The bright, glowing lava surging out of a fissure along Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula can be easily observed by orbiting satellites. This image, measuring about 3 1/2 miles in diameter, was made using Landsat 9 data collected on the 24th of November. You can see a few turquoise spots on the leftmost part of the flowing lava. Iceland’s Blue Lagoon is a popular geothermal bath that draws tourists from all over the world. Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, a geothermal bath. Credit: Bryan Ledgard, Wikimedia.com
The lava from an ongoing eruption near the spa has scorched the service building and swept across the parking lot.
This is the seventh eruption in a long series that started in December 2023. A swarming of earthquakes accompanied the eruption on Nov. 20, evening. The Suomi NPP Satellite acquired this nighttime Iceland image below about five hours after the earthquake. It was brighter even than Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital. The lava flow light that reached the sensor of the satellite is so intense. The Suomi NPP captured a night-time image of Iceland on November 20, 2024. It shows the bright lava light from the eruption. This is brighter than Reykjavik in Iceland’s capital. NASA Earth Observatory
This is a slightly different Landsat 9 image showing the Reykjanes Peninsula.
In this Landsat 9 image taken on November 24,2024, lava from an eruption fissure can be seen. To the north of Grindavik, the Blue Lagoon can be seen. NASA Earth Observatory
This Landsat picture combines an image of a natural-color scene with an Infrared Signal to reveal the heat signature. The lava is also accompanied by a plume of mostly sulfur dioxide gas. Iceland is located along the seam of Earth’s crust that runs roughly between the North Atlantic and South Atlantic Oceans. Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a subsea mountain chain 10,000 feet high, marks the seam. Along this line, the tectonic plate is pulling apart. This includes Iceland. The North American Plate moves roughly from west to southwest while the Eurasian Plate pulls toward the East.
The Tectonic Plates Diverge and the Giant Plume of Lava
Fissures open in Earth’s crust, which allows magma and lava to spew onto the surface. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is 10,000 miles long and this phenomenon occurs all along it. Iceland, however, is the only place where it’s possible to walk the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and see processes that normally take place thousands feet beneath the surface of the ocean. Why? Why is that? Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik is the site of this eruption. Red triangles indicate the active volcanoes. Credit: U.S. Geologic Survey
Throughout the ridge, molten lava flows out, cools and then is pulled from the crack in the crust. This movement means that lava can’t accumulate enough to rise above the sea. Iceland’s location is not at just the Mid-Ocean Ridge. The island is also located right over a massive plume “hot spot” of magma that rises from the deep. Iceland has been raised above the sea level by lava eruptions from both of these sources.
Wildflowers sprout at the bottom of an ancient lava flow in Indjanahofdi. This nature reserve is located along the Kleifarvatn shore. The beautiful Icelandic Lake is located in a rift area just 9 miles away from the eruption. Icelandic volcanic activity is episodic. (Credit : (c)Tom Yulsman).
In a calm phase, the crust is strained by tectonics. The strain can cause the crust to crack after a 600- to 1,200-year period. Lava will then pour forth in pulses lasting between 200 to 500 years. David Pyle is a University of Oxford volcanologist who spoke to Live Science in 19659016. Bottom Line: The current eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula could last for centuries.
