University at Buffalo Published April 11, 2021 Tracy Gregg about how the first volcanic eruption in 800 years in Iceland’s valley of Geldingadalur, is providing scientists with an analogue for planetary activity on Mars. The eruption involves basalt, a magma often part of Martian eruptions, suggesting that its volcanoes are similar to those on Iceland. The runny magma “didn’t really stall too much on [the Martian] surface,” said Gregg. “It formed, and then it had places to go and things to do.”