Mud-geysers heating up in Iceland
Gunnar Dofri Ólafsson
Setja bókamerki
The powers at play under Iceland don't seem to be satisfied with just getting the limelight in Holuhraun and around Bárðarbunga. On Monday, a mud-geyser named Gunnuhver showed a sharp increase in activity.
The geyser is on the western part of Reykjanes, not far from the town of Reykjanesbær. This is what a mud geyser looks like. The gray matter flying through the air is mud and the steam is not dangerous unless you get close enough to it to burn your skin.
Photographer Olgeir Andrésson (olgeir.com) photographed the area yesterday. When he got there, he discovered that another geyser, the one on the photo above, had opened up close to Gunnuhver.
"After getting some photos of Gunnuhver I decided to take a look around the area. When I came to an area I frequent I noticed that there was mud in one of the geysers that's usually clear. There hasn't been mud there for years," says Olgeir.
He walked some ten meters from the geyser and kept photographing. "That when I hear this huge roar behind me. The geyser had started erupting, spouting mud seven to ten meters into the air."
Olgeir posted a video of the geyser on his website. The area around Gunnuhver was closed off when the geyser started to erupt. The area around the geyser is known for its geothermal volatility, with geysers showing up with little notice. The Blue Lagoon is in some sense a result of this activity, coupled with wastewater from the Svartsengi power plant.
For more photos of the Reykjanes area and Gunnuhver, visit olgeir.com
