2021 MAY 09 Icelands Fagradalshraun Volcano roars back to life after 6,000 years

Iceland's Fagradalshraun volcano lies quiet for a spell before suddenly spewing red molten lava geysers high into the air, visible from the capital Reykjavik in an awe-inspiring display.

Up until a week ago, the volcanic activity was continuous and low key, but now it is alternating between quiet spells and furious outbursts.

One geyser was measured at more than 460 metres at dawn last Wednesday, according to the national meteorological office.

The powerful bursts throw up rock fragments called tephra, some still hot, that land several hundred metres from the crater, which is located in an uninhabited area on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland.

The eruption, which began on 19 March, is the first on the Reykjanes peninsula in more than eight centuries, and it has been nearly 6,000 years since the last activity at the precise site.

Volcanologists have predicted that the activity will continue for several months - if not decades. But they are certain that the eruption is far from superficial, coming from the Earth's crust.

"This is the most primitive lava that we have seen since the last Ice Age" some 10,000 years ago, said Edward Marshall of the Institute of Earth Sciences.

https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2021/0509/1217890-iceland-volcano-latest/