...Could erupt in the next few hours...
Considering the increased seismic activity in the past few hours, it is possible that magma has started to move in Suðurnesj and could therefore find a way to the surface at Sundhnúka crater in the next few hours.
-The lava has taken three houses at Efrahóp-
Three houses at Efrahóp in Grindavík have now burned down or been covered by lava, according to Almannavarnir.
The fissure has not changed (IMO) and there are no signs that more cracks are currently opening
..Guard ship moved further from Grindavík for safety reasons..
Last few hours, tremors have come out to sea just SW of Grindavík.
If eruption in sea, it will be explosive, patrol ship Þór, arrived at Grindavík, has been asked to stay away for safety
This will probably be a big volcanic eruption: the dike intrusion near Grindavik that began yesterday caused ground shifts of 120 cm (yes, centimeters). Within three hours. In the last Fagradalsfjall eruption it was 10 cm in one week. Data:
Das wird wohl ein großer Vulkanausbruch: Bodenverschiebungen um 120 cm (ja, Zenti-) hat die gestern beginnende Dike-Intrusion bei Grindavik gebracht. Innerhalb von drei Stunden. Bei der letzten Fagradalsfjall-Eruption waren es 10 cm in einer Woche. Daten:
-A more than 25 m deep hole-
A more than 25 m deep hole has formed in a residential street in Grindavík. It is a sign that the soil is still moving considerably. The Salthúsið restaurant has also been damaged in recent days.
-Eruption is real near to Grindavik, lava has passed the watershed and now even the new (unfinished) defense wall. This is really bad news for Grindavikings !-
-90% of the dike solidified-
The greatest part of the dike at Svartsengi has hardened. The likelihood of a volcanic eruption is decreasing and the inflation at Svartsengi has slowed down, says Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, Prof. Geophysics, Univ. Iceland
Latest GPS measurements show an acceleration in inflation. The probability that a new magma dyke will form under Fagradalsfjall has increased, and that development may take place in the coming weeks or months.
-Lava flow from southern fissure mostly stopped, flow from northern fissure seems to have slowed. Work has been done last night to expand the defense wall to the west and raise it at Nesveg.
At 9.30am today, scientists will discuss the situation
Today Sentinel 2 flew over the Reykjanes peninsula. The image shown here is combined to illustrate the hottest areas of the lava flow field. Red glowing areas, beside the lava pond around the 3 craters that are still active, show where the lava flow is advancing.
Development of magma dike under Grindavík
The magma dike that under Grindavík is about 15 km long. Eruption is most likely to occur where it is widest, at Sundhnúk or Hagafell. There are indications that the magma is at a depth of 500 m or less
-Indications that Reykjanes may erupt again around the end of the year-
Latest data from IMO since Christmas show that the inflation in Svartsengi had then reached the same height as measured on the 11th-12th Dec, or 6-7 days before the eruption on Dec 18.
The eruption
@Sundhnukar
has decreased significantly, activity isolated to ~6 vents N part of fissure (bad visibility in area now).
Lava flow slowed down along Grindavíkurveg towards Svartsengi and at the defenses W of Grindavík (IMO).
No more explosive activity is observed and
A crack in Grindavik, not a sign of magma soon surfacing, but probably the result of the intruding dike magma receding to north again (where its thought to be now at 4-5km depth again) and thus the rock above collapsed in a small graben shape.
-Lava has breached the protective wall around Svartsengi Power Plant but the flow is slow, with enough machinery present to counter it, hopefully...-
Captured from
-Evidence of a magma chamber beneath Svartsengi-
Several things indicate that under Svartsengi there is a magma reservoir or a magma chamber. There are three kinds of evidence for that, says Halldór Geirsson, Univ. Iceland.
#Sundhn
úkagígar
SO2 measured at Grindavik indicates that magma lies very shallow, perhaps at ~500m depth
"Sulfur dioxide is not released from magma until very close to the surface. It just means the top kilometer."
The speed of the deformation is many times what has been measured in the upheavals on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
About 800 earthquakes since midnight. Public defense press conference at 12:00 on the situation and scenarios.
