Live from Geldingadalir Volcano, Iceland (2021)

Be it Mount Ararat or Mount Chimborazo, every massive stratovolcano was once upon a time a tiny little pimple on the Earth’s surface. It is most certainly very fascinating to see a baby volcano being born, a geological process that will last a very long time. The first technical description of lava flow comes from the ancient geographer Strabo of Amaseia. In his book, he describes the Katakekaumene, which means the “burnt country” referring to a region of around 1,800 km2 in western Anatolia. The region harbors a dormant volcanic belt within the town of Kula which has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The volcanism ended about 12,000 years ago. Black volcanic cones, rugged basalt plateaus, and canyons flanked by basalt columns form the unique features of this area.

In February 2021 on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula a series of earthquakes alarmed geologists about the magma beneath the Geldingadalir valley was in motion. Indeed, late on March 19, an eruption was recorded where lava broke through the surface near the shield volcano of Fagradalsfjall. The event was bright enough for NASA and NOAA satellites to detect.

There are a few places in the world where people can see active volcanos but this is a very dangerous act as we have seen from the New Zealand active volcano that killed scores of tourists in 2019.

Geologists are eager to study lava coming out of the Earth’s mantle. They go to various hot spots around the world to try to sample from active volcanoes such as the Kīlauea Volcano in Hawaiʻi or a boiling lava lake on Ambrym Island in Vanuatu.