On Thursday, onlookers flocked to the site of a new eruption from a volcanic fissure in a deserted valley about 40 km from Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik. The eruption, which began on Wednesday, is almost a kilometer away from the Fagradalsfjal volcano in the southwest of the country, which erupted for six months last year.
According to Icelandic authorities, the eruption site, in a difficult-to-reach area that requires a 90-minute walk, has already attracted more than 1,830 visitors in the first day of the fissure’s appearance. And curious people were walking to the site early Thursday morning. On Wednesday, the authorities called on the population not to go to the place before assessing the risks. But on Thursday, civil defense said only small children should stay out of the eruption area.
Fifteen meter jets of lava
Gases from volcanic eruptions, particularly sulfur dioxide, can be dangerous or even deadly. Last year, the eruption site, easily accessible on foot, attracted more than 435,000 tourists. On Thursday, the Icelandic Meteorological Institute estimated the length of the fissure to be 360 meters, with lava jets reaching about 10-15 meters.
The lava flow in the early hours of the eruption was estimated at 32 cubic meters per second, according to measurements made by Earth Sciences Institute scientists on Wednesday, three and a half hours after the eruption began. This is about four or five times more than at the start of the 2021 eruption. “The current eruption is therefore much more powerful,” the institute said on Facebook.
According to the Institute of Earth Sciences, lava from the new eruption covered an area of about 74,000 square meters. Iceland has 32 volcanic systems currently considered active, the most in Europe. The country, which erupts on average every five years, straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. The movement of these plates is partly responsible for the country’s intense seismic activity.
Source: Le Figaro
