The volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula erupted for the seventh time in a year

A volcano near Iceland’s capital erupted for the seventh time in a year, spewing lava and smoke, the country’s meteorological office said.

The eruption, which occurred on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland, also marks the volcano’s tenth eruption in three years.

The meteorological office said it started at 11.14pm local time on Wednesday and created a crack about three kilometers long, but it was estimated to be much smaller than the previous eruption in August.

The first signs of an eruption were recorded just 45 minutes before magma straining the Earth’s crust opened a massive ground fissure.

Although the eruption poses no threat to air travel, authorities have warned of gas emissions in parts of the peninsula, including the nearby town of Grindavík.

In a Facebook post, the office said lava gushed to the west and north of the volcano while remaining “the most active area in the center” of the fissure.

Moving at a speed of 300 meters per hour, the western lava flow crossed the Grindavík road and approached the Njarðvíkuræð pipeline, which provides hot water to the region.

Icelandic town abandoned after repeated volcanic activity

Authorities had previously warned of volcanic activity due to the accumulation of magma beneath the Reykjanes Peninsula, where the most recent eruption only ended on September 6.

Repeated volcanic eruptions near Grindavík, a town of 3,800 people about 50 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik, have damaged infrastructure and property and forced the displacement of many residents after the first evacuation orders came in December last year.

The civil protection agency said in a statement that there was no sign of lava flowing towards the town, but about 50 houses where returnees lived were evacuated.

“In the big picture, this is the last eruption and a little smaller than the eruption that occurred in May,” said geophysics professor Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, who flew over the eruption with the Civil Protection agency to monitor the eruption.

“Grindavík is not in as much danger as it seems and although nothing can be ruled out, it is unlikely that this rift will continue any further,” he said.

Explosions will continue

After lying dormant for 800 years, geological systems in the region became active again in 2021, and eruptions have occurred with increasing frequency since then.

Experts have warned that Reykjanes will likely experience repeated volcanic eruptions for decades, possibly even centuries.

Located on a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, Iceland experiences an eruption on average every four to five years.

The most devastating recent event was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, which sent ash clouds into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months.

ABC/wires