"It just shows how unsafe the area is here and how dangerous it is." I was just walking along this path and everything seemed to be fine in front of me," says a rescue worker working in Grindavík. Just then the ground gave way..
Today marks 51 years since the volcanic eruption started in Heimaey. It was the night before 23. January 1973 and was therefore declared finished on the 3rd. July the same year.
Jökulhlaup from Mýrdalsjökull (Katla) update-
-Ringroad breached at east foundation of the Skalma bridge, which can be under threat itself
-Bigger jökulhlaup as in 2011
-Possiblity of a small subglacial eruption as cause
-Optic fibre cable from Míla broke
-The most powerful eruption to date-
Measurements carried out this afternoon on the first day of the eruption indicate that the lava area has already been 24 million cubic meters. The lava flow of the first hours has therefore, on average, been about 1500 cubic meters per second
..Optical fiber now used as a sensitive seismometer..
HS Orka's optical fiber, which runs from Svartsengi west of Þorbjörn and from there to Arfadalsvíkur west of Grindavík, is now used as a continuous line of earthquake measurements with high sensitivity.
Eruption at Grindavík ended last night ~23.20. No magma has been seen coming out of the crater alone alive since then.
The eruption lived for just over 41 hours. We are still waiting for measurements on the size and volume of the lava, but it is quite easy to say that the
-New cracks in road have formed closer to Grindavík than before-
New cracks have formed on Grindavíkurvegur since yesterday. Other cracks in the road have also widened somewhat.
Vegagerðin says that inflation at Svartsengi could be affecting the road.
Inflation at Svartsengi is now rising much faster than it did before the earthquake on November 10, or about 5.5 times faster. Then the inflow of magma is about ten times more, ~50m3/s ..says Thorvaldur via
@mblfrettir
-Eruption may be closer to Grindavík-
Probability of eruption increases with each passing day. Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson says people must be prepared for an eruption closer to Grindavík than last time. He is in favor of building fortifications around town
Magma flows from seven to eight craters at the eruption at Sundhnúka and their walls seem to be building up. There still seems to be quite a bit of activity at the eruption and it is similar to last night. via
@mblfrettir
-An 800 m long eruption is expected-
Models predict lava flow of 600 m3/s from an 800 m long fissure during the next eruption. Kristín Jónsdóttir (IMO), presented likely scenarios of next eruption at the residents' meeting of Grindvíking last evening.
-Explanation of the deeper source of the Sundhnukar eruptions-
Attached drawing shows the relative position of the magma storage zones, that hosted the erupted magma, and the linear conduit that transported the magma through the crust and to the eruption sites on Reykjanes
-Magma accumulation started again under Svartsengi-
"... I'm quite afraid that we are looking at such a repeated process where magma accumulates in Svartsengi and then magma flows occur," says Kristín Jónsdóttir
-Eruption at Sundhnúk, which lasted for almost 54 days, is over-
Civil Defense experts flew a drone over the eruption centers at Sundhnúk last night and there was no activity to be seen in the crater. The eruption had been decreasing yesterday and no lava flows were visible
-More details on the recent paper by Freysteinn Sigmundsson et al.'s "New understanding of ultra-rapid formation of magma filled cracks in the Earth" on the November dike intrusion at Grindavik-
...
After meeting :
Chance of eruption has increased.
15 km long dike NW of Grindavík.
Magma is approaching the surface.
Dike extends from Kálfellsheiði in N and W of Grindavík and to SW into sea.
Dike is 15 km long and at depth 800 m
More: ...
..Attention focused on Hagafell...
Still a high probability of eruption near Grindavík. It is believed that the magma at its shallowest is around 400 m.
An imminent volcanic eruption is now even considered most likely at Hagafell, north of Grindavík.
-We are in a straitjacket while magma goes under Svartsengi-
Magma flow under Svartsengi is almost non-stop and the sequence of events for the last three magma runs has been very similar. Kristín Jónsdóttir says it is possible that magma runs will continue to occur every month.
A new volcano could now become active on Iceland: The latest earthquakes near Grindavik are due to a magma intrusion at Thorbjörn, as satellite data shows. This could become a problem for Grindavik and the “Blue Lagoon”.
