Recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland could last decades, according to an international study. The country’s most populous region and its vital infrastructure could be at risk in the longer term.
According to the study, the repeating pattern of eruptions and dormancies is likely to continue for centuries, but the current series of eruptions is likely to continue for years or decades, the researchers report in the journal ‘Terra Nova’.
In 2021, the series of eruptions began on the Reykjanes Peninsula in the southwest of the island, about 55 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik. There have been five major volcanic eruptions since December last year alone. Lava flowed from elongated cracks in the earth. Therefore, this type of eruption is also called fissure eruption. Some houses were hit by lava.
It was last volcanically active 800 years ago
A large part of the North Atlantic island’s population lives in the affected region. It also has the only international airport and several geothermal power plants that provide the country with hot water and electricity. According to the research, the peninsula was last volcanically active almost 800 years ago.
For their study, the researchers evaluated earthquake data from the past three years and took lava samples from various locations. They compared the liquid rock that flowed from the Earth at different locations for chemical and physical properties. So they wanted to determine whether it came from the same underground magma chamber or from different chambers.
Interconnected magma system
According to the research, it is magma with similar petrographic properties. This suggests a connected underground magma system, the scientists write.
Together with the seismic data, they conclude that it is a fairly large magma accumulation at a depth of about nine to eleven kilometers, extending over a width of ten kilometers. It developed between 2002 and 2020.
“Nature is never regular”
The research team concludes that the current series of outbreaks could be the start of a long episode. But they couldn’t predict how long the series would actually last. “Nature is never regular,” says co-author Ilya Bindeman, a volcanologist and professor of geosciences at the University of Oregon in the US. “We don’t know how long or how often this will last over the next ten or even a hundred years. A pattern will emerge, but nature always has exceptions and irregularities.”
Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the tectonic plate boundary where the North American and Eurasian plates are moving apart. This is why volcanic eruptions are common in Iceland, but the eruptions of the more centrally located volcanoes usually only last a few days or weeks, as was the case with the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic glacier. The fissure eruptions, on the other hand, can last much longer to last.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
