Lava output from eruption 'already comparable to month-long event in summer'
The amount of lava spewed out after Monday's eruption is "significant" and already comparable to a different month-long event at the Reykjanes peninsula in the summer, a volcano expert has said.
Dr Katie Reeves, a teaching fellow at the University of Warwick, told Sky News it has been a "really intense but shorter event".
"The actual lava output is quite significant in this eruption. I believe it's comparable to the month-long eruption in [July and August] 2023 already in a couple of days," she said.
The eruption fissure has localised into two "active areas" where cones are now building, Dr Reeves said, though its intensity is "definitely reducing".
It's too early to say whether the eruption will stop in the coming days, she added, noting that it is a "dynamic and evolving system".
"It may continue at this rate. It may also increase in its rate or open up further along the actual fissure system," Dr Reeves said.
She explained that magma had been accumulating under the earth's surface in the area for some time before reaching a "critical point" on Monday.
Scientists had been monitoring the inflation in the area for months following a series of eruptions in recent years, Dr Reeves said.
"Clearly, there was a critical point where this inflation was so much and the magma eventually made its way to the surface, which is what triggered this eruption."