Iceland Volcano Erupts For 5 Months; Lava Field Now Bigger Than Manhattan!
Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano has been dribbling lava since August of 2014. At present, the volcanic material has added to the country's largest basaltic flow, the Holuhraun, wrote the Tech Times.
On top of that five-month gush of molten earth, the source indicated that the current lava field took an area greater than 32 square miles. Such measurement appeared to be larger than the size of Manhattan.
Utilizing surveillance flight data, scientists from the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland provided the following lava field estimations: 10 meters thick east, 12 meters chick center and 14 meters thick west.
Citing information from the Icelandic Met Office, Sky News reported that seismic activity, such as small earthquakes within the region, have persisted on a daily basis following the volcano's eruption last year. As of press time, the source indicated that high levels of sulfur dioxide were still recorded in the vicinity, prompting evacuation measures.
As told by the outlet, the volcano's eruption on Aug. 27 triggered fears of aviation disruption. Interestingly, Eyjafjallajokull volcano's ash cloud in 2010 resulted to a similar scenario, closing the European air space for almost a week.
As of Jan. 16, Jón Frímann of jonfr.com noted that the strongest magnitude was 4.6. Citing latest measurements, the author reported a magma output of 50 - 70m³/sec.
The Bardarbunga volcano lies underneath Iceland's 500-meter thick Vatnajokull glacier. It is situated at the center of the country. According to Volcano Discovery, Bardarbunga had 300 - 400 eruptions in the last 10,000 years. The outlet estimated an eruption rate of twice per century.
The source went on to specify the volcano's location, beneath the northwestern part of the Vatnajökull glacier. As with any volcano, the Bardarbunga imposes its own hazards in the form of glacier-outburst floods, which expectedly place all surrounding locations at risk.
That said, Bardarbunga's location seems like a cross of ice and fire, making its activities just as interesting. Eric Cheng's (DJI) documentation has been cited by io9, where drone photographs captured breath-taking images depicting the volcano's explosion inside its cone.
According to the outlet, Cheng explained in another video that the spectacular footage didn't come with a price. Well, the camera's face has melted, but the SD card was strong enough to withstand the hellish situation the system had been through. You can check out the photos here.
What do you think about a lava field larger than Manhattan? Aside from enormous volcanoes, what about Iceland interests you? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
See this evening flight footage (uploaded by Karl Neusinger) of the Bardarbunga eruption.