And volcano located on the Peninsula of Reykjanes (southwest of Iceland) He has erupted for the twelfth time in the last five years, although the lava does not threaten any infrastructure, the weather office of this Nordic country (IMO) reported on Wednesday.
The IMO explained in a statement that the eruption has been located in the Sindhnúk crater, north of the town of Grindavík and next to the Islanda capital, Reikiavik, and To the famous blue lagoon.
According to the IMO, it is a volcanic fissure of between 700 and 1,000 meters in length that is expelling lava and volcanic ash and is expanding north.
The eruption, which started at 04:00 local time (same GMT time), has forced the Blue Lagoon and the Grindavík campsite and the authorities have activated the level of Civil Protection alert, according to Radiotelevisión Icendond Ruv.
The eruption was preceded by a rain of magma, which began shortly before midnight after an intense succession of earthquakes, according to RUV.
Four hours after the eruption, the volcanic fissure had expanded to the northwest and already reached about two kilometers long.
According to Icelandic media, pollution from toxic gases in the area is remarkable, so the authorities recommend the inhabitants close the windows and closely monitor the air quality.
In the town of Stapaskóli, close to the airport of the Icelandic capital, the levels of sulfur dioxide far exceed the sanitary limits and exceed 5,000 micrograms per cubic meter.
Benedikt Ofeigsson, geophysicist of the IMO, told RUV that the volcanic event in general does not seem to be very large compared to previous eruptions in the same area.
According to Ofeigsson, they currently emerge from the volcanic fissure between 500 and 700 cubic meters of magma per second, well below the 3,000 cubic meters that reached a year ago the eruptions of the Sindhnúk crater.
The deformation of the soil and the seismic activity have continued despite the eruption, which in its opinion means that the phenomenon will last some time before remitting, although it does not see that new volcanic foci arise in the Sindhnúk cricket system.
The mayor of Grindavík, Fannar Jónasson, told RUV that this eruption was somewhat surprising, since the scientists hoped that the next eruption in this area would occur next autumn.
Despite its proximity to Reykiavik airport, air traffic has not been affected by the smoke and ashes column, according to Icelandic authorities.
