REYKJAVIK PENINSULA – GEOGRAPHY
News: Volcano erupts in
southwest Iceland
What’s in the news?
●
A volcano erupted in Iceland after weeks of intense
seismic activity southwest of the Reykjavik Peninsula.
Geolocation:
●
Iceland’s entire surface is made of volcanic rock, most of
it is basalt that formed after cooling of the volcanic lava.
●
Iceland is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which separates the North American and Eurasian
tectonic plates.
●
Iceland is located on a hotspot or mantle plume,
where magma is especially close to the surface, leading to frequent volcanic
eruptions.
Type of Volcano:
●
The most common type of volcano in Island is the stratovolcano. A cone-shaped peak with
explosive eruptions that form a crater in the very top.
How can earthquake swarms be portents of volcanic
activity?
●
The movement of magma close to the Earth’s surface exerts
a force on the surrounding rock, which often causes earthquake swarms.
●
The underground movement of magma does not necessarily
lead to an eruption. But the closer it gets to the surface, the more likely an
eruption is, and the more frequent symptomatic earthquake swarms get.
Fagradalsfjall volcanic system:
●
Fagradalsfjall lies about 40 km to the southwest of
Reykjavík and is the “world’s newest
baby volcano.”
●
It had been dormant for eight centuries before erupting in
2021, 2022 and 2023.