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A volcano in western Iceland that was once dormant for 800 years has erupted for the seventh time in 2024.
The volcano erupted with virtually no warning on Wednesday evening. The eruption opened a hole on the volcano’s surface around 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometers) long. The lava was sent flowing toward Blue Lagoon Spa, a popular tourist attraction in that area of Iceland.
While a seventh eruption is concerning, local authorities say that this one is significantly smaller than the eruption in August and should subside in a few days like the previous events.
“In the big picture, this is a bit smaller than the last eruption, and the eruption that occurred in May,” Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, a professor of geophysics who flew over the scene with the Icelandic Civil Protection Agency to monitor the event, told national broadcaster RUV.
Eruptions are nothing new for Iceland as they are a hotspot for volcanic activity. This particular volcano in Reykjanes Peninsula, which is in the western part of the country, is a rift activity volcano.
This type of volcano is brought into existence as a result of two plates moving away from each other in the mid-Atlantic ridge, which explains why the eruption made a fissure in the earth. Because the volcano doesn’t erupt through an archetypal cone shape, it is much less dangerous.
“It’s a style of volcanic activity that is effusive, slow flowing, not violently eruptive, like would be the case with a subduction zone volcanic system,” said Thomas Algeo, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Cincinnati to ABC News.
Though it was a less dangerous eruption than a traditional volcano, about 50 houses still had to be evacuated in the area along with guests at the Blue Lagoon Spa. The lava had spread throughout the spa’s parking lot and consumed a service center by the time Thursday came around. The lava also hit a geothermal pipe that ran hot water to the spa, but those pipes are built to withstand lava.
“It’s known that this region goes through these episodes where there are a lot of these eruptions,” said Tobias Fischer, director of the Volatiles Laboratory at the University of New Mexico.
Officials say that the fissure should not get any bigger and the lava flow should subside in the coming days. However, they also said that nothing was to be ruled out yet.
“Grindavík is not in danger as it looks and it is unlikely that this crack will get any longer, although nothing can be ruled out,” said Guðmundsson.
