Iceland's Volcanic Eruptions

Iceland is home to a lot of ice, and a lot of fire! The country has more than 100 volcanoes, and recently some of their eruptions have been a hot topic!

The town of Grindavík is located in the south-west of Iceland, on the Reykjanes Peninsula. It was once a busy fishing town but, right now, nearly no one lives here. Last November residents evacuated the town, leaving their homes behind because the ground beneath them was rumbling.

Over 1,000 small earthquakes happened in one day, and large cracks were appearing in the roads…

All signs that there might be a volcanic eruption soon.

Putting homes — and lives — at risk!

A few weeks later, on the evening of December 18th, the eruption began — just two miles away from Grindavík. Lava flowed from a long crack in the Earth’s surface, called a fissure, and the night sky turned orange because of the brightly colored lava, and the smoke blowing everywhere.

Thankfully, the lava didn’t reach Grindavík this time, but since then there have been more eruptions closer to the town that have caused major damage to some homes.

Meaning residents still don't know when it will be safe to return. While people in Grindavík were leaving, scientists who study volcanoes, known as volcanologists, were researching what was happening underground.

They knew that the small earthquakes happened because of movement under the Earth’s surface, caused by magma, or molten rock, flowing upward from deep inside the Earth.

This magma would eventually erupt through the crack, or fissure, onto the Earth’s surface. Now, the volcanologists have revealed that the magma flowed underground at a huge rate, with 7,400 cubic meters of magma flowing per second.

That’s enough to fill three Olympic swimming pools with magma every second and is the highest rate ever recorded for similar eruptions!

By carrying out research like this, volcanologists are able to better understand the ways that magma moves deep underground in places like Iceland. Helping them to plan for volcanic eruptions in the future — and keeping people safe.

Because in Iceland, where there are so many volcanoes, another eruption might not be too far away.

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