NASA has captured red-hot lava flowing from Iceland’s recent volcanic eruption in stunning satellite images. Operational Land Imager-2 on Landsat 9 captured this shot on November 24, showing lava pouring out of a 1.8-mile-long fissure in the Sindhankur crater series. Reykjanes Peninsula.
The eruption, which began on November 20, is the seventh explosion in the area in less than a year. Previous eruptions began on August 22, May 29, March 16, February 8, January 14 and December 18.
An earthquake signaled the eruption on the evening of November 20. Iceland Meteorological Office.
NASA Earth shared a satellite image of the eruption on Wednesday, saying, “The volcano erupted again near Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, a popular geothermal spa”.
Lava flows east and west from fissures near the Stóra Skógfell summit, eventually reaching and engulfing the parking lot of the Blue Lagoon Spa. Fifty homes in the popular tourist destination and nearby town of Grindavik, population 3,800, were evacuated. Grindavík has experienced repeated evacuations during recent eruptions, with one even destroying several houses.
According to Newsweek, this eruption has shown stronger and longer-lasting activity than previous ones. The Icelandic Meteorological Office reported that lava is flowing at a steady rate of 1,300 cubic meters per second, down from 2,500 cubic meters per second during the August eruption.
Volcanologists have noted that, unusually, there was no increase in seismic activity prior to this eruption. The lava is currently flowing east towards Fagradalsfjall.
David Pyle, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Oxford, told Newsweek that these eruptions could continue for decades or centuries as the tectonic plates slowly drift apart.
Experts have warned that if the fissures reach Grindavik or erupt underwater, it could lead to further explosive activity at the volcano.