'A Tale Of Ice And Fire': Stunning Footage Shows Lava Flowing Over Snow In Iceland
Icelandic photographer Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove captured the mesmerising visuals in Iceland.
Nature never fails to amaze us. An Icelandic photographer was able to capture a rare phenomenon where lava was seen gliding over a snow-clad landscape. A video featuring the mesmerising visuals was shared on Instagram by the man behind the lens– Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove. When the clip initially surfaced on the internet, many felt the footage might be created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). The occurrence, however, is not as rare as it seems. Nieuwenhove feels as humans, our basic instinct is to “perceive something to be fake when we are unable to comprehend it."
The moment was captured in Southwest Iceland at Sundhnukagigar– a row of volcanic craters that have erupted several times since December last year. The Instagram reel shows lava coming out of fissures and gradually taking over a snow-covered surface.
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“I managed to capture this moment during the February eruption at Sundhnúkagígar this year. This clip sparked a lot of debate in the comments section, as people questioned whether it was real because there was no visible steam when the lava crossed over the snow," Nieuwenhove shared in the caption of his post.
The photographer admitted that he was also left baffled after seeing the spectacular scenes. To understand the science behind it, he went through some research and found out that such a phenomenon happens as the result of the “Leidenfrost effect."
The lava is so incredibly hot that it melts the top part of the snow, which then creates a vapour layer that shields the bottom part from the heat temporarily. Similar to what you can observe when water droplets scoot around on a hot metal plate. The lava moves so fast that it actually manages to cover the snow before it can melt," Nieuwenhove explained.
The photographer has been stationed in Iceland for four years to capture unseen visuals of volcanic eruptions. During this period, he has witnessed many “surreal" events in the mountainous region that have increased his curiosity about Mother Nature.
“One thing I have realised while documenting the ongoing series of eruptions in Iceland over the last four years is that most people perceive how lava should ‘behave’ incorrectly. I suspect special effects in movies have something pretty significant to do with that. People are surprised by what it looks like, how it moves, how it sounds and how it interacts with its surroundings," Nieuwenhove wrote in another Instagram post.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCMnkQZM3iw/
While some viewers expressed their doubt over the authenticity of the footage, many congratulated the photographer for the “bucket list capture." To one of them, it looked like “a chocolate cookie dough being splashed over a layer of fine sugar."
One user suggested an appropriate title for the video– “A Tale of Ice and Fire." “Beautiful and terrifying in one seamless display," commented a person. While appreciating the efforts of the photographer, a viewer admitted, “This is art." The stunning footage has already garnered more than one lakh views on Instagram.
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