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Iceland's dramatic scenery and location attracts tourists in droves, keen to photograph and explore the unique landscape. Located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, this Nordic nation counts vistas of volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, and lava fields as features of its extraordinary terrain. But these natural phenomena also depict a truth about the sparsely populated country: it's situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on a rift between tectonic plates. And with that reality comes consequences.
Indeed, one of Iceland's many volcanoes seems set to erupt, and it begs the question: will it cause a repeat of the travel chaos seen in 2010, when European flights were grounded for over a month due to the ash from a volcanic eruption? Click on the following gallery to learn what the potential consequences might look like.
Cracks to roads and buildings in Grindavík were caused by the earthquakes. Some parts of land have sunk over a meter into the ground.
The small fishing village, with a population of 3,400 people, was evacuated after sulfur dioxide was detected and hundreds of earthquakes caused by shifting, underground magma sparked fears that a full-blown volcanic eruption could happen.
An underground river of hot liquid or semi-liquid rock, that's around 10 miles (15 km) in length, is edging closer to the Earth's surface. Seismologists call these movements earthquake swarms.
On November 10, 2023, a 9-mile (14.4-km) magma-filled crack unexpectedly and suddenly formed between 1.2-3.1 miles (2-5 km) beneath the Reykjanes peninsula, running from south-west to north-east.
Its formation occurred alongside a new cluster of earthquakes. The government declared a state of emergency and evacuated Grindavík on November 11, 2023.
The eruption of the volcano at Eyjafjallajökul involved a sticky type of magma, that differs to the magma under the Earth's surface in Grindavík.
The good news is the magma seen in recent eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula is very fluid. In other words, the bubbles of gas trapped inside it can escape—instead of breaking the magma apart to form ash—which was what occurred at Eyjafjallajökul.
The explosion shot huge amounts of ash into the atmosphere. This forced the cancellation of 100,000 flights for safety reasons.
From April 14 to April 20, 2010, a volcanic ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull led to the closure of Europe's IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) airspace, causing massive disruption.
The government has said that Iceland experiences one volcanic eruption every five years, on average. The tourism board is seeking to reassure worried travelers.
The magma corridor now stretches from just northwest of Grindavík into the Atlantic Ocean.
Iceland responded by declaring a state of emergency and European airspace was closed as a safety precaution. It is estimated that airlines lost an estimated US$160 million every day that the airspace remained closed.
Around 20 countries had to close their airspace at the time. It's estimated that around 10 million commercial airline passengers were affected.
Any eruption that could happen is unlikely to involve the glacial ice that led to a huge ash cloud back in 2010.
The ash plume contained large amounts of microscopic particles of hard volcanic rock. This can cause serious damage to any aircraft flying through it.
However, the increase in seismic activity itself is worrying. It could mean that more volcanoes will come online in the coming weeks. But this isn't guaranteed.
In 2010, an explosive volcano occurred at Eyjafjallajökull in the south of Iceland. Erupting magma came into contact with the melting icecap to fuel the explosion.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. As they're currently moving apart at a rate of a few centimeters a year, seismic and volcanic activity is increasing along this fault line in Iceland.
The Svartsengi geothermal power plant is less than 3 miles (4.4 km) from the village. A defensive wall is being built around it, to protect it from lava flows.
The Reykjanes peninsula didn't experience volcanic activity for centuries, which led some experts to consider it could be volcanically extinct.
That all changed in 2021. In the meantime, there have been eruptions every year. In November 2023, Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula is being hit by hundreds of earthquakes a day.
Beginning in late October 2023, bulges in the land have become visible as magma beneath the surface moves up into the Earth’s crust. Pictured: a lava field formed after the 2021 eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano.
Even before the magma-filled crack occurred in the Earth's surface at Grindavík, a nearby geothermal spa, the Blue Lagoon—a major Icelandic tourist attraction—was closed as a precaution.
As the magma corridor stretches to the Atlantic Ocean, it poses a risk of hydrovolcanism. This destructive event occurs when magma cools on contact with seawater, to explosive effect.
While three of the last volcanoes that have erupted in Iceland did so on Reykjanes (all three in the past three years), people were unharmed and travel remained undisrupted.
Travel insurance usually covers any interruptions to your trip, caused by natural disasters. But in many cases this only applies if you purchased the plan before the news or warnings of the eruption became public.
Although it's not part of the European Union, the EU’s fair passenger rights also apply in Iceland. These are rules that oblige airlines to provide compensation for delays and cancellations.
If you've booked a journey to Iceland in the near future, you may be concerned. But for now, flights from Iceland’s main international airport, Keflavík, are operating normally.
For now, the best thing to do is to stay up to date about any possible travel delays. Keep an eye on the news out of Iceland, monitoring volcanic activity in the country.
Sources: (BBC) (Sky News) (Time) (The Guardian)
See also: The many joys of train travel
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LIFESTYLE Ash
Iceland's dramatic scenery and location attracts tourists in droves, keen to photograph and explore the unique landscape. Located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, this Nordic nation counts vistas of volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, and lava fields as features of its extraordinary terrain. But these natural phenomena also depict a truth about the sparsely populated country: it's situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on a rift between tectonic plates. And with that reality comes consequences.
Indeed, one of Iceland's many volcanoes seems set to erupt, and it begs the question: will it cause a repeat of the travel chaos seen in 2010, when European flights were grounded for over a month due to the ash from a volcanic eruption? Click on the following gallery to learn what the potential consequences might look like.