A view below the surface of Reykjanes

Location: Iceland - March 2021.

For more than 2 weeks, the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland has been shaken by earthquakes. More than 34,000 earthquakes have been recorded so far...

What exactly is happening under the earth surface at Reykjanes and is a lave eruption expected?

We took a look beneath the earth's surface!

Reykjanes (see map) is home to a series of volcanic fissures streaking through the bottom of the peninsula. From a channel on the 5 km deep bottom of the magma tube, 15-20 cubic meters of liquid rock (magma) per second(!) flows into the magma tube. That is what causes the earthquakes of recent weeks. Therefore, the magma tube expands and growth thicker and is thought to have already reached a volume of 15 million cubic meters. The magma flow had already spreads south towards Borgarfjall, towards the sea.

Chances are that the magma is also looking for a way out to the height. Then an eruption is a fact!

In the explanatory cartoon below the present situation on the magma intrusion beneath Reykjanes in Iceland.

Click on the image to see a full screen version.