Category: Eruptions

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Update on the eruption in Geldingadalir on 27-March-2021

This is a short update on the situation about the eruption on 27-March-2021. This eruption is now classified as to be happening in Krýsuvík volcano system.

  • The eruption seems to be slowly increasing. The small craters on the left (on the web camera) have now merged into one larger crater. It is possible that the two remaining craters might merge into one large crater.
  • The magma fro this eruption is coming from 17 – 20 km depth and that can result in a eruption that can last a long time.
  • Geldingadalir valley is now almost filled with lava. It is expected to overflow by Easter in about 6 days based on current eruption rate of the lava.
  • Lake of lava has formed in the Geldingadalir valley. Videos have been posted on Facebook and other social media showing how dangerous the lava field currently is. Do not walk on the fresh lava. It is going to take decades and possibly centuries to cool down to a safe level.
  • The lava at it thickest is estimated now to be 20 to 30 meters deep.
  • There are fluctuations in the eruptions. Sometimes its slightly more and sometimes slightly less based on observations with the web camera on Rúv.
  • It seems that a mountain is being built by this eruption. How that is going to progress is difficult to know for sure.

In general there has not been a lot of change in the eruption since it started a week ago (19-March-2021).  Next update is going to be hopefully on 2-April-2021 unless something major happens in this eruption.

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Long eruption is now expected in Fagradalsfjall in Geldingadalir valley (soon a former valley) based on lava chemical details

This is not a update on the eruption. There has not been any major change in the eruption at the writing of this article.

University of Iceland has released a report that can be read here (pdf) showing that the magma that is now erupting comes from the depth of 17 to 20 km. Crust at this location on the Reykjanes peninsula is around 17 km deep. A 3D map can be found here of the eruption. I think it is going to updated regularly by ÍSOR. The lava that is now erupting is part of Tholeiitic magma (Wikipedia). The lava is 1180C when it erupts from the ground.

What seems to be now happening is that a shield volcano is forming. It is a question if this is going to result in a formation of new magma chambers along the dyke where it formed. There is continued risk that new vents and fissures eruptions opens in this change can happen without warning. Based on earthquake activity it seems that the dyke continues to be active rather than having turned into rock by cooling.

The eruption is also high in the following gases, CO (Carbon monoxide), CO2 (Carbon dioxide), SO2 (Sulfur dioxide) and other dangerous gases.

It is now estimated that the Geldingadalir valley is going to overflow in 8 to 18 days and currently a lava pond is forming at this location. Once that happens the lava is going to flow into nearby valley (I can’t find the name of it). One of the valley the lava is in the end going to flow into Nátthagi valley if the eruption lasts long enough.

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Update on Geldingadalur in Fagradalsfjall mountain eruption on 21-March-2021

This information is going to get outdated quickly. This article covers Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcano. This article is written on 21-March-2021 at at 00:40 UTC.

  • This eruption is tiny. The amount of magma erupted is now around 0.02km3 but this number might not be fully accurate since I’ve not seen any published number about of volume of lava erupted so far.
  • This is unconfirmed but it is possible that an new fissure opened up under the lava field next to the hill side (seen on the web camera, this is on the left side).
  • The current erupting fissure is now about 200 meters long and might be getting shorter.
  • Earthquake activity has almost stopped at the writing of this article.
  • This eruption might only last 1 to 3 days before it stops.
  • There is no sign of deflation in the GPS data at the writing of this article.

There are no other reports about this eruption at current time. This might change without warning.

Web cameras

Beint vefstreymi frá eldstöðvunum – Rúv.is – Live from the eruption.

Beint vefstreymi af eldgosinu – Vogastapi (Rúv.is) – Added 22-March-2021. View from a distance. Should show a red glow from the eruption if the weather isn’t too bad. – This web camera is no longer active!

Update at 15:28 UTC – One side of the main crater collapses

Here is a video of the main crater collapse on one side and give lava a new path for short period of time. At the writing of this update that path for the lava has closed down again.

Gígbarmurinn gefur sig og ný hraunrennslisæð myndast (Rúv.is)

Update at 21:21 UTC

Kvikustreymið braut sér nýja leið (Rúv.is) – This is a new video of the crater collapse that took place at 14:20 today (21-March-2021).

