A green valley has given way to a hostile setting worthy of the darkness of the Lord of the Rings: the eruption underway in Iceland reveals its first secrets and vulcanologists now expect it to last several weeks, if not much longer.
On the slopes of Mount Fagradalsfjall just 40 kilometers from the capital Reykjavik, experts initially expected the eruption to be brief, on the order of a few days.
But due to the constancy of the lava flow and after the analysis of the first samples of magma, the hypothesis of a longer phenomenon is gaining momentum.
"The flow has been similar since the start of the eruption," notes Freysteinn Sigmundsson, a geophysicist at the Institute of Earth Sciences.
"This means that we are starting to wonder if this could possibly be a long lasting rash," he told AFP.
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Volcano erupts for the first time in 800 years, near Reykjavik in Iceland
Far from the dreaded explosive eruptions, the relatively weak and peaceful lava flow that has been flowing since Friday evening has delighted thousands of curious people who have come to approach this sublime spectacle - even if access is occasionally blocked when toxic gases are in excess or due to weather conditions.
No significant threat to the surroundings
Here, the magma comes out according to preliminary calculations at nearly 1190 degrees.
The most inventive spectators try to grill sausages, bacon or marshmallows here - but the temperature is not always easy to control.
The scientific study of the pressure of this youngest basalt rock in Iceland suggests that the magma comes from a very deep source, nearly 15 kilometers below the surface.
A so-called primary magma, that is to say coming directly from the upper terrestrial mantle, unheard of in this region for thousands of years.
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“Most magmas move towards the crust, creating their own lineages and evolving.
This magma rises straight up, ”explains vulcanologist Thorvaldur Thórdarson.
Above all, the flow of underground traffic is similar to that of the exit to the surface, which gives credence to the idea of a longer scenario, he explained to AFP.
With such data, "in my opinion, this rash has the potential to persist for quite a long time," adds the specialist.
Due to the configuration of the site - a natural basin in an uninhabited area - a long eruption at the current rate does not pose a significant threat to the surroundings, according to experts.
They estimate that it would take weeks, for example, for the lava to reach the nearest road.
If Iceland is the largest and most active volcanic area in Europe, never since the 13th century has lava flowed in the Reykjanes peninsula.
Maybe a new period of activity for decades or more
A volcanic awakening in the area after eight centuries of sleep can mean a new period of activity for decades or more, experts have already warned.
It's been a little over a year since seismic activity, which had suddenly intensified for a month, suggested that the magma was pointing its nose in the peninsula, famous for sheltering the warm and turquoise waters of the “Blue Lagoon”.
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About ten kilometers from the nearest small town, the fishing port of Grindavik, the site of the eruption in the Geldingadalur valley becomes more spectacular every day.
As the days go by, the incandescent magma as it falls forms mounds of cooled lava and creates two small craters called projection cones, the highest of which reaches 20 meters.
The site, already visited by thousands of people, is relatively safe, even if the toxic discharges from the volcano are under surveillance.
According to the Icelandic Meteorological Institute, the concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO2) can exceed 9,000 µg / m3, or 450 times the 24-hour average recommended by the World Health Organization.