How do you get amazing footage of a volcanic eruption? By flying a drone over it, of course.
That's exactly what two men did recently: they flew a drone over Iceland's Barbardunga volcano, which is currently erupting, capturing some incredible video footage in the process.
However, getting that footage wasn't necessarily easy. The timing of the trip out to Bardarbunga had to be right. So, on September 20, when skies were clear and winds were blowing in the opposite direction from where footage would be obtained, Eric Cheng, director of aerial imaging for drone manufacturer DJI, and photographer Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson, flew into Reykjavik, Iceland, and then drove 15 hours over rough terrain.
Once they were within about a mile's range from the volcano, they released the drone, which captured what it saw and sent that video footage to where Cheng and Sigurdsson stood, recording it locally. Often, the drone got too close, which would send it into failsafe mode, triggering it to fly back to the two men.
However, they wanted even better footage, but that meant getting closer to the eruption. Although local authorities advised that this wasn't recommended, they donned gas masks and heavy boots and traveled closer, sending the drone out closer to the volcano.
At one point, the drone got so close to lava that it not only lost its signal, but when it returned, the two men noticed that its GoPro camera melted during the journey. However, the micro SD card was unharmed, meaning that the footage was safe.
The footage in this video is from that expedition, and it captures one of Earth's most interesting geological activities, unlike anything seen before.
The following video explains more about the team's journey and how they captured the footage.
"The fact that you can take a $1,000 flying camera and put it in the middle of an erupting volcano to capture wide-angle views of this giant bowl of molten lava, which is exploding and throwing lava 150 meters or so into the air, is pretty amazing," says Cheng.
Bardarbunga began erupting last month. It's highly possible that this eruption could last for up to another year. Scientists even believe that its activity might extend under the ice beneath the volcano. If this happens, it could result in major flooding.
You can monitor volcanic activity online via the Iceland MET website.
