In a rare natural phenomenon, lava was seen flowing across a snow-covered landscape in Iceland. The stunning images were captured by Icelandic photographer Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove, who shared them on Instagram.

The video shocked many online who were surprised to see the hot lava flowing over the snow without steam being formed. This video, which shows a steady stream of lava flowing quickly over pristine white snow, even sparked comments claiming the footage was created with the help of artificial intelligence.

Watch the video here:

To clear the air, Nieuwenhove explained why the mysterious phenomenon occurred. “My last film, showing lava flowing over snow, received an incredible amount of attention. Many were skeptical and even called it AI-generated. I find this so fascinating because it beautifully shows how we humans can still be surprised by how unique the nature.” It shows how we experience something as fake because we cannot understand it. Isn’t that interesting?’ he wrote.

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When lava meets snow

Nieuwenhove said the extreme heat of the lava flowing over the snow creates a thin vapor layer on the surface that protects the lower layers from immediately melting. The vapor barrier behaves similarly to water droplets dancing on the surface of a hot pan. “What happens is probably the result of the Leidenfrost effect. The lava moves so fast that it manages to cover the snow before it can melt. As a result, everything is trapped under the fresh lava. Very fascinating if you ask me ,” he wrote.

Nieuwenhove accused Hollywood films of depicting lava in an unreal way. “Most people see how lava is supposed to ‘behave’ incorrectly. I suspect that special effects in movies have something very important to do with that. People are surprised by how it looks, how it moves, how it sounds and how it interacts with the environment,” he said.