It's been a while since we saw an eruption in Iceland. For the small volcanic nation in the middle of the North Atlantic, that means something very different than most countries. It has been almost five years (gasp!) since the last Icelandic eruption (hint: that's not long).
Now, that last eruption was a doozy, producing almost a cubic kilometer of lava at the north of Bardarbunga. However, signs of a potential new eruption are building, this time in the southern part of the island.
Iceland is unique for a number of reasons. Much of the volcanism there is caused by a hotspot -- a plume of hot mantle material -- rising up underneath the island. However, unlike Hawaii which is only a hotspot, Iceland also lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is a long seam down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where the North American and Eurasian plates are ...
