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Fears are mounting of a major volcanic eruption in southwestern Iceland, following massive increases in seismic activity.
Last week alone, local geologists recorded 17,000 earthquakes on the Reykjavadn Peninsula, home to the volcanic system. Crucifixion. Frequent earthquakes are the latest activity to start almost a year ago, and are normally a sign of magma accumulation near the earth’s surface.
As magma rises, the chances of the surface cracking and volcanic eruption increasing.
Authorities have begun updating emergency plans, although the eruption is not certain, as as has happened in the past, magma has advanced to the surface and then stopped before the eruption.
Iceland is not ‘foreign’ to spectacular volcanic eruptions.
In 2010, the eruption of Mount Eyjafjallajökull caught the attention of the whole world when its smoke brought about a ban on flights to almost all of northern and western Europe.
Previous eruptions of Mount Krýsuvík have not produced large amounts of ash or molten lava.
Dr Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist at Lancaster University, says: “Eruptions in southwest Iceland are of the liquid rock type called basalt. This results in slow lava flow that is gradually fed by mountains and craters. “In Iceland these are called ‘tourist eruptions’ because they are relatively harmless and predictable, and offer many people the opportunity to witness the natural spectacle of the creation of new land.”
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