Iceland's recent volcanic eruptions, brought on by magma accumulation, are expected to proceed for hundreds of years

To witness a volcanic eruption is to experience the raw power of nature. If you should see one for yourself, Iceland is an excellent location Since 2021, seven eruptions have occurred on the Reykjanes peninsula near Reykjavík.

These recent eruptions in Iceland have caught the eye of geoscientists like me. The eruptions help us understand how volcanoes work in incredible detail. My team took samples of the erupting lava from the Reykjanes peninsula and got some interesting results.

One of our findings suggests that Magma from the primary eruption accrued slightly below the island's surface, where it built up the energy needed for a spectacular eruption. This first burst of volcanism facilitated further eruptions.

Why is Iceland called the land of fireplace?

The island nation of Iceland is usually known as the “Land of Ice and Fire.” Early settlers experienced several major “fires” – or volcanic eruptions – along the Reykjanes Peninsula.

After about 800 years Without a volcanic event on the Reykjanes peninsula, the Fagradalsfjall volcano roared to life on March 19, 2021. Then two more isolated volcanic events occurred at Fagradalsfjall in 2022 and 2023. Following this, 4 more eruptions occurred to the west on the Sundhnúkur fissure system in 2023 and 2024.

These eruptions will not be only an incredible spectacle, they may cause devastating damage. The recent eruptions of Sundhnúkur threatened the fishing village of Grindavík, the geothermal power plant in Svartsengi and Iceland's most vital tourist destination: the geothermal spa the blue lagoonLava erupted inside the city limits of Grindavík and only man-made partitions could prevent further destruction.

What makes Iceland so volcanically lively?

Iceland is a novel place on Earth. It is an element of an enormous volcanic chain in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, with Iceland lying above the ocean surface. This volcanic chain is referred to as the Mid-Atlantic Ridgeand it plays a vital role in plate tectonics.

plate tectonics describes how the massive, rigid plates that make up the Earth's crust slide past, into and under one another. Their behavior slowly reshapes the Earth's surface. In some places, the plates collide and form mountain ranges just like the Himalayas. In other places, one plate slides under one other, creating Volcanoes And earthquakelike in Japan.

On the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which stretches between the South Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, the plates are pulling apart, allowing molten magma to flow through. This magma solidifies into volcanic crust and forms latest parts of the tectonic plates.

Geologists have also discovered a floating, hot cloud of rock material rising from the depths within the earth that intersects with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge beneath Iceland. This cloud, along with several other similar clouds within the central and southern Atlantic, could Formation of the Atlantic Ocean Basin greater than 200 million years ago.

The plate tectonics related to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the recent rock cloud beneath Iceland together form Iceland's volcanoes.

Scientists have proven that previous eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula were neither random in time nor in space. Instead, they occurred over periods that lasted centuries and along the identical volcanic zones. These patterns suggest that these volcanic periods occur when powerful tectonic forces pull the Reykjanes peninsula apart. It appears that while the plates pull apart evenly, volcanism along the Reykjanes ridge segment pulses over time.

What causes the outbreak?

Many groups, including my Colleagues from Icelandhave collected the erupted lava almost day by day. The collected samples provide a crucial scientific time series of the eruptions.

Recording a volcanic time series is like taking an everyday blood sample to grasp their health, except on this case the blood is glowing lava.

A Initial study by one other team in 2022 suggests that the mantle – the solid geological layer beneath the Earth's crust – melts to feed the lavas in Iceland, and that the chemical composition of the lavas changes over time. They suspected that these changes needed to do with where and when the melting occurred within the mantle.

In July 2024 my research team and I published an extended time series of lavas from the eruption using a sensitive chemical method that helped us understand the composition and origin of the lavas.

The layer of basalt rock on which individuals in Iceland live extends to a depth of about 15 kilometers. It is an element of the Earth's crust. The mantle, which lies directly beneath this crust, is clearly visible – it consists mainly of Minerals resembling olivine The form a rock called peridotiteThe magmas that feed these volcanic eruptions come from mantle peridotite.

The chemical method my team used revealed that the primary magmas These eruptions fed from the Earth’s mantle, but remained below the surface in a Magma Chamber as much as a yr. The rocks within the chamber partitions melted along with the magma, and we could see traces of this in our analyses.

Our research also suggests that because the magmas were stored within the magma chamber, they absorbed water, carbon dioxide and other gases. This water and gas allowed the magma to accumulate enough pressure to interrupt through the surface and erupt as lava.

Magma that accumulates within the Earth’s crust can trigger explosive eruptions – the beginnings of eruptions resembling those in Iceland or La Palma within the Canary Islands In 2021, the sort of bundling could also be essential.

What can we expect in the longer term?

Experience tells researchers that these eruptions are prone to last an extended time. The volcanoes will erupt recurrently every few years for days or months, and for as much as several hundred years into the longer term.

Generations of geologists and volcanologists will likely pursue their careers in Iceland, and tens of millions of geotourists will experience the unforgettably beautiful eruptions.

In the face of all these eruptions, Icelanders should adapt. Lava flows can destroy infrastructure, resembling the Svartsengi geothermal power plantand volcanic gases could cause health problems.

The eruptions of Fagradalsfjall and Sundhnúkur have already provided scientists with a wealth of information and insights into how volcanoes work. Further research into volcanism on the Reykjanes peninsula will help scientists understand how, when and why eruptions occur, and higher manage the risks related to living with volcanoes.