(Reykjavik) A “low intensity” volcanic eruption began Monday afternoon in Iceland, in an uninhabited area about thirty kilometers from the capital Reykjavik where lava erupted for the third time in two years, without damage or impact reported. on air traffic.
The eruption occurred around 12:40 p.m. (Eastern time) near a small mount named Litli Hrutur, located a few kilometers from the sites of two previous eruptions, in March 2021 and August 2022, on the peninsula of Reykjanes, southwest of Reykjavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Institute (IMO) announced.
“There are three cracks, from which lava escapes in all directions, mainly to the north and east,” Thorvaldur Thordarson, professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland, told AFP.
“It’s a low-intensity effusive eruption. So she is not a big threat,” he added.
Images released by Icelandic media and the weather institute, which were on standby after thousands of mini-earthquakes hit the area in recent days, show at least one significant lava flow appearing to be escaping from the fault, as well as smoke from the area.
“The eruption is occurring in a small depression just north of Litli Hrutur” – which means “little ram” in Icelandic, from which smoke is billowing in a northwesterly direction, IMO explained in a communicated.
Icelandic civil protection called not to go there immediately, the time to assess the situation.
As for the expected duration of this new eruption, “we have no idea”, explained Mr. Thordarson.
“It can last a few days, a month, six months like in 2021 or even longer than that.”
The magma had moved closer to a few hundred meters below the surface in recent days, suggesting an imminent eruption, according to volcanologists.
The effusive eruptions that have occurred so far have not caused material damage and have had no impact on air traffic.
On the other hand, they delighted the hundreds of thousands of tourists and onlookers who went to see the lava flows during the two previous eruptions, which had lasted six months and three weeks respectively.
harmless rash
Smoke billowing from the volcano was visible from the road linking Reykjavik to Keflavik International Airport, an AFP journalist noted. Motorists parked on the side of the road to take photos.
Like previous ones in the Reykjanes Peninsula, the eruption appears to have occurred as a fault, not at the top of a high crater.
The site of the eruption is about ten kilometers from the nearest road, with a walk described as “difficult” by the IMO.
Before 2021, no eruption had occurred in the area for eight centuries in the surroundings. According to vulcanologists, the new cycle of activity in the peninsula could last several years.
On Sunday evening, a 5.2 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful in recent days, shook the surrounding area and was felt in much of Iceland.
Located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, Iceland is one of Earth’s most active and productive volcanic regions, with 33 volcanoes or volcanic systems considered active.
The country has an eruption on average every five years.
In 2010, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in the south of the island caused the greatest disruption to air traffic in peacetime. A title since erased from the shelves by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other volcanoes, such as Askja in the uninhabited highlands of central Iceland, have recently shown signs of activity.
One of the country’s most fearsome volcanoes is Katla, near the southern coast. Its last eruption was in 1918, an unusually long pause suggesting an upcoming revival.