A volcano that released bright red lava near Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, after waking up for the first time in 900 years, appeared to dissipate on Saturday, posing no danger to people, they said. tell the experts.
Streams of red lava boiled and came out of a fissure in a valley of Geldingadalur, near Mount Fagradalsfjall, on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland.
As lava flow slowed down in the rain on Saturday, a blue gas plume and a cloud of steam left the site, just 40 kilometers from the capital and close to a popular tourist destination, the geothermal spa. Blue Lagoon.
(Anton Brink / Anadolu Agency / AFP)
The eruption occurred around 20:45 GMT on Friday, illuminating the night sky with a crimson glow as hundreds of small earthquakes shook the area.
Although Iceland Keflavik International Airport and the small fishing port of Grindavik are only a few kilometers away, the area is uninhabited and the eruption posed no danger to the public.
“The eruption is considered small at this stage and volcanic activity has declined slightly since yesterday evening,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), which monitors seismic activity, said on Saturday.
(Anton Brink / Anadolu Agency / AFP)
The “eruptive fissure” was said to measure approximately 500 to 700 meters (1,640 to 2,300 feet).
The lava surface, he added, was less than a square kilometer (0.4 square miles), with small sources of lava.
Speaking to reporters, University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson described the valley as an “ideal” place for the eruption, comparing it to a bathtub where lava can seep slowly. ”.
Meanwhile, IMO earthquake risk coordinator Kristin Jonsdottir said it was “very likely that the eruption will last for the next few days”.
Friday’s eruption took place in the Krysuvik volcanic system, which has no central volcano, about five kilometers inland from the south coast.
Sigurdur Kristmundsson, a 54-year-old Grindavik port official, told AFP locals were excited about the eruption.
“No one is in danger or anything like that. So I think people are excited and not afraid of it.”
(Anton Brink / Anadolu Agency / AFP)
Inactive for 900 years
Access to the area was initially blocked, but then opened to the public, although Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management stressed that the several-hour drive from the nearest road only it is recommended for those who are used to being outdoors in difficult conditions.
Gases from a volcanic eruption, especially sulfur dioxide, can rise in the immediate vicinity and can pose a health hazard and even be fatal.
Gas pollution can also be transmitted by the wind.
“Currently, gas pollution is not expected to cause inconvenience to people, except near the source of the eruption. Gas emissions will be closely monitored,” the IMO said.
According to the IMO, the Krysuvik system has been inactive for the past 900 years, while the last eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula dates back almost 800 years and lasted for about 30 years, from 1210 to 1240.
But the region had been under surveillance for several weeks after a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck on February 24 near Mount Keilir on the outskirts of Reykjavík.
More than 50,000 minor tremors have since been reported, and magma was detected just a kilometer below the earth’s surface in recent days near Fagradalsfjall.
Geophysicist Gudmundsson said the eruption marked a new period “that can last for centuries with eruptions, possibly between 10 and 100 years apart.”
(Anton Brink / Anadolu Agency / AFP)
Land of fire and ice
Iceland has 32 volcanic systems that are currently considered active, the highest number in Europe. The country has had an eruption every five years on average.
The vast island near the Arctic Circle lies straddling the mid-Atlantic ridge, a crack at the ocean floor that separates Eurasian and American tectonic plates.
The displacement of these plates is partly responsible for the intense volcanic activity in Iceland.
The most recent eruption was in Holuhraun, which began in August 2014 and ended in February 2015, in the Bardarbunga volcanic system, in an uninhabited area in the center of the island.
That eruption did not cause any major disruptions outside the immediate vicinity.
But in 2010, an eruption at Eyjafjallajokull volcano sent huge clouds of smoke and ash into the atmosphere, disrupting air traffic for more than a week and canceling more than 100,000 flights worldwide, leaving it stranded. about 10 million passengers.
© France-Presse Agency