Iceland‘s leading speleologist Árni B. Stefánsson was the first person to ever enter a cave located deep within the Þríhnúkagígur magma chamber yesterday, reports the National Broadcasting Service. The cave is located around 20 metres (66 ft) above the crater floor and was inaccessible up until yesterday.
For the mission, the country’s longest ladder was borrowed from the Reykjavík Fire Department – the ladder is 20 metres (66 ft) long and weighs 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds).
The Þríhnúkagígur crater is located close to the mountain range Bláfjöll in South Iceland and was first explored forty years ago, when Árni B. Stefánsson was roped down deep into the crater with only a single lamp mounted to his helmet. With a distance of about 150 metres (450 ft) from top to bottom, the size of the chamber is enormous.
Árni says he hoped to find a lava channel leading from the magma chamber when he first entered the chamber roughly forty years ago.
“I always wanted to find out how the lava flowed out of the crater and how this magnificent structure came to be. Today we are finally one step closer to finding out,” he explained.
A video from the excursion can be seen on RÚV’s website.
Iceland‘s leading speleologist Árni B. Stefánsson was the first person to ever enter a cave located deep within the Þríhnúkagígur magma chamber yesterday, reports the National Broadcasting Service. The cave is located around 20 metres (66 ft) above the crater floor and was inaccessible up until yesterday.
For the mission, the country’s longest ladder was borrowed from the Reykjavík Fire Department – the ladder is 20 metres (66 ft) long and weighs 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds).
The Þríhnúkagígur crater is located close to the mountain range Bláfjöll in South Iceland and was first explored forty years ago, when Árni B. Stefánsson was roped down deep into the crater with only a single lamp mounted to his helmet. With a distance of about 150 metres (450 ft) from top to bottom, the size of the chamber is enormous.
Árni says he hoped to find a lava channel leading from the magma chamber when he first entered the chamber roughly forty years ago.
“I always wanted to find out how the lava flowed out of the crater and how this magnificent structure came to be. Today we are finally one step closer to finding out,” he explained.
A video from the excursion can be seen on RÚV’s website.