Article updated at 15:29 UTC. New information added.
Article updated at 21:21 UTC. New information added.
Article updated at 03:06 UTC on 22-March-2021. Web camera added.
em>Article updated at 16:34 UTC on 22-March-2021. Web camera has been removed by Rúv – comment added to that web camera.

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Overview of the eruption in Geldingadalur in Fagradalsfjall mountain

This is a short overview of the eruption that is now ongoing in Geldingadalur in Fagradalsfjall mountain area. This is part of Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcano system according to latest information. This information might change as the time and more information is collected. This article is written on 20-March-2021 at 02:58 UTC.

  • This is the first eruption in Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcano system since the year 1340.
  • The eruption started at 20:45 UTC according to Icelandic Met Office.  The harmonic tremor from the eruption is almost invisible.
  • The fissure is at the writing of this article estimated about to be 1 km long with the direction south-west and north-east.
  • Currently the eruption is small and there is no risk of damage to any infrastructure. Next road (currently closed because of earthquake damage) that might get damaged is 2,5 km distance from the eruption site.
  • This eruption suggests that more eruption might start in different fissures once this eruption is over.
  • The valley that the lava is flowing into might get filled with lava if the eruption lasts long enough. The valley next to it is equally deep so there is no danger of this lava flow.
  • The eruption is in a area that is difficult to access even by a car.

 

The earthquake activity in the dyke between Fagradalsfjalls and Keili. Mostly just minor eartquakes show by red dots
The earthquake activity in the dyke. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

The eruption might only last for two to three days as it currently looks but that might change without warning since it is impossible to know for sure what is going to happen next with this eruption.

There are no good web cameras of this eruption since it is remote and started late on Friday night and the weather on Reykjanes peninsula is not good for today (20-March) or tomorrow (21-March).

Updated at 04:49 UTC. Web cameras added to this article.

Rúv – Beint vefstreymi af eldgosinu – Vogastapi
Beint vefstreymi frá eldstöðvunum – Rúv.is – New! This web camera is closest to the eruption.
Road camera 1
Live from Iceland – Keilir
Live from Iceland – Reykjanes

Article updated at 03:49 UTC. Information added. Spell check fixes.
Article updated at 04:52 UTC. Web cameras added.
Article updated at 14:44 UTC. New web camera added from Rúv.

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Eruption confirmed in Fagradalsfjall mountain

This article is going to go get updated soon as possible or a new article is going to be written. This information is going to get outdated quickly. This is Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcano.

This volcano eruption seems to have started without any earthquake activity or major harmonic tremor as of writing of this article. More information later this evening.

Update at 22:46 UTC

Here is a web camera link from Rúv. It might work. But all the web cameras are getting heavy traffic now.

Update 22:56 UTC

This is the possible location of the eruption based on satellite images of the area. This is in eastern side of Fagradalsfjall mountain. This is from Icelandic Met Office.

Update at 23:13 UTC

This the first picture of the eruption. The fissure is about 200 meters long at the writing of this article. Picture is from Icelandic Met Office.

Update 00:05 UTC on 20-March-2021

Video of the eruption. Video from Icelandic Met Office. Downloaded from Twitter.

Update at 00:56 UTC on 20-March-2021

Here is a new video of the eruption on Rúv website.
Title of the article was also fixed.

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Krýsuvík volcano update at 19:56 UTC

This is a short update since this situation is developing quickly.

No eruption has started at the writing of this article. Harmonic tremor is slightly lower compared to when it started at 14:20 UTC in Krýsuvík volcano. This drop in harmonic tremor started around 16:00 UTC. This harmonic tremor is ongoing as for writing of this article. There are no signs of the rift valley formation on the surface yet, but it does show up on measurements, both GPS and satellite measurements. Earthquake activity is high at the writing of this article but most earthquakes are small in magnitude but there are few earthquakes with magnitude of Mw3,0.

Earthquake activity in Krýsuvík volcano. A lot of green stars and red dots showing new earthquakes.
Earthquake activity in Krýsuvík volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
The earthquake trace shows a dense dots of blue, yellow, orange and red dots. All are earthquakes of different magnitude
Earthquake activity trace of the earthquake activity on Reykjanes peninsula. Most earthquakes are in Krýsuvík volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Web cameras of the possible eruption area can be found in this locations.

Beint vefstreymi af