A New Eruption Might Be in the Works in Southern Iceland

Signs of an eruption are brewing under the Reykjanes Peninsula in southern Iceland.

Rocky Planet iconRocky Planet
By Erik Klemetti
Feb 7, 2020 2:30 PMFeb 7, 2020 7:29 PM
A view of the Reykjanes Peninsula
A view of the lava flow field on the Reykjanes Peninsula, with the Svartsengi geothermal station visible in the background. Credit: Vincent van Zeijst, Wikimedia Commons.

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It's been a while since we saw an eruption in Iceland. For the small volcanic nation in the middle of the North Atlantic, that means something very different than most countries. It has been almost five years (gasp!) since the last Icelandic eruption (hint: that's not long).

Now, that last eruption was a doozy, producing almost a cubic kilometer of lava at the north of Bardarbunga. However, signs of a potential new eruption are building, this time in the southern part of the island.

Iceland's Split Personality

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