The Icelandic volcano is continuing erupting lava fountains
Although infrastructure and a neighboring fishing village were safe for the time being, authorities warned that a volcano in Iceland that erupted on Saturday for the fourth time since December was still shooting smoke and brilliant orange lava into the air early on Monday.
On the Reykjanes peninsula, which is close to Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, there have been seven eruptions since 2021, when geological systems that had been dormant for around 800 years suddenly erupted.
Lava has been successfully redirected away from infrastructure by man-made obstacles, notably the Svartsengi geothermal power plant and the 4,000-person fishing village of Grindavik.
RUV, the state broadcaster, captured footage of lava pouring a few hundred meters away from the town that was evacuated twice, first in November and once more in February due to an eruption.
The infrastructure leading to the Svartsengi power plant is still intact, according to local utility HS Orka, who stated that “the defences at Grindavik proved their value… they have guided the lava flow in the intended direction.”
Since the last eruption in February, magma has been building underneath, leading officials to issue an eruption warning.
Just 15 minutes after the alert was issued late on Saturday, molten rock jets erupted from a crack that was 3 km (1.9 mi) long and nearly the same size as the eruption in February.
Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a geophysics professor at the University of Iceland, told RUV that while the lava flows remained constant on Monday, it was too soon to predict when they will stop.
“It was surprisingly stable overnight and certainly majestic, but is still only between 2-5% of what it was at the beginning,” he stated.
The February eruption lasted fewer than two days, but in 2021, a neighboring system had six months of continuous volcanic activity.
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