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Iceland ’s potentially imminent volcanic eruption in the Reykjanes Peninsula is part of a 1,000 - yr cycle of volcanic action that will likely induce eruptions for hundred , scientist say .
" Time ’s lastly up,“Edward W. Marshall , a research worker at the University of Iceland ’s Nordic Volcanological Center , told Live Science in an email . " We can get quick for another few hundred years of eruptions on the Reykjanes . "
Fagradalsfjall volcano erupting in July. In 2021, Fagradalsfjall erupted for the first time in about 800 years, kickstarting a new era in volcanic activity in Iceland.
seismal activeness began increasing in the south of the peninsula in October , with century ofearthquakesrecorded there each day . On Nov. 10 , authorities evacuated the townsfolk of Grindavík , with expert discourage an volcanic irruption could take station in just days .
harmonize to the Icelandic Met Office ( IMO ) , amagma tunnel stretching 9.3 miles(15 kilometers ) take shape beneath the ground between Sundhnúkur in the north and Grindavík . The area affected also encompasses the Blue Lagoon geothermic watering hole — a tourer hot spot that attracts one C of thousands of visitant annually .
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Infographic showing the seismic activity that has hit Iceland in recent weeks.
Magma in the tunnel — also eff as a dyke — appear to be rising to the surface , and there is a high risk of it breaking through . The greatest orbit of magma upwelling is currently close to Sundhnúkur , about 2 miles ( 3.5 kilometer ) northeast of Grindavík , according to the IMO . Researchers believe the amount of magma in the burrow is " significantly more " than what was present duringthe blast at Fagradalsfjall , which sparked back to life in 2021 after more than 800 year of inertia .
That 2021 blast marked the start of a new cycle of volcanic natural process on the Reykjanes Peninsula . geologic records show stop of inactivity last between 600 and 1,200 years , which is then followed by pulses of eruptions lasting between 200 and 500 yr , Clive Oppenheimer , a professor of volcanology at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. , told Live Science in an electronic mail .
" It looks like 2021 kicked off a newfangled eruptive phase which might see the several break zones crossing the [ Reykjanes Peninsula ] firing on and off for centuries , " he say .
Grindavík has been evacuated over fears an eruption may take place in or near the town.
The Reykjanes Peninsula sits above two tectonic home that are being pulled aside . The strain that builds up is released in bursts as part of the cycles/second . " We are now in one of these pulses,“David Pyle , a volcanologist and prof of Earth sciences at the University of Oxford , U.K , differentiate Live Science in an e-mail . " Each eruption releases just a piece more of the stored - up strain , and finally , when all of that straining has been released , then the eruptions will stop . "
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It is presently unreadable if an blast will take spot as a result of the magma burrow . " These sorts of dike are in reality a tectonic , not a magmatic feature article . In other words , the lava is filling a fracture , not hale its way into the rock’n’roll , " Marshall said .
Should a crack emerge , an eruption could last for several weeks . The enceinte amount of magma involved compare with previous blast in the region could result in more lava flow at the open , Oppenheimer say .
What occur next is a expect game , Marshall said . " I presage — if an eruption pass — that it will go on between a few days to threeish hebdomad . If it has n’t break out in three weeks , I do n’t think it will go on . chilling will commence to close up the fracture . "
