A volcano that began erupting in Iceland on Monday continued to spew lava on Tuesday and was accompanied by hundreds of earthquakes across the flow of magma on the country's southwest coast, officials said.
According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, volcanic activity appeared to be subsiding in Sundhnúksgígar on the Reykjanes Peninsula. New aerial images analyzed on Tuesday showed that there are now three vents spewing lava southeast of Stóra-Skógfell, up from five at the start of the eruption in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system, officials said.
“The lava flow is estimated to be about a quarter of what it was at the start of the eruption,” the Meteorological Office said in a statement on Tuesday.
A third of the original 2 1/5 mile long fissure remained active Tuesday, officials said.
Volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 3 km north of Grindavik, Iceland, following an earthquake on December 18, 2023. Icelandic Meteorological Office
“In addition, the lava fountains are lower than at the beginning of the eruption, reaching around 30 meters [about 100 feet] highest,” the Meteorological Department said.
At least 320 earthquakes, including one with a magnitude of 4.1, have occurred since the volcano erupted on Monday evening, the weather bureau said on Tuesday.
But since the eruption, seismic activity in the area has “decreased significantly,” the Meteorological Office said. Only 10 earthquakes have been recorded in the region since midday Tuesday, officials said.
Iceland volcano eruptsABC News
After the volcanic eruption in Sundhnúksgígar, the land around the Svartsengi Power Station, a geothermal power plant, sank by about five centimeters, officials said. Before the eruption, the land had risen about 35 centimeters due to the magma channel that had formed since November 10.
“It is still too early to determine whether magma will continue to accumulate beneath Svartsengi and whether the land will rise again,” the Meteorological Office said.
The eruption north of the town of Grindavik began around 10 p.m. local time on Monday, the weather office said in a warning on its website: “It is visible on webcams and appears to be near Hagafell, about 3 km.” [about 1.8 miles] north of Grindavik.
People watch as the night sky is illuminated by the eruption of a volcano in Grindavik on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, Monday, December 18, 2023. Marco Di Marco/AP
An “earthquake swarm” began about an hour before the eruption, the weather office said. The intensity of the outbreak began to subside within hours, officials said in an update about four hours later.
“The fact that activity is already decreasing is not an indication of how long the eruption will last, but rather that the eruption is reaching a steady state,” the weather bureau said.
This image from a video provided by the Icelandic Coast Guard shows his helicopter flying near Magma and on a hill near Grindavik on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula sometime late Monday, December 18th, or early Tuesday, December 18th December 19, 2023, ongoing.Icelandic Coast Guard via AP
The affected area near Grindavík, a fishing village of about 3,700 people that was evacuated in November in preparation for the volcanic eruption, remained cordoned off by the country's civil defense force, President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson said on social media on Tuesday.
People watch as the night sky is illuminated by the eruption of a volcano in Grindavik on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, Monday, December 18, 2023. Marco Di Marco/AP
“We are now waiting to see what the forces of nature have in store,” he said. “We are prepared and remain vigilant.”
As the eruption at Sundhnúksgíga continues, there is an increased chance of additional vents opening along the original fissure and further north or south, officials said.
A review of the period before the eruption showed that there was about 90 minutes between the first signs and the start of the eruption, the meteorological office said, adding that the warning time for new openings could be very short.
Flowing lava is seen during an eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, 3 km north of Grindavik in western Iceland, December 18, 2023. Icelandic Meteorological Office
The Meteorological Office said the eruption was located on “the dike collapse that formed in November.” The eruption fissure began extending southward, with its southern end near Sundhnúkur, officials said.
Scientists estimated lava outflow from the volcanic fissure at “hundreds of cubic meters per second,” adding that the largest lava fountains were at the northern end. The lava spread laterally, the office said.
Flowing lava is seen at a fissure on the Reykjanes peninsula, 3 km north of Grindavik in western Iceland, on December 18, 2023. Kristinn Magnusson/AFP via Getty Images
Local weather authorities warned in November that there was a “significant probability” of a volcanic eruption. More than 20,000 earthquakes have struck the area since late October, officials said.
At that time, officials declared a state of emergency near the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the sparsely populated Reykjanes peninsula.