Volcanologists recently discovered a large volcano lying under the waters off the shore of Iceland, according to National Geographic News.
The giant volcano is located on the Reykjanes Ridge, a part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The ridge is formed by cooling magma which wells up from the rift between the North American tectonic plate and the Eurasian plate.
Armann Hoskuldsson, a volcano specialist at the University of Iceland said that it is extremely unusual for such ridges to result in a volcano. According to him, the ridges are continually moving and pulling apart, making it difficult for volcanoes to form.
Hoskuldsson explained that he and the scientists were exploring an areas south of Iceland, about 90 miles off the coast. “We were doing a normal oceangoing mission, and we found a big edifice,” he said.
Hoskuldsson said that the volcano’s structure suggests that it has its own magma chamber. “It’s a higher magma production that generates the edifice,” he explained.
Despite the high magma production, Hoskuldsson said that the residents of Iceland are not likely to be in danger because the volcano is so far underwater. “We wouldn’t expect much to happen on the surface,” he said.