While the eruption was still active at this time, additional satellite and ground observations indicated it was likely waning.The eruption started at 8:23 p.m. local time on March 16, the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) reported. Gushing eruptions tend to emit very little ash, and their plumes generally contain water vapor, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and little amounts of other volcanic gases.This eruption did not interfere with air travel, but sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions were dangerous locally at times. The SO2 emissions from this eruption were forecast to drift across the United Kingdom and northern Europe, according to models based on satellite observations, but at an elevation too high to affect surface air quality.Unlike the other recent eruptions in this area, the springtime event stretched out over weeks rather than a couple of days.
Satellite image of the ongoing eruption on Icelands Reykjanes peninsula recorded on March 30, 2024, by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8. The current fissure eruption on Icelands Reykjanes peninsula was the biggest of four current bouts of activity near the town of Grindavík.Lava poured from a volcanic fissure near the town of Grindavík, Iceland, in spring 2024. The eruption, which began on March 16 and remained active over 2 weeks later on, was the biggest in a string of four volcanic occasions on the Reykjanes peninsula starting in December 2023. Landsat 8s OLI (Operational Land Imager) recorded this image of the continuous eruption on March 30, 2024. The natural color scene is overlaid with an infrared signal to help identify the lavas heat signature. The active part of the crack and the origin of a volcanic plume appear. While the eruption was still active at this time, extra satellite and ground observations showed it was most likely waning.The eruption began at 8:23 p.m. regional time on March 16, the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) reported. A fissure nearly 3 kilometers (2 miles) long rapidly opened in a similar area to the February 2024 eruption. Numerous individuals at heaven Lagoon, in addition to a small number in Grindavík, were left within about 30 minutes of the eruption starting.In the days that followed, lava streamed toward facilities such as water pipes and roads, the town of Grindavík, and the ocean. Human-constructed barriers of earth and rock diverted lava far from town, although a circulation extended across one roadway. Authorities were initially concerned that lava would reach the coast and cool quickly upon contacting water. This might have positioned additional risks such as the production of hydrogen chloride gas, however the flow stopped short.Landsat image contrast from September 20, 2023, February 10, 2024, and March 30, 2024, shows the current changes on the Reykjanes peninsula.This Landsat image comparison shows the current modifications on the Reykjanes peninsula. In September 2023 (left), the area was peaceful volcanically. By February 10, 2024 (center), 3 different crack eruptions had occurred. The footprint of brand-new basaltic rock grew in March 2024 (right) as new lava spanned almost 6 square kilometers (2.3 square miles), according to the IMO.Like the eruptions that preceded it, the spring 2024 event was effusive, not explosive. Effusive eruptions tend to release very little ash, and their plumes typically include water vapor, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other volcanic gases.This eruption did not interrupt air travel, but sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions were dangerous in your area sometimes. Workers evacuated the power plant north of Grindavík on March 18 due to gas pollution, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reported. The SO2 emissions from this eruption were forecast to wander across the United Kingdom and northern Europe, according to models based on satellite observations, but at an elevation too expensive to affect surface area air quality.Unlike the other recent eruptions in this area, the spring event extended over weeks instead of a number of days. The factor for the relatively prolonged eruption might be that lava now has a simpler course to the surface, specialists recommended in news reports. Others think that magma is no longer accumulating in the shallow lava chamber beneath the location which this eruption could be the last in the longer cycle.NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.