Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula is on fire once again after a fifth volcanic eruption in six months. A 3.4-km fissure opened up on Wednesday, 29 May, less than a kilometre from the town of Grindavík’s defences. It is the most violent release in the volcano’s three years of recent activity, with hot lava projected 50 metres into the air.
“The first assessment of scientists is that the beginning of this eruption is more powerful than in previous eruptions,” Iceland’s Met Office said in a statement.
Incredible scenes from Iceland with the new volcano erupting. pic.twitter.com/68QCDg9K0x
— Iain Cameron (@theiaincameron) May 31, 2024
Evacuation and resort closures
Prior to the eruption on Wednesday afternoon, authorities monitoring the area had already detected the build-up of magma, and civil defence units were on alert. Only a handful of the 3,800 inhabitants had returned since eruptions in December, February, and March, but an evacuation order was issued for the coastal town, where some homes have been destroyed and heating and water cut off by the incidents.
The nearby Blue Lagoon thermal spa resort and its pools have also been closed and police have warned people to “think four times” before deciding to attempt any “volcano tourism”.
Will airspace close?
Although at one point a towering plume of ash could be seen, this was put down to magma hitting groundwater and it is thought unlikely there will be a repeat of the vast atmospheric ash cloud caused by 2010’s Eyjafjallajokull eruption, which closed airspace over Europe.
VIDEO: Another volcanic eruption in Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula near the town of Grindavik has triggered the evacuation of the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, Iceland's biggest tourist attraction.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 31, 2024
The eruption is the fifth in six months in this part of southwestern Iceland pic.twitter.com/7CuZKqhHke
At the time of writing, flights are still operating at Reykjavik’s Keflavik Airport, whose website notes: “An eruption has started on the Reykjanes Peninsula. Information about the eruption can be found on the Civil Protection and Emergency Managements website and on the Icelandic Meteorological Offices website. Keflavík Airport is open and operating in the usual way. People are encouraged to monitor flight information.”
Why is there so much activity there?
Prior to the last three years of activity, the Reykjanes region had been relatively peaceful, its volcanic systems dormant for almost 6000 years during which a community of 30,000 people grew. But then a magma stream found an underground pathway through a 14.5-km dyke that runs beneath the peninsula. It is this magma that occasionally erupts at the surface.
Scientists say the systems could remain restless and active for a long time. “Most volcanologists seem to agree that this period of volcanic activity is going to go on for many years, if not decades,” Dr Robin Andrews, a volcanologist told National Geographic, adding, “it’s difficult to study the systems where there’s no central volcano.”
