WENT ON A THRILLING VISIT OF RECENTLY ERUPTED VOLCANO & AMAZING VIEWS OF IT’S LAVA TRAILS DWINDLING DOWN THE HILLS IN ICELAND

Sundhnúkur Volcanic Eruption of 1st April 2025: On 21/5/2025 ,We proceeded to visit the site of the Volcanic Eruptions & its lava that erupted on the 1st April 2025 in Iceland.After parking our car at the parking lot we checked the Instruction board about the directions & precautions to be taken throughout the 2.8kms climb to the Volcano site.There were some signboards on the way to the top.It was quite a thrilling climb & we were very excited on reaching the site of the erupted Volcano.We had a very nice view & captured the views in our cameras.I will be posting the photos at the end of this post before which I will like to share some technical aspects about Volcanic activities & the history of Volcano eruptions in Iceland.

Volcanic activities in Iceland :

Iceland experiences frequent volcanic activity, due to its location both on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary, and being over a hotspot. Nearly thirty volcanoes are known to have erupted in the Holocene epoch; these include Eldgja, source of the largest lava eruption in human history.The island has around 30 active volcanic systems. Within each are volcano-tectonic fissure systems and many, but not all of them, also have at least one central volcano Some of the various eruptions of lava, gas and ash have been both destructive of property and deadly to life over the years, as well as disruptive to local and European air travel.

IMPORTANT VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN ICELAND’S HISTORY :

1)Hekla:

It has erupted more than 20 times in recorded history. It was known to medieval Europeans as the “Gate of Hell” & that reputation persisted into the 19th century.

2)Laki/Skaftáreldar 1783–1784:

The most deadly volcanic eruption of Iceland’s history was the so-called fires of Skafta. The eruption was in the craters of Laki. Roughly a fifth of the Icelandic population died because of the eruption.Most died not because of the lava flow or other direct effects of the eruption but from indirect effects, including changes in climate and illnesses in livestock in the following years caused by the ash and poisonous gases from the eruption. The eruption resulted in the second largest basaltic lava flow from a single eruption in historic times.

3)Eldfell 1973

The Eidfell eruption happened without warning, causing the island’s population of about 5,300 people to evacuate within a few hours. Importantly, the progress of lava into the harbour was slowed by manual spraying of seawater. One person died including destruction of homes and property on the island.

4)Eyjafjallajökull 2010

The eruption in April 2010 caused extreme disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over a period of six days in April 2010. About 20 countries closed their airspace to commercial jet traffic and it affected approximately 10 million travellers.

The eruption in May 2011 at Grisvotn under the Vatnajokull glacier sent thousands of tonnes of ash into the sky in a few days, raising concerns of the potential for travel chaos across northern Europe although only about 900 flights were initially disrupted.

5)Holuhraun 2014–2015:

Bárðarbunga is a Stratovolcano and is roughly 2,000 metres above sea level in central Iceland, i.e. in the northern edge of Vatnajökull. This makes it the second highest mountain in Iceland.

Holuhraun is an older lavafield situated 50 km (31 mi) north-east of Bárðarbunga.Here the eruption started on August 17, 2014, and lasted for 180 days.The 2014–2015 eruption was Iceland’s largest in 230 years.Following a major earthquake swarm, multiple lava fountain eruptions began in Holuhraun.The primary concern with this eruption was the large plumes of Sulphur dioxide(SO₂) in the atmosphere which adversely affected breathing conditions across Iceland, depending on wind direction. The volcanic cloud was also transported toward Western Europe.

6)Fagradalsfjall 2021–2022:

Following a three-week period of increased seismic activity, an eruption fissure developed near Fagradalsfjall, a mountain on the Reykjance Peninsula. Lava flow from a 200-meter fissure was first discovered by a Coast Guard helicopter on March 19, 2021

Litli-Hrútur 2023

On 10 July 2023 , a fissure erupted adjacent to the summit of Litli-Hrutur.

Sundhnúkur 2023–2025:

On December 18, 2023, the volcano began a fissure eruption. In January, 2024 lava from this eruption destroyed 3 houses in the nearby town of Grindavik.

