Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula is showing signs of significant volcanic activity. Earlier this month, a volcanic eruption released molten lava into the town of Grindavik, compelling residents to evacuate and causing substantial damage to homes.
For the past 800 years, the Reykjanes Peninsula has been relatively calm. However, the recent eruption marks the fifth since 2021, suggesting the onset of a new volcanic cycle. Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist and researcher at Lancaster University in the UK, explains that this could indicate centuries of ongoing volcanic activity.
\"It seems to be a reawakening of this volcanic zone in southwest Iceland, called the Reykjanes Peninsula,\" McGarvie told CGTN Europe. \"It's been dormant for about 800 years, 781 to be precise. During that period, there's been occasional earthquakes and some offshore eruptions, but nothing on land.\"
He added, \"In 2020, we saw a series of very large, intense earthquakes with massive amounts of seismic energy being released. This led to the first eruption in 2021, followed by eruptions in 2022 and 2023. After a brief pause, a completely new volcanic system has awakened.\"
Reference(s):
'Iceland's volcanoes could erupt for centuries' says UK volocanologist
cgtn.com