Auf Island könnte nun doch ein neuer Vulkan aktiv werden: Die neusten Erdbeben bei Grindavik gehen doch auf eine Magmaintrusion am Thorbjörn zurück, wie Satellitendaten zeigen. Dies könnte für Grindavik und die "Blaue Lagune" zum Problem werden.
-No visible eruption activity-
Scientists flying over the craters confirm that no eruptive activity is visible and that the craters appear to be extinguished, but embers are still visible in the lava bed. This is reported on IMO's Facebook page.
...
Latest from IMO
Magmatic gas is measured from a borehole. Confirms the presence of magma in the Earth's crust
Land subsided by 25 cm in the center of the valley in Grindavík
Updated November 16 at 17:50
The seismic activity at the magma dike has remained fairly constant between
The power of the volcano at Sundhnúksgígi continues. Lava flow is roughly estimated about 1⁄4 of what it was initially and 1/3 of the initial crack is active. Lava fountains are also lower than at the beginning of the eruption, about 30 m the highest
...
A lava pond that could burst in the direction of Suðurstrandarveg
Craters formed as a result of the Sundhnúks crater series continue to spew lava. Although the lava flow is slow, experts from the public defense have identified a lava pond at the end of the lava rim at
Latest deformation measurements (both GNSS and InSAR satellite images) show that inflation under Svartsengi continues. The speed of inflation increased after the eruption ended and is now greater than what was measured before the eruption that began on May 29. The rate of
-Just 1 crater active now-
There was no visible activity in the smaller crater last night. No glow, but gas still rises from it. This S crater seems to have gone out last night or during the night.
There is unchanged lively activity in the larger crater
-New graben in Grindavík-
A new graben was formed in Grindavík during the eruption on Sunday. It is at most 1 m deep and runs parallel to the others, to the east of the town.
IMO Updated November 10 at: 19:00
.. the most likely scenario is that it will be several days rather than hours before magma reaches the surface. If erupts where activity is now, lava would flow to the southeast and to the west, but not towards Grindavík.
Lava is going over a defense wall at Sylingafell. They are trying to control the lava with machines. The fire department expects to apply lava cooling by spraying water on the lava for the first time since the Westman Islands eruption.
Read more:
The power of the eruption appears to be similar to yesterday, judging by webcams. The craters have grown quite a bit, but at present it is difficult to estimate how high they have become. There is still some lava fountain activity
Benedikt (Ófeigsson, IMO) says that the inflation has never really stopped despite the eruption. This means that a magma flow is both feeding the eruption and the magma chamber under Svartsengi.
This is the damage caused by the earthquakes at Grindavík
RÚV photographer Ragnar Visage took pictures of the damage after the earthquakes at Grindavík in the last 24 hours.
The land at Svartsengisvirkjun has now risen higher than it was before the earthquake began on October 25, culminating in the formation of the magma tunnel on November 10, causing massive and rapid subsidence....
Lava is now flowing into Melhólsnáma quarry, which lies by Hagafell north of Grindavík.
The quarry has been used for the construction of the fortifications in the area. However, lava flow into the mine should not affect the plans to raise the dikes.
-Can be prolonged eruption-
There is a good chance that the eruption at Sundhnúkar will be prolonged, and no indications that its power has decreased in recent days. Production has ben ~5 m3/s since March 17, similar to eruptions in Fagradalsfjall system
-The seismic activity has increased tenfold (Hofsjökull)-
Seismic activity in Hofsjökull has increased tenfold in just a few years. It is clear that the central fire station, one of the most impressive in the country, is coming to life. What that means is not at all certain,
Þorvaldur Þórðarson does not rule out that the eruption at the Sundhnúka crater series could last for several months if the reality is that magma is now flowing from the deeper magma chamber.
Sample analysis in next days will tell if source is from deeper
-Land reached the same height as before last eruption-
Same height now as was measured just before the eruption on Dec 18, shown by GPS data at Svartsengi, and continues to rise
IMO states that probability of a volcanic eruption has therefore increased