Iceland's Met Office cautions of potential further volcanic eruptions in Reykjanes Peninsula in days and weeks.
Two fresh fissures emerged near Grindavík on Jan. 14, destroying three houses.
"We haven't witnessed such events in Reykjanes for about 800 years," says David Pyle from the University of Oxford. "However, five minor eruptions occurred in just three years."
The recent eruption followed seismic activity and ground deformation, with lava bursting from a 3,000-foot-long fissure at 8 a.m. Another 330-foot fissure opened on the outskirts of Grindavík.
As per a statement from the Iceland Met Office (IMO) at 3 p.m. local time on Monday, lava flow near Grindavík has seemingly halted. Simultaneously, the larger fissure to the north has notably decelerated. Yet, magma movement persists beneath Grindavík.
"New fissures may open unexpectedly," state representatives cautioned. "As observed with the recent crack near Grindavík, no signals preceded the eruption."
Lovísa Mjöll Guðmundsdóttir, a natural-hazard specialist at the IMO, emphasized the ongoing risk. "Excluding the possibility of additional eruptions is impossible," she noted. "GPS data indicates increased magma inflow, raising the potential for more fissures."
Indications of an imminent volcanic event in Iceland emerged in November 2023, marked by the formation of a 9.3-mile magma dike from Sundhnúk to Grindavík. The eruption on Dec. 18 prompted evacuations, with magma plumes reaching heights of 100 feet. Activity subsided within days.
Lava flow from the recent fissures has also markedly decelerated. Unlike the December eruption, the terrain is still rising around Svartsengi, approximately 2.5 miles north, as per Guðmundsdóttir's statements to national broadcaster RUV. Data analysis is underway to comprehend subsurface events.
"The uplift in the Svartsengi area during November, December, and January suggested magma influx into a crustal storage region, causing ground elevation," explained Pyle. "Both the December and recent eruptions originated from a dyke/fissure system likely fed by this storage region. As long as new magma enters Svartsengi, eruptions from the existing fissure system may persist."
The eruptions in Reykjanes Peninsula follow a 1,000-year volcanic cycle with the potential to endure for centuries. In 2021, Fagradalsfjall, another peninsula volcano, erupted after nearly 800 years of dormancy. Geological records indicate recurring phases of calm lasting 600 to 1,000 years, succeeded by bursts of volcanic activity spanning 200 to 500 years.
"This appears to mark a resurgence of an eruption and rifting phase, reminiscent of the 'Fires' a millennium ago. We observe a recurrent pattern of minor fissure eruptions closely spaced in time, potentially persisting for several years," remarked Pyle.
