Thursday, September 4, 2014

Images capture Bardarbunga spewing lava 30 metres into the air during dramatic eruption

By Chris Kitching for MailOnline
This is the moment molten lava spews more than 30 metres into the air during a dramatic volcanic eruption.

Scientists who are monitoring the latest eruption in the 200-year-old Holuhraun lava field, near the Bardarbunga volcano in southeast Iceland, have been treated to quite a show since it began Sunday.

They say the eruption from a fissure just north of the rumbling volcano has not created any ash fall and the seismic activity decreased by almost half on Tuesday, with 300 earthquakes reported over a 12-hour period.

A white plume of steam and gas extends nearly three miles above sea level, and highly dangerous gas levels have been detected around the eruption site where rivers of fire are forming as lava gushes out of a mile-long crack in the ground.
Visitors are being told to equip themselves with gas masks and gas readers.

Thousands of earthquakes have rocked the region around Iceland's largest volcano for weeks amid fears that the airline industry would see a repeat of the 2010 ash cloud crisis. Iceland’s aviation alert level remains at orange – the second-highest level – because there is currently no ash cloud threat, although that could change, experts warn. 

Close-up photos of the gaping fissure, volatile lava fountains and a billowing cloud of steam and gas reveal the raw beauty and brute force of volcanic activity. Photographer Einar Gudmann, 47, flew through windy weather and a sandstorm to reach the dangerous eruption site to take the images. 

Raw beauty: Lava spews out of a mile-long fissure that slices through the Holuhraun lava field north of Bardarbunga, Iceland's largest volcano
Raw beauty: Lava spews out of a mile-long fissure that slices through the Holuhraun lava field north of Bardarbunga, Iceland's largest volcano

The lava flowing from the fissure is known as pahoehoe lava, a Hawaiian term, and it is forming slabs on the surface
The lava flowing from the fissure is known as pahoehoe lava, a Hawaiian term, and it is forming slabs on the surface

Incredible scene: Scientists say the temperature of the lava is about 1200C at the centre of a fissure near the rumbling volcano
Incredible scene: Scientists say the temperature of the lava is about 1200C at the centre of a fissure near the rumbling volcano
Fountains of lava: Scientists are keeping a close watch on Bardarbunga, Iceland¿s largest volcano, and the 200-year-old Holuhraun lava field
Fountains of lava: Scientists are keeping a close watch on Bardarbunga, Iceland’s largest volcano, and the 200-year-old Holuhraun lava field

Air travel worries: Scientists say the eruption that began Sunday has not created any ash fall and the seismic activity decreased by almost half on Tuesday
Air travel worries: Scientists say the eruption that began Sunday has not created any ash fall and the seismic activity decreased by almost half on Tuesday

Dramatic eruption: A white plume of steam and gas  extends nearly three miles above sea level, but the aviation alert level has not been raised above orange
Dramatic eruption: A white plume of steam and gas extends nearly three miles above sea level, but the aviation alert level has not been raised above orange

An aerial view of the volcanic eruption at Helluhraun mountain, near Bardarbunga, in southeast Iceland.
A plume of steam and gas rises from the volcanic eruption at Helluhraun mountain, near Bardarbunga, in southeast Iceland.
Photographer Einar Gudmann, from Akureyri, Iceland, battled windy weather and a sandstorm to shoot the scene from a plane 500 feet above the ground

Uncertain future: Scientists say they are monitoring the situation and the potential scenarios include additional eruptions that could cause flooding or an ash cloud
Uncertain future: Scientists say they are monitoring the situation and the potential scenarios include additional eruptions that could cause flooding or an ash cloud

A bed of fire is forming as 1200C lava pours out of a mile-long crack north of the rumbling Bardarbunga volcano in southeast Iceland
A bed of fire is forming as 1200C lava pours out of a mile-long crack north of the rumbling Bardarbunga volcano in southeast Iceland

Highly dangerous gas levels have been reported at the eruption site, so scientists are urging visitors to be  equipped with gas sensors and gas masks
Highly dangerous gas levels have been reported at the eruption site, so scientists are urging visitors to be equipped with gas sensors and gas masks

What a view: Photographers are capturing breathtaking scenes as molten lava is spewed more than 30 metres into the air during a dramatic volcanic eruption
What a view: Photographers are capturing breathtaking scenes as molten lava is spewed more than 30 metres into the air during a dramatic volcanic eruption

Spectacular: Lava spurts from a fissure in the ground on the north side of the Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland
Spectacular: Lava spurts from a fissure in the ground on the north side of the Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland

Heavenly sight? An orange glow is visible in the sky over the site of a volcanic eruption at the Holuhraun lava field in Iceland
Heavenly sight? An orange glow is visible in the sky over the site of a volcanic eruption at the Holuhraun lava field in Iceland

Danger zone: Icelandic officials had already closed roads and evacuated an area to the north of Bardarbunga as they prepared for an eruption
Danger zone: Icelandic officials had already closed roads and evacuated an area to the north of Bardarbunga as they prepared for an eruption

Thousands of earthquakes have rocked the region for weeks amid fears that the airline industry would see a repeat of the 2010 ash cloud crisis
Thousands of earthquakes have rocked the region for weeks amid fears that the airline industry would see a repeat of the 2010 ash cloud crisis

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