Iceland volcano spewing enough lava to fill an Olympic swimming pool in 20 seconds

Photo taken directly to the south of the fissure on board the helicopter of the Norwegian Coast Guard. Grindavík in the distance. (Image credit: Icelandic Meteorological Office)

A volcano erupting on the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland has opened a 2.5-mile-long (4 kilometers) fissure that appears to have stabilized and is spewing a "curtain" of lava, experts say.

The eruption began on Monday (Dec. 18) at 10:17 p.m. local time (5:17 p.m. EST Eastern Time) following an hour-long earthquake swarm. The northern end of the fissure is located just east of Stóra-Skógfell and its southern tip extends to a point just east of Sundhnúk, which sits less than 2 miles away from Grindavík, the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) said in a translated statement on Tuesday (Dec. 19).