Iceland volcano news: Decades of eruptions possible

Recent Iceland volcanic eruptions could just be the beginning of decades or even centuries worth of eruptions, new research shows.

Using data from the eight eruptions since 2021 to occur on southwestern Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, including compositions of lava and earthquake data, scientists believe the eruptions shared a large and shallow magma chamber refilled by magma from the mantle below.

This large source of magma could feed future eruption anywhere in the southwest corner of the island, providing cubic miles of new landmass to the one of the highest populated areas of Iceland.

Iceland, an island nation in the North Atlantic, sits atop a ridge that separates the Eurasia and North American tectonic plates. These spreading plates make Iceland volcanic.

Scientists cannot predict when the next eruptions will occur, but they are confident that the underground magma can feed future eruptions.