Risk of Volcanic Eruption in Iceland Remains High

Steam rises from a fissure in a road near the town of Grindavik, Iceland Monday Nov. 13, 2023 following seismic activity. (AP)
Steam rises from a fissure in a road near the town of Grindavik, Iceland Monday Nov. 13, 2023 following seismic activity. (AP)
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Risk of Volcanic Eruption in Iceland Remains High

Steam rises from a fissure in a road near the town of Grindavik, Iceland Monday Nov. 13, 2023 following seismic activity. (AP)
Steam rises from a fissure in a road near the town of Grindavik, Iceland Monday Nov. 13, 2023 following seismic activity. (AP)

Seismic activity in southwestern Iceland decreased in size and intensity on Monday, but the risk of a volcanic eruption remained significant, authorities said, after earthquakes and evidence of magma spreading underground in recent weeks.

Almost 4,000 people were evacuated over the weekend as authorities feared that molten rock would rise to the surface of the earth and potentially hit a coastal town and a geothermal power station.

Located between the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, among the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hot spot as the two plates move in opposite directions.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said on Monday there was a "significant likelihood" of an eruption in coming days on or just off the Reykjanes peninsula near the capital Reykjavik, despite the size and intensity of earthquakes decreasing.

"We believe that this intrusion is literally hovering, sitting in equilibrium now just below the earth's surface," said Matthew James Roberts, director of the service and research division at the meteorological office.

"We have this tremendous uncertainty now. Will there be an eruption and if so, what sort of damage will occur?" he said.

Thorvaldur Thordarson, professor in vulcanology at the University of Iceland, said most recent data indicated a smaller risk of an eruption in the area around the town of Grindavik.

Inhabitants of Grindavik described being whisked from their homes in the early hours of Saturday as the ground shook, roads cracked and buildings suffered structural damage.

Hans Vera, a Belgian-born 56-year-old who has lived in Iceland since 1999, said there had been a constant shaking of his family's house.

"You would never be steady, it was always shaking, so there was no way to get sleep," said Vera, who is now staying at his sister-in-law's home in a Reykjavik suburb.

"It's not only the people in Grindavik who are shocked about this situation it's the whole of Iceland."

Almost all of the town's 3,800 inhabitants had been able to find accommodation with family members or friends, and only between 50 and 70 people were staying at evacuation centers, a rescue official said.

Some evacuees were briefly allowed back into the town on Sunday to collect belongings such as documents, medicines or pets, but were not allowed to drive themselves.

"You have to park your car five kilometers from town and there's 20 cars, huge cars from the rescue team, 20 policemen, all blinking lights, it's just unreal, it's like a war zone or something, it's really strange," Vera said.

The Reykjanes peninsula is a volcanic and seismic hot spot southwest of the capital. In March 2021, lava fountains erupted spectacularly from a fissure in the ground measuring between 500-750 meters long in the region's Fagradalsfjall volcanic system.

Volcanic activity in the area continued for six months that year, prompting thousands of Icelanders and tourists to visit the scene. In August 2022, a three-week eruption happened in the same area, followed by another in July of this year.



How a New Planetarium Show Helped Scientists Unlock a Cosmic Secret 

The Milky Way as seen from Bali. (AFP/Getty Images) 
The Milky Way as seen from Bali. (AFP/Getty Images) 
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How a New Planetarium Show Helped Scientists Unlock a Cosmic Secret 

The Milky Way as seen from Bali. (AFP/Getty Images) 
The Milky Way as seen from Bali. (AFP/Getty Images) 

Scientists have unlocked one of the solar system's many secrets from an unexpected source: a planetarium show opening to the public on Monday.

At the American Museum of Natural History last fall, experts were hard at work preparing "Encounters in the Milky Way," a deep dive into our home galaxy shaped by the movements of stars and other celestial objects.

They were fine-tuning a scene featuring what's known as the Oort Cloud, a region far beyond Pluto filled with icy relics from the solar system's formation. Comets can hurtle toward Earth from the cloud, but scientists have never glimpsed its true shape.

One evening while watching the Oort Cloud scene, scientists noticed something strange projected onto the planetarium's dome.

"Why is there a spiral there?" said the museum's Jackie Faherty.

The inner section of the Oort Cloud, made of billions of comets, resembled a bar with two waving arms, similar to the shape of our Milky Way galaxy.

Scientists had long thought the Oort Cloud was shaped like a sphere or flattened shell, warped by the push and pull of other planets and the Milky Way itself. The planetarium show hinted that a more complex shape could lie inside.

The museum contacted the researcher who provided the Oort Cloud data for the show, who was also surprised to see the spiral.

"It's kind of a freak accident that it actually happened," said David Nesvorny with the Southwest Research Institute.

Realizing they'd stumbled on something new, the researchers published their findings earlier this year in The Astrophysical Journal.

The spiral is "a striking shift in our understanding of the outer solar system," planetary scientist Andre Izidoro with Rice University, who was not involved with the study, said in an email.

The discovery, relying on data on how celestial objects move and using simulations, will be difficult to confirm with observations. But knowing more about the orbits of distant comets could give scientists some clues, Izidoro said.

While putting together the planetarium show, the museum's experts weren't expecting a window into the universe's inner workings. The show, narrated by actor Pedro Pascal, features many vivid scenes that may capture audiences more than the Oort Cloud, said the museum's Jon Parker, including an ongoing merge of the Sagittarius mini galaxy with the Milky Way.

No matter how striking and beautiful the visuals of the show, the museum was committed to making it scientifically accurate. That's what created the perfect conditions to stumble upon something new, said the museum's Carter Emmart.

"You just never know what you're going to find," Emmart said.