Icelandic volcano previously dormant for 800 years erupting again
UC geologist tells ABC News the eruption created a slow-moving lava flow
ABC News talked to a University of Cincinnati geosciences professor about the seventh eruption of an Icelandic volcano that prompted new evacuations and closures in a coastal hamlet.
Residents in Grindavik evacuated the town again Wednesday after a nearly two-mile-long fissure opened up, spewing lava. The lava threatened a world famous site called the Blue Lagoon.
UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Thomas Algeo told ABC News that the eruption comes from a rift activity volcano in which deep fissures are pulled apart through the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This differs from conical volcanoes that can have explosive eruptions.
Algeo said the eruption is far less dangerous than other types because it creates slower-moving basaltic flows of lava.
"It's a style of volcanic activity that is effusive, slow flowing, not violently eruptive, like would be the case with a subduction zone volcanic system" Algeo told ABC News.
The eruption is the seventh there in the past year after sitting dormant for more than 800 years.
Featured image at top: Visitors admire a volcanic eruption outside Grindavik, Iceland, in August. Officials say the volcano erupted for the seventh time this week. Photo/Maria Semenaka
UC Professor of Geosciences Thomas Algeo stands in front of rock cores. He studies some of Earth's biggest natural calamities. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Related Stories
From hobbyist photographer to professional educator
October 9, 2026
DAAP alum and photographer HATSUE studied communication design after a pivot in high school from a track toward veterinary school. Today, they teach photography at 1001 Colors white working as an artist and curator in Cincinnati.
UC researcher to launch national study with $2.5 million NIH grant
October 9, 2026
A University of Cincinnati researcher has received a $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to conduct research during the next five years. Natalie Kreitzer, MD, a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine physician-researcher, received an R01 independent research grant from the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The funding will support a test program for caregivers of patients with traumatic brain injury, as reported by the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Simple ways to find a deeper sense of happiness and well being
October 8, 2026
UC assistant professor Suzie White, featured in an AARP story on practical ways to live a happier, healthier life, shared research-backed strategies for increasing well-being through gratitude and service to others. White teaches Happiness in Action, a course that helps students apply the science of happiness in everyday life.