The second eruption occurred on 14 January 2024, lasting approximately two days. This event had a fissure opening nearly 100 m from a nearby town. The eruption breached anti-lava defences and destroyed three homes. Tragically, just before this eruption, one person was reported missing and presumed to have fallen into a crack caused by seismic activity, resulting his death. On 8 February 2024, the third eruption caused extensive damage, including the loss of hot water supply for several days. The fourth eruption started in March 2024 and became the longest in the series, spanning 54 days. The fifth eruption, which began in May 2024, continued for 24 days. This eruption caused damage to Power Lines.In August 2024, the sixth eruption commenced, lasting 14 days. It released 61 million m³ of lava, covering an area of 15.8 km² and resulting in 40 cm of land subsidence. Despite being the largest eruption in the series, it did not cause any infrastructure damage. The seventh eruption began in November 2024 and extended over 18 days. It quickly engulfed the parking lot of the BlueLagoon .The latest & the eighth Volcanic Eruption commenced on 1st April 2025 and concluded approximately seven hours later the same day, marking the shortest and least intense event in the eruptive series to date.(we visited this site on 21/5/25)

Structure of lava fields:

The smooth flowing basaltic lava pahoehoe is known in Icelandic as helluhraun .It forms smooth surfaces that are quite easy to cross. More viscous lava, known in Icelandic as apalhraun .The loose, broken, sharp, spiny surface makes hiling across it difficult, slow and dangerous, it is easy to stick a foot into a hole and break a leg.

Öræfajökull Volcano ( Oraefi glacier’ or ‘wasteland glacier’) is an ice-covered Volcano in south-east Iceland. The largest active volcano and the highest peak in Iceland at 2,110 metres, it lies within the Vatnajokull National Park and is covered by part of the glacier. Originally named Knappafellsjǫkull ,the current name Öræfajökull , was eventually adopted after the 1362 eruption.

Description :

It is located at the southern extremity of the Vatnajökull  glacier and overlooking the Ring road between Hofn and Vik.Öræfajökull is the largest active volcano in the country, and on the summit crater’s north-western rim is Hvannadalshnúkur , the highest peak in Iceland at 2,110 metres. Geographically, Öræfajökull as the glacier, is considered part of Vatnajökull, and the area covered by glacier is within the boundary of Vatnajökull National park . Öræfajökull has erupted twice in historical times, in 1362 and 1728. These were explosive silicic eruptions with bulk volumes of 0.1–10.0 km³ 

THE AVIATION COLOUR CODE MAP : This map is issued by the Icelandic Meteorological Office and it shows the current status of Icelandic volcanic systems. It is refreshed at 09:00 UTC daily and will timely reflect any signs of unrest.

Colour codes, which are in accordance with recommended International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)procedures,are intended to inform the aviation sector about a volcano’s status. Notifications are issued for both increasing and decreasing volcanic activity, and are accompanied by text with details (as known) about the nature of the unrest or eruption, especially in regard to ash-plume information and likely outcomes. The Colour code is given below the map.

GREY: Volcano appears quiet but is not monitored adequately. Absence of unrest unconfirmed.
GREEN: Volcano is in normal, non-eruptive state.
   or, after a change from a higher alert level:
Volcanic activity considered to have ceased, and volcano reverted to its normal, non-eruptive state.
YELLOW: Volcano is experiencing signs of elevated unrest above known background levels.
   or, after a change from higher alert level:
Volcanic activity has decreased significantly but continues to be closely monitored for possible renewed increase.
ORANGE: Volcano is exhibiting heightened unrest with increased likelihood of eruption.
   or,
Volcanic eruption is underway with no or minor ash emission.
RED: Eruption is forecasted to be imminent with significant emission of ash into the atmosphere likely.
  or,
Eruption is underway with significant emission of ash into the atmosphere.

World Organisation of Volcano Observatories: Further information can be obtained from the seismological group if necessary. Siesmological Overview from the last 48 hours is available alongwith an enlarged aviation coloour code map. 

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Sundhnúkur Volcanic Eruptions of 1st April’2025:Visited the site on 21/5/25by us.

I am very grateful to the Wikipaedia for infomation on the Volcanoes in iceland.