In the years 1210-1230, an event now known as the ‘Reykjanes fires’ occurred. Multiple volcanic eruptions shook the southwestern part of the young nation of Iceland. Now, after a 800 year slumber, one of the volcanic systems in Reykjanes has awoken.
It all started over a year ago, when an earthquake swarm rippled under Mount Thorbjörn. Right away, scientists alerted the public that an inflation was occurring on the plate boundaries within the Svartsengi and Reykjanes volcanic systems.
On February 24th 2021, two earthquakes above magnitude M5 were recorded near Fagradalsfjall. It was clear that an eruption might be on the way and scientists started to put out theories of potential developments.
For weeks, the earthquake swarm continued and satellite images showed constant deformation of the crust. This was an indication that magma was on its way to becoming lava. Magma is what we call it while it is under the Earth’s crust and lava is when it is above.
Volcanology is a relatively new science, so scientists are still far from making precise models of how the magma will behave. Some geologists stated that there would be an imminent eruption, while others dismissed the possibility of an eruption altogether. Some online betting sites even offered customers odds of the eruption happening before or after a certain period. These odds were 3:1 before April 1st and 1.33:1 after. Well, those who bet before April 1st walked away with triple winnings because on March 19th at around 20:45, without any loud bang, a volcanic eruption began at a place called Geldingadalur, close to Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula.
The authorities in Iceland are still not quite settled on an official name for the eruption but as it stands, the most commonly used one is ‘Geldingadalsgos’, or the ‘Eruption of Castrated Horse Valley’. Gelding is an Icelandic word that was given to castrated horses and the story is that a settler, Ísólfur á Skála, asked to be buried in this valley because his horses had the best time there.
Since the eruption wasn’t explosive, the first reports of it occurring didn’t come in until some time after lava had already begun filling the valley. Blood red clouds that lit up the mountains in the area gave away what had just happened.
The eruption site is about 4.7 km inland from the southern coast of the peninsula and the closest populated town is Grindavík, which is approximately 10 km away. Luckily, the lava does not pose any immediate danger to the local population or nearby infrastructure at this time.
The eruption has been referred to as a ‘tourist eruption’ in jest, as it is far enough from inhabited areas that it doesn’t pose a threat, though it is also close enough that it can easily be visited. Right after the public learned of the event, a few people started to make their way to the site in order to capture it and to conquer the news with fresh pictures.
In the coming days, streams of people made their way to see it. On Sunday 21st of March, despite harsh weather, thousands of locals streamed from the capital of Reykjavik (which is just 35 km from the site of the eruption) to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event for themselves. Unfortunately, some were unprepared for the 6-hour hike and the day ended with rescue teams combing the nearby areas for exhausted and hungry volcano enthusiasts.
My wife and I also did the trip on the 21st of March. We made sure to bring enough water and food, as well as headlamps to last us for the whole day. We’re not beginners when it comes to long hikes; despite this, it took us a good 4 hours of walking through older lava fields before we reached the entrance to the valley.
This was my first ‘close encounter’ experience with a volcanic eruption, so I was not sure what to expect. When I saw it, I was blown away, thankfully not literally.
It is an indescribable feeling to be able to stand face-to-face with such a force of nature. Red hot rock that had been formed many millenniums ago was finally rising to see the light of day, before immediately cooling off to form new land. It was as though the life-giving blood of the Earth was emerging through a scar in the Earth’s crust. I felt so helpless and amazed at the same time; helpless because there was absolutely no way for us humans to stop it and amazed, because, well, it was an amazing experience.
It has been less than a week since the initial eruption occurred but the area already looks so different from how it did when it all first started. There is a live feed being streamed online where you can see how it is slowly changing over time.
So far, the lava has been emerging at a rate of 5 cubic meters per second, which is small when compared to an average eruption. However, scientists are saying that it has been emerging from a depth of several kilometres underground and we have little to no idea exactly how much magma has been stored in that particular pocket underneath the crust.
At first, we were told by the geologists that the eruption might not last the weekend. Since then, they have been speculating that it may last up to several months or even longer. That means that once we have gotten a good grip on the COVID-19 pandemic and international travel has resumed in some shape or form, our friends overseas may also be able to experience this unbelievable event themselves. I certainly hope and wish that will be the case.