Photographer Page

Chris Burkard

Tourists flock to see the newly erupted lava on the Reykjanes peninsula. While this eruption can be watched from a safe distance, experts caution against approaching too close and suggest using a gas mask to limit exposure to toxic volcanic fumes.

Lava bursts through the surface on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula, traveling from a magmatic reservoir much deeper underground than most volcanoes around the world.

The sputtering lava has already begun building small mounds of spatter near the fissure and filling the valley with a pool of molten rock. It’s unclear for now if the lava will remain confined to these valleys or will travel further afield, perhaps reaching the sea. But for now, says Evgenia Ilyinskaya, a volcanologist at the University of Leeds, the eruption is providing scientists with “a fantastic natural experiment.”

While the volcano currently poses little risk, authorities are keeping a close watch on the changing hazards. In the image below, members of the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue are seen investigating the dangers near the lava's edge.

The incandescent rock is erupting with greater vigor than last year's outburst, but what the volcano will do in the days ahead—including how long this eruption will last—remains unknown. A small plane at the bottom of this image illustrates the scale of the new eruption.

While the flashes of scarlet were just spotted yesterday, scientists are already busy collecting their first samples of rock, including volcanologist Helga Kristin, shown here.

Crowds have already gathered to take in the stunning scenes, watching Earth forge new landscapes.

After centuries of quiescence, Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted twice in less than a year, sending up fountains of incandescent rock. The latest eruption, which started at 1:18 p.m. local time on August 3, opened up at a fissure only a few hundred feet away from the cone crafted by last year’s volcanic outburst.

Truth be told, photographing Mount Fagradalsfjall’s eruption in Iceland was my first time photographing lava. I realized very quickly that some of the most unique perspectives come from moving slowly and exploring the freshly cooled rock along the base of the flow. The shapes, textures, and cooling patterns create a million different ways to photograph this new earth being formed. Even the color of the rock can change pending the air temperature, sun exposure, and cooling time. Much of this rock is broken up into a million pieces as the surges of new magma and lava push through it and against it in almost a tidal wave effect, making these art forms finite. They do sometimes last forever but often only hours.