The island nation of Iceland is one of the few nations of the world that is constantly expanding without any wars being required. Located at the split between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates and straddling the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, this nation is growing as its land is split and volcanoes fill in the gaps. 

It’s almost impossible to predict when a volcano will erupt, but things are getting tense enough in Iceland right now that the Icelandic Met Office has increased the ash advisory to orange and has put out multiple warnings. The Reykjanes peninsula — where Reykavik, several other cities, and two-thirds of the nation’s population are located — has had nearing 20,000 earthquakes in the past week. While most are below third magnitude, there are still enough of the more powerful earthquakes to disrupt sleep and have everyone on edge. In an alert put out yesterday by the Met Office: Magma movements are a likely cause for the ongoing signal, and it is possible that an effusive (lava-producing) eruption could occur close to Keilir.

The earthquakes are tracing out a ridge along the peninsula, and it’s not possible to know exactly where an eruption will occur or when. For all we know, those of you watching this on NowMedia 21 just heard about a massive eruption on the 10 pm news. It’s also possible that absolutely nothing happens this time. We. Don’t. Know.

And this is why I stan the Icelandic Met Office’s awesome information. If you want to join me in keeping track of ongoing developments, check out their website. Is it wrong that I’m excited there could be a cool eruption? If it’s wrong, I don’t ever want to be right.

More Information

Icelandic Met Office press release