7 Jan 2026
Glowing molten rock, just two kilometers beneath our feet: The world’s first magma observatory is being constructed in Iceland – with enormous potential for science, monitoring, and sustainable energy.
In the Krafla volcanic field in Iceland, volcanic heat is used to generate energy. | © picture alliance / Zoonar
Magma bubbles away in the depths of the Earth, where heat and pressure cause rocks to melt – but under the Krafla volcanic field in northeastern Iceland, it comes surprisingly close to us. In the midst of this spectacular volcanic landscape, featuring black and brown lava fields with a azure-blue lake and low clouds from smoking fumaroles, engineers drilling for geotherm energy in 2009 intersected a 900°C magma chamber at a depth of just 2.1 kilometers. Three times the engineers attempted to complete their task – and three times the drill struck the glowing reservoir.
Researchers led by LMU volcanologist Yan Lavallée are now planning to exploit the unusual accessibility of the magma bubble: The Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) project plans to create the world’s first magma observatory for accessing the Earth’s glowing interior. How does magma behave deep in the crust? What happens in the transition zone to solid rock? And are there signs that could help us better predict looming volcanic eruptions? These are just some of the fundamental questions that this large geoscientific facility will seek to answer.
Deep Dive: into the burning heart of Earth: Read the article in the digital research magazine here