Gallery: After the Blast: Iceland's Smoldering Volcanoes
01eyjafjallajokull
*Editor's Note: Science journalist Alexandra Witze recently traveled to Iceland to check up on the volcanoes. She came back with amazing photos, including the ones in this gallery, and a great story. A brief excerpt follows, and you can read the whole account at [Science News](http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/63177/title/Fire_%2Bamp%3B_Ice).* [](http://bit.ly/2TwTeS) > Iceland is an ideal place to see icy volcanoes and for scientists to figure out how such volcanoes work. The country has some two dozen active volcanoes, of which Eyjafjallajökull is relatively puny. The island is so volcanically active because it is the above-water manifestation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the chain of mountains that runs down the center of the Atlantic like an underwater backbone. Here Earth’s crust pulls apart, and upwelling magma cools and forms new crust that spreads away from the ridge in the great recycling process known as plate tectonics. > > Iceland is geology in action. A one-hour flight from Reykjavik skims over steaming geothermal areas, the great crustal rift and some of the country’s most famous volcanoes. Eyjafjallajökull ---------------- Looking towards the summit of Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that caused the disruptions to European air travel when it erupted in April.
02levees-near-eyjafjallajokull
Levees Near Eyjafjallajökull ---------------------------- Ash still covered much of the countryside south of Eyjafjallajökull in July, three months after the eruption died down. Farmers have since credited the ash with enriching their soil -- one reason why many Icelanders and others continue to live perilously close to active volcanoes. Farmers who can afford it are building up levees to protect their land from future floods.
03rift-expressions
Rift Expressions ---------------- Iceland is a geologically active country because it lies along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the oceanic seam where magma wells up from below to form new crust of the Earth. Icelanders live in an uneasy peace with the geologic unrest beneath their feet.
04here-be-rental-car-graveyards
Driving Danger Near Eyjafjallajökull ------------------------------------ Getting close to Eyjafjallajökull (summit visible in background of both images) requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle and a fearless driver. Floods from the melting ice washed out many of the local roads. [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/?attachment_id=34501)
05eyjafjallajokull-ash
Eyjafjallajökull Ash -------------------- Eyjafjallajökull's ash was extremely fine-grained. On encountering ice and turning the water to steam, magma becomes fragmented into tiny bits of ash that can be carried high into the atmosphere. One of the scientific mysteries about Eyjafjallajökull is how it managed to produce so much fine-grained ash for so long.
06devastation-south-of-eyjafjallajokull
Devastation South of Eyjafjallajökull ------------------------------------- Ash choked rivers three months after the eruption.
07northwest-edge-of-myrdalsjokull
Northwest Edge of Mýrdalsjökull ------------------------------- Katla lies beneath this ice cap, called Mýrdalsjökull. This volcano has often erupted soon after its neighbor Eyjafjallajökull, so scientists are looking carefully for any signs that it might be ready to go in the near future. Icelandic geologists have long monitored Katla because an eruption might melt the ice and send floodwaters rushing into the valleys below. The Eyjafjallajökull eruption also created small floods -- a hazard unique to ice-covered volcanoes.
08seltun-geothermal-area
Seltún Geothermal Area ---------------------- Iceland's geologic restlessness is also reflected in the geothermal areas that dot the countryside, such as these bubbling mud pots. Hydrogen sulfide makes the air smell like rotten eggs, yet this site, called Seltún, still draws tourists.
09third-gps-stop
Lava Field Near Katla --------------------- This lava field just north of the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap serves as one of many monitoring sites to track ground deformation that could serve as a signal of an impending eruption of Katla.
10ripples
Ripples ------- At Sveifluháls, a volcanic ridge created thousands of years ago, petrified ripples in the rock testify to sediment that washed downslope from an eruption that melted the ice atop the volcano.
