Expert warns of possible second eruption from Iceland volcano
Weeks after a nine-mile long underground river of magma threatened to erupt in southwest Iceland, last night the fissure finally began spewing lava a hundred metres into the air.
Luckily local residents had already been evacuated, and miraculously the creeping flow of lava from the Fagradalsfjall volcano appears to have missed the nearby town of Grindavik.
But after taking so long to actually get going, how long will the eruption last – and could there be more?
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Well, volcanoes are notoriously hard to predict, and the underground workings of our planet remain something of a mystery.
At present though, officials are confident that there is no threat to life, and if anything, it’s a bit run of the mill.
‘The eruption is not expected to impact additional populated areas,’ reported a government statement issued earlier today. ‘Iceland’s authorities are well prepared for seismic events which occur regularly as a feature of our country’s natural geography.’
And already the flow of lava oozing through the fissure is estimated to be about a quarter of what it was when the eruption kicked off last night.
However, that doesn’t mean it will stop any time soon – and it could even go on for weeks.
‘It’s probably too soon to say how big it will be,’ said Dr Phil Collins, deputy dean of the College of Engineering, Design & Physical Sciences at Brunel University.
‘The initial impression is that the early stage of the eruption may have been a bit larger than the previous recent ones in the area. It’s now settled down somewhat but may go through periods of varying activity.
‘We could be looking at some weeks, perhaps months before it finally dies down.’
One thing determining the length of the eruption is the supply of magma beneath the surface continuing to spill out – possibly at other points along the underground river.
Why does Iceland have so many volcanoes?
Iceland has 33 active volcanic systems – that’s a lot for a country smaller than England (which has none).
The reason for this is its location. Iceland sits on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the join between two tectonic plates.
These two plates are continually pulling apart, allowing magma from the Earth’s mantle to escape from the surface, adding to the mountains and pushing them up and out.
And supercharging this volcanic activity, Iceland also sits on a mantle plume, or ‘hot spot’, a big bubble of hot rock that is continually rising to the surface.
‘Magma is still moving towards the surface at the eruption fissure and probably in the surrounding area,’ said Dr Collins. ‘The opening of the fissure may mean the chances of another eruption nearby, but it’s probably too early to be certain.
‘The extent and speed of the lava flows are clearly something to watch carefully as they have the potential to be very destructive. There also needs to be ongoing monitoring of ground surface changes around the eruption as uplift and subsidence can severely damage infrastructure and may affect safe evacuation routes.’
Luckily for the residents of Iceland, they and the authorities are well-versed in the earthquakes and eruptions, with extensive evacuation and management plans.
But as Dr Collins notes, very little can be done to control eruptions.
‘There’s no way to stop the eruption,’ he said. ‘It may be possible to divert lava flows using embankments, and some have already been constructed. At the moment, unfortunately, the area has to stay evacuated.’
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