a live broadcast of the flowing lava.

Iceland’s location makes it particularly susceptible to earthquakes – and eruptions

Iceland is well aware of volcanic activity. An eruption usually occurs every four or five years because the island is in a region that is particularly susceptible to seismic activities. The most recent, in 2014, was at Holuhraun, a lava field in the Highlands of Iceland.

Earthquakes are also a family experience; since 2014, the country has recorded between 1,000 and 3,000 earthquakes per year. But since December 2019, that number has increased dramatically, according to the New York Times; scientists are still working to understand why.

In the last week alone, Iceland has suffered more than 18,000 earthquakes, with more than 3,000 on Sunday. At least 400 occurred in the volcano area the day before the eruption – and it was a relatively calm day, according to state meteorologists.

“This is a little less seismic activity compared to previous mornings, where the numbers are around 1,000 earthquakes,” the meteorological office said.

Many of these earthquakes were undetectable to ordinary people, but some were of magnitude 3 or greater, so that they could be felt. The biggest was a magnitude 5.7 earthquake on the morning of February 24, followed by a magnitude 5 quake 30 minutes later.

“I have experienced earthquakes before, but never so many in a row,” Reykjavik resident Audur Alfa Ólafsdóttir told CNN earlier this month. “It is very unusual to feel the Earth tremble 24 hours a day for an entire week. It makes you feel very small and powerless against nature. “

According to Thorvaldur Thórdarson, professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland, the cause of this dramatic increase in seismic activity is still being studied.

“We are struggling with ‘why’ at the moment. Why is this happening? “He told CNN.” It is very likely that we will have an intrusion of magma into the [Earth’s] crust there. It has definitely approached the surface, but we are trying to find out if it is getting even closer. “

Icelanders were warned of possible volcanic activity as a result of the earthquakes that started on March 3. Authorities at the time did not expect the event to be fatal or affect properties.

Iceland’s location along a series of tectonic plates – known as the Meso-Atlantic Chain – has made it exceptionally susceptible to activity.

As Elian Peltier of the Times writes, “The country extends over two tectonic plates, which are divided by a chain of underwater mountains that exudes molten hot rock, or magma. Earthquakes occur when magma pushes plates. “

Officials, including the Minister of Justice, Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, the Coast Guard, and first to answer shared aerial images of glowing lava spilling through the fissure.

And many Icelanders shared images on social media of the consequences of the eruption, which cast an orange tint into the sky. At night, from certain angles, its brightness merged with the famous green and blue of the northern lights.

Pop star Björk – perhaps Iceland’s most famous resident – was one of those who expressed enthusiasm about the historic event and the beauty that followed.

“SIMS !! , rash !! ” Is it over there wrote on Instagram on Friday. “We in Iceland are sooo excited !!! we still have !!! feeling of relief when nature expresses itself !!! “