University of Hawaii researchers, including a student from Iceland, are closely watching the explosive eruption of a volcano beneath a glacier in Iceland.

Sarah Fagents, associate researcher in the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, School of Ocean, Earth Science and Technology, has worked on other volcanoes in Iceland and taught summer school there last year.

Her major interest is how lava flows over marshy or very wet ground. “;It can explode and produce fields of cones that look like cinder cones on the Big Island,”; she said. “;It can be dangerous and unpredictable.

“;A student and I have been working on the problem the last several years trying to understand the timing of these. How long does the lava flow before it explodes?”;

The recent activity began with a series of lava fountains last month similar to the fountaining seen with Big Island volcanism, she said. “;It was spewing fountains maybe up to 300 feet and producing lava flows. It was quite benign activity. Then it paused a few days ago and migrated further to the west and when it started to erupt again, it was under an ice cap.

“;That makes things a whole lot more dangerous,”; she said. “;The magma is so hot it flashes water to steam and you get a more highly explosive eruption going on.”;

Asdis Benediktsdottir, a graduate student from Iceland in SOEST's geology-geophysics department, said the eruption is “;amazing to look at it and specifically what is affecting southern Europe (disrupted air traffic) ... and the glacier outburst effect on farmers.”;

In her academic work, she said she doesn't directly work on volcanoes but does “;very close”; research and is following the news and communicating with her family about what's happening.

It's the first eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull glacier since 1821, she said, noting potential long-term effects from ash blanketing farmers' fields.

Fagents said the lava has changed from a more basaltic chemical composition to more silica, which tends to be more explosive, and ash on the ground can poison livestock.

The other danger is all the water that rushed down from the glacier, causing flooding, she said. “;You put ice in water with eruptions and it changes the whole dynamics of it, and the whole landscape.”;

“;We're lucky (in Hawaii) in that respect,”; she said. When she began working in Iceland about 10 years ago, she said, “;I was just expecting it to be kind of like Hawaii but wetter and colder, but the landscape is dramatic, just incredible. There is much more variation in composition of magmas.”;