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September 23, 2024

Bursts of lava light the night during Sundhnúkur eruption

Bright bursts of lava light up the night during the Sundhnúkur eruption on Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland in April 2024. Continuous sampling of erupted lava showed the start of the eruption began with massive pooling of magma, contrasting an initial hypothesis of magma ascent straight from the mantle.

[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant EAR 1918322.]

Learn more in the NSF Discovery Files story An Iceland volcano modifies its magma. (Date of image: April 2024; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Sept. 20, 2024)

Credit: Geoffrey Cook/Scripps Oceanography


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