homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Icelandic eruption attracts thousands of visitors, helicopter rides, over the weekend

I've seen worse locations for hanging out.

Alexandru Micu
March 22, 2021 @ 6:32 pm

share Share

What were probably the tastiest hot dogs made in all of Iceland this weekend were grilled over a volcanic eruption alongside marshmallows.

Aerial photo of the eruption. Image via Wikimedia.

In case it passed by below your radar, Iceland saw a new volcano start erupting late last Friday. Despite the island nation’s long history of volcanic activity and plane-grounding eruptions, this is the first time a member of this particular volcanic system has become active in around 9 centuries.

Still, the event attracted thousands of curious onlookers, and local media has even reported on some grilling marshmallows or hotdogs — which, scientifically speaking, is the best way to enjoy a volcano.

Mount Fagradalsfjall

The hard-to-pronounce volcano is situated around 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. Despite the fact that the only way to reach it is to hike for around 90 minutes from the nearest road, locals came in droves to see the incandescent lava slowly pour down Fagradalsfjall’s slopes.

Luckily for everybody, the eruption has been very calm and small in scope so far, with experts estimating that around 300,000 cubic meters of lava have poured forth from the volcano’s lip now.

“It’s absolutely breathtaking,” said Ulvar Kari Johannsson, a 21-year-old engineer who spent his Sunday visiting the scene, for AFP. “It smells pretty bad. For me what was surprising was the colours of the orange: much, much deeper than what one would expect.”

Access to the area was blocked immediately after the eruption started, to keep everybody safe. After a few hours, however, the police allowed access to the public but were strongly discouraging visits (lava tends to be dangerous). By Saturday, however, visitors were allowed free access as long as they respected strict safety guidelines.

For the most part, however, the police are keeping an eye on visitors and occasionally asking those that get too close to “step back,” according to a local police officer. Emergency teams were also involved in helping people find their way back to the road on Sunday after weather conditions and visibility at the site deteriorated rapidly. These teams also carried devices to measure gas pollution levels in the atmosphere — especially sulfur dioxide, which can pose a danger to health and even be fatal.

High pollution levels on Monday morning prompted the authorities to close the site down for visitors yet again.

A volcanic eruption takes place in Iceland roughly once every five years on average and, due to the rugged nature of the island, they’re often far-removed from population centers. But this was the first such event in the Reykjanes peninsula, which is densely inhabited, in over 800 years, and the first member of the Krysuvik volcanic system to erupt in almost 900 years.

Given its relatively close proximity to people, many visitors went to admire the event, probably happy to break the dullness of staying at home all day after 2020. By Sunday, local media reported, hikers had already beaten a visible trail up to the volcano. Helicopter rides were also organized around it over the weekend.

For now, the site remains closed due to unsafe atmospheric conditions. Experts believe the eruption will die out possibly within a few days. But that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun — here’s a live stream of Mount Fagradalsfjall doing volcano things.

share Share

This Rare Viking Burial of a Woman and Her Dog Shows That Grief and Love Haven’t Changed in a Thousand Years

The power of loyalty, in this life and the next.

This EV Battery Charges in 18 Seconds and It’s Already Street Legal

RML’s VarEVolt battery is blazing a trail for ultra-fast EV charging and hypercar performance.

DARPA Just Beamed Power Over 5 Miles Using Lasers and Used It To Make Popcorn

A record-breaking laser beam could redefine how we send power to the world's hardest places.

Why Do Some Birds Sing More at Dawn? It's More About Social Behavior Than The Environment

Study suggests birdsong patterns are driven more by social needs than acoustics.

Nonproducing Oil Wells May Be Emitting 7 Times More Methane Than We Thought

A study measured methane flow from more than 450 nonproducing wells across Canada, but thousands more remain unevaluated.

CAR T Breakthrough Therapy Doubles Survival Time for Deadly Stomach Cancer

Scientists finally figured out a way to take CAR-T cell therapy beyond blood.

The Sun Will Annihilate Earth in 5 Billion Years But Life Could Move to Jupiter's Icy Moon Europa

When the Sun turns into a Red Giant, Europa could be life's final hope in the solar system.

Ancient Roman ‘Fast Food’ Joint Served Fried Wild Songbirds to the Masses

Archaeologists uncover thrush bones in a Roman taberna, challenging elite-only food myths

A Man Lost His Voice to ALS. A Brain Implant Helped Him Sing Again

It's a stunning breakthrough for neuroprosthetics

This Plastic Dissolves in Seawater and Leaves Behind Zero Microplastics

Japanese scientists unveil a material that dissolves in hours in contact with salt, leaving no trace behind.