You could possibly own a chunk of Iceland's newest erupting volcano at Fagradalsfjall, without being able to pronounce its name or site.
Potential Buyers Makes Offer
The region of the eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula west of the capital Reykjavik is on a privately owned land, owned by landowners association of around 20 people, according to Iceland media reports. Sigurður Guðjón Gíslason, the association chairman told Visir the group has gotten inquiries from real estate brokers and other parties interested with a little number of offers already on the table.
"Presently, this should be the hottest land in the country," he quipped, also saying the group is prepared to sell for the appropriate price. The eruption started in March and has persisted for weeks, at times sending noticeable fountains of lava into the sky over the widely empty landscape.
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The New Tourist Attraction
The region has led to the attraction of a significant amount of picnickers, sightseers, hikers, and even the infrequent volleyball game set against the dramatic background. Gislason made a confirmation that since the eruption began the interest in buying the land started, proposing that possible buyers may have interest in taking advantage of the tourism potential.
Meanwhile, the owners of the land are looking into making improvements at the site, including improved parking, trails, and perhaps even a new road to totally reduce the hours of hiking presently needed to reach the eruption. An estimation of 75,000 people has paid a visit to the site in recent weeks.
Activity Update on the Eruption
The activity of the present eruption site keeps up at elevated levels during the past two weeks after its eruption which is characterized by lava fountaining episodes, around 400-500 m tall, at regular intervals of approximately 7 to 10 minutes. According to the latest measurements taken by the University of Iceland's Institute of Earth Sciences from 10 May, the lava flow emission rate boosted notably, from 8 to 13 cubic meters every second!
Now, the effusive eruption is times two as it has been during nearly all its active period. Lava flows journeying and continue to enter into the Meradalir valley, thereby filling it. Lava flow formation in the close future indicates that the eruption reveals no cues of stopping and will not end anytime soon as reported by the group leader of the Icelandic Met Office, Kristín Jónsdóttir. There is no sign at this moment if the eruption will keep increasing and how long will last.
The eruption has gotten to a phase of being more volatile probably reflected to alteration at magma chamber at depths between 15-20 km. Only what particularly lead to this alteration to a rhythmic pattern is harder to know: one model might be it is prompted by blockages that were newly developed in the (upper) plumbing system, or "bottlenecks", and / or, probably in fusion with the appearance of more gas-rich magma.
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