Iceland Volcano Eruption Update; Lava Expands Northwards, Golden Volcanic Glass Produced

Published: Sep 04, 2024 Duration: 00:04:02 Category: Education

Tags : Volcanic Eruption iceland eruption iceland volcano reykjanes eruption lava iceland magma volcano eruption Peles Hair

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Iceland's Volcanic Eruption It is now day 14 of Iceland's latest eruption of the Reykjanes volcano, representing the nation's 9th volcanic eruption since 2021. During the last week, the abundance of a type of golden colored metallic volcanic product has become quite a notable hazard, ending up in pools, on school buildings, roads, sidewalks, homes, and the ground. What I am referring to is a Pele's Hair type of special volcanic glass being shown in this photo that is associated with low silica volcanic eruptions, being known as pele's hair. Pele's hair forms when a thin film of lava is ejected upwards as a result of a volcanic bubble bursting during lava fountaining. This stretches small amounts of molten rock originating from the edge of the bubble into incredibly thin and elongated strands of material, and since it cools almost instantaneously, it becomes a type of volcanic glass. These lightweight fragments of lava bubble skin which are about the width of a human hair are easily blown by wind, and this is why you have likely spotted fragments of such which looks like animal fur or hair if you live to the north of the eruption site. Be careful though, these fragments of volcanic glass can easily fracture and get embedded in skin so please avoid touching them. During the last several days there has been a drastic reduction in the rate of lava effusion, with perhaps less than 20 cubic meter per second of lava now erupting. However, the activity does seem to have stabilized, with still erupting material expanding the 25 meter or 82 foot high spatter cone. Lava from this cone has flowed entirely to the north, causing the lava Lava Flow Advance field to expand in 3 locations, including at two ends of an elevated fissure from a more than 700 year old eruption. I now estimate the lava field to contain an area of 15.95 square kilometers or 6.16 square miles, encompassing likely around 65 million cubic meters of molten rock. The closest lava flow to road 41 is still 3400 meters away, and is unlikely to ever reach it. This eastern lava lobe is likely to flow straight northwest while the western lobe is likely to flow north-northwest and then north. Both of these are flowing over areas where unexploded ordnance is reported to exist, with several bombs being detonated including with what looked to be an artillery shell in social media footage in controlled explosions during the last week. The exact area where this ordnance might be is uncertain, and this is a good enough reason to stay clear of the ground surrounding the eruption site. The Iceland Met Office has reduced Hazard Zone Map the hazard zone colors in two areas, but due to the expansion of what is now Reykjanes peninsula's largest 21st century lava field has resulted in a small new hazard zone segment being added. This hazard map does not fully take into account the hazards from changing gas emissions, which although reduced can still pose a health hazard and is currently blowing to the north. While the vast majority of the lava emplaced during the current eruption has piled up to less than 5 meters thick, the singular dominant vent from the still erupting spatter cone has resulted in lava piling up to between 8 and 10 meters thick in the outlined area. Once again, it is unclear how long the current eruption will last, as weak low level activity can draw out for more than a month, but I can be fairly confident that at least two thirds of the lava the ongoing eruption will end up producing has already erupted. I just hope that the eruption is still ongoing when I visit the area in person albeit from a safe and legal distance from the road to the north later this week. Thanks for watching. I hope you appreciate this update which I recorded while on vacation in Iceland!

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