Watch the moment a crater COLLAPSES in Iceland’s new volcano, throwing ‘spatter bombs’ of molten lava into the air

By William On Jul 21, 2023

Dramatic footage shows the crater of Earth’s newest ‘baby’ volcano collapsing ‘spectacularly’, throwing ‘splash bombs’ of molten lava into the air.

It was formed less than two weeks ago when an underground The eruption opened a 2.7 kilometer long rift on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, which is southwest of the capital Reykjavík.

This was preceded by a ‘seismic swarm’ of 7,000 earthquakes in the region.

Tectonic activity slowed for about a week after the eruption, but picked up three days ago with “a big shift in venting activity from one day to the next,” according to a research group from the University of Iceland.

In a Facebook post, the university’s Laboratory of Volcanology and Natural Hazards said the crater was first “filled to the brim with lava and the fountain began throwing splash bombs far beyond the crater rims.”

Look after! Dramatic footage shows the crater of Earth’s newest ‘baby’ volcano collapsing ‘spectacularly’, throwing ‘splash bombs’ of molten lava into the sky

The volcano, which is located on Mount Fagradalsfjall, began erupting Monday after increased seismic activity in the area. It is 20 miles from Keflavik Airport

TIMELINE OF THE FORMATION OF THE ‘BABY’ VOLCANO

July 4: Increased seismic activity on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula

10th of July: An underground eruption opens a 1.7 mile long fissure in the ground

July 18: ‘A major shift in volcano venting activity’ causes lava to ‘fill to the brim’

July 19: Lava flows over the crater and the crater collapses

Within hours, a small fracture had formed, allowing lava to flow over the crater and eventually leading to the collapse of part of the crater’s rim.

This in turn unleashed a river of lava to the north and west of the volcano.

Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir, an associate professor of geography at the University of Iceland, said there was some “concern” because two people were in the area just over an hour before the crater collapsed.

“They couldn’t possibly have had time to escape and survive being there an hour later because the collapse happened so quickly,” she told MailOnline.

“They shouldn’t have been there, of course, because the area so close to the crater is closed off and extremely dangerous.”

According to the Icelandic Met Office, there is no greater risk to the public because the immediate area is uninhabited.

However, some residents of the nearby Reykjanes Peninsula were housebound and encouraged to sleep with their windows closed due to the risk of toxic gas.

The latest eruption is classified as a fissure eruption, which usually does not result in large explosions or a significant amount of ash in the stratosphere, the Icelandic government said.

Scientists said the temperature of the lava seeping out of the crater was about 1200 °C.

The volcano formed less than two weeks ago when an underground eruption opened up a 2.7-kilometre-long canyon on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest of the capital Reykjavík.

The latest eruption is classified as a fissure eruption, which usually does not result in large explosions or a significant amount of ash in the stratosphere, the Icelandic government said.

Vigilant: Scientists now plan to monitor the volcano’s behavior, fearing further lava flows could ignite wildfires and reduce air quality in the region

“The crater became unstable and collapsed,” Jónsdóttir said.

“It slowly filled with lava and put pressure on the newly formed and unstable crater walls.

“This is not unusual in an eruption and was expected – although the exact location or timing was not previously known.

“Of course it was nice that it was all captured on camera, not least because it was a fairly large collapse, which changed the flow of the lava flow to the west.”

Experts from the Laboratory of Volcanology and Natural Hazards said that on the other side of the volcano, lava flowing south became trapped shortly after it spewed out of the crater.

Scientists now plan to monitor the volcano’s behavior, fearing that further lava flows could ignite wildfires and reduce air quality in the region.

Earlier this week, officials warned of toxic gas and urged hikers to avoid the area.

“Police, on the advice of scientists, have decided to restrict access to the site of the eruption due to the massive and life-threatening pollution from toxic gases,” said the civil protection and disaster management department.

Concern: Earlier this week, officials warned of toxic gas and urged hikers to avoid the area

Scientists said the temperature of the lava seeping out of the crater was about 1200 °C.

The area, commonly known as Fagradalsfjall Volcano, has erupted twice in the past two years without causing any damage or flight disruptions, despite being near Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s international air traffic hub

The area, commonly known as the Fagradalsfjall volcano, has erupted twice in the past two years without causing damage or flight disruptions, despite being near Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s international air traffic hub.

A 2021 eruption in the same area produced lava flows for months. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to witness the spectacular spectacle.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, has an eruption every four to five years on average.

The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed massive clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.

More than 100,000 flights were grounded, stranding millions of international travelers and shutting down air traffic for days over concerns the ash could damage jet engines.

A live stream of the volcano can be viewed on the website of Iceland’s national broadcaster here.

HOW CAN RESEARCHERS PREDICT VOLCANO EFFECTS?

According to Eric Dunham, an associate professor in Stanford University’s School of Earth, energy and Environmental Sciences, “Volcanoes are complicated and there is currently no universally applicable way to predict eruptions. It will probably never come.’

However, there is evidence of increased volcanic activity, which researchers can use to help predict volcanic eruptions.

Researchers can monitor indicators such as:

Volcanic infrasound: When the lava lake rises in the crater of an open volcano, a sign of a possible eruption, the pitch or frequency of the sounds generated by the magma tends to increase.
Seismic activity: Prior to an eruption, seismic activity in the form of small earthquakes and tremors almost always increases as magma moves through the volcano’s “plumbing.”
Gas emissions: As magma approaches the surface and the pressure decreases, gases escape. Sulfur dioxide is one of the main components of volcanic gases, and increasing amounts of it are a sign of increasing amounts of magma near a volcano’s surface.
Soil deformation: Changes in a volcano’s ground surface (volcano deformation) appear as swelling, sinking, or cracking, which can be caused by magma, gas, or other fluids (usually water) moving underground or by movements in the Earth’s crust due to movement along fault lines. Swelling of a volcano can be a signal that magma has accumulated near the surface.

Source: United States Geological Survey