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
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