The Eruptions of Iceland's Bardarbunga Volcano

Alan Taylor
September 16, 2014
14 Photos
In Focus

In southeast Iceland, the Bardarbunga volcano system, located under Europe's largest glacier, Vatnajoekull, has been rocked by hundreds of tremors daily since mid-August, prompting fears the volcano could erupt explosively, wreaking havoc on air traffic once again. An eruption of Bardarbunga, the largest volcanic system in Iceland, has the potential to be even more disruptive than the 2010 eruption of nearby Eyjafjallajokull. Scientists are closely monitoring the site, as lava continues to spew from fissures, earthquakes rumble underfoot, and nearby glacial ice appears to be melting, possibly signaling explosive interaction between lava and meltwater.

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An aerial picture taken on September 14, 2014 shows a small plane flying over the Bardarbunga volcano as it spews lava in southeast Iceland. The Bardarbunga volcano system has been rocked by hundreds of tremors daily since mid-August, prompting fears the volcano could explode. Bardarbunga, at 2,000 meters (6,500 feet), is Iceland's second-highest peak and is located under Europe's largest glacier, Vatnajoekull. #

Bernard Meric/AFP/Getty Images

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Lava flows into water near a fissure in the Bardarbunga volcano in southeast Iceland on September 14, 2014. #

Bernard Meric/AFP/Getty Images

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Ash and steam rise from Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano on September 14, 2014. #

Bernard Meric/AFP/Getty Images

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Steam rises as lava flows into water near Bardarbunga volcano on September 14, 2014. #

Bernard Meric/AFP/Getty Images

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Lava erupts in a fountain from Bardarbunga volcano on September 14, 2014. #

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Fountains of lava, up to 60 meters high, spurt from a fissure in the ground on the north side of the Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland on September 2, 2014. #

AP Photo/Stefano Di Nicolo

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Picture shows magma along a 1-km-long fissure in a lava field north of the Vatnajokull glacier, which covers part of Bardarbunga volcano system, on August 29, 2014. #

Reuters/Marco Nescher

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Lava flows from the Bardarbunga volcano system on September 14, 2014. #

Bernard Meric/AFP/Getty Images

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A lava flow spreads out across a plain near Bardarbunga volcano on September 14, 2014. #

Bernard Meric/AFP/Getty Images

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Steam rises over a fissure in a lava field north of the Vatnajokull glacier, which covers part of Bardarbunga volcano system, on August 29, 2014. #

Reuters/Marco Nescher

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A man stands near a lava flow on Holuhraun, part of the larger Bardarbunga volcano system, northwest of the Dyngjujoekull glacier in Iceland, on September 1, 2014. #

AP Photo/Eggert Johannesson

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The lava eruption on Holuhraun on September 1, 2014. #

AP Photo/Eggert Johannesson

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A closeup of lava from an eruption on Holuhraun on September 1, 2014. #

AP Photo/Eggert Johannesson

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Steam and gases rise from the lava eruption on Holuhraun, northwest of the Dyngjujoekull glacier in Iceland, on September 1, 2014. #

AP Photo/Eggert Johannesson

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