(Express) – Astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the European and North America tectonic plates diverge, Iceland and Icelanders are familiar with volcanic activity.
However, not usually quite so close to their doorstep; this is the first eruption in almost 800 years in the southwest peninsula of Reykjanes where, within a 50 km (c. 30 miles) radius, more than 70 % of Iceland´s population lives. In excitement about this novelty, rather than fleeing the scene, people are flocking by the thousands to view the spectacle.
Iceland´s former President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson compared the atmosphere to a folk festival. This is a very Icelandic reaction to a ‘tourist eruption, as they call them. The Geldingadalir eruption is, so far, a very small, and relatively low-risk eruption.
According to the University of Iceland on 23rd March, on average 5.7 m3 of lava is being discharged every second at a fairly stable rate, coming from a depth of 17 – 20 km, directly from the mantle into an uninhabited mountain valley. At that time around 1.8 million m3 of lava had erupted.
The latest scientific thoughts are that this might be the start of a long-lasting (months to years) shield volcano eruption, similar to those that occur in Hawaii. Due to the high fluidity of the magma and the lack of ice cover, there is a very limited risk of volcanic ash or widespread flight disruption from this eruption. READ MORE
