Iceland's biggest active volcano shows signs of reawakening
Island's Met Office receives reports of surrounding area smelling of sulphur
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Iceland’s biggest active volcano is being kept under close surveillance amid signs it is waking up after centuries of slumber.
A new 1km-wide caldera – a basin-shaped volcanic depression – has been discovered by scientists in Öræfajökull, which translates as “wasteland”, in the south of the island.
The Icelandic Met Office has also received reports of the surrounding area smelling of sulphur, while geothermal water has been released from the volcano into a river on the surrounding glacier, reports Iceland Magazine.
Scientists believe this water caused a section of the volcano to collapse, producing the new caldera.
Although scientists say there are no imminent signs of an eruption, Iceland’s Civil Protection Agency has declared an uncertainty phase – a warning that there may be a threat in the near future – while its Met Office has issued a yellow warning.
Bryndís Ýr Gísladóttir, natural resource specialist at the Met Office, told newspaper Morgunbladid: “We issued a yellow warning for security reasons because we actually don’t know that much about Öræfajökull glacier, nor how it behaves because its last eruption occurred in 1727, and 1362 before that.”
Öræfajökull features Iceland’s highest peak and is thought to be one of the most powerful volcanoes in Europe. It is responsible for the country’s second deadliest eruption after a steam blast in 1362 deposited 10 cubic kilometres of debris across farmland and killed all inhabitants across dozens of farms.
Although still sparsely populated, the region can attract thousands of tourists at the height of the holiday season. The Icelandic Civil Protection Agency estimates there would only be a 20-minute warning before any eruption.
The volcano last erupted in 1727, and as a result volcanologists have a limited ability to predict when any eruption would occur.
With the growing seismic and geothermal activity of recent weeks, monitoring of the volcano is being increased.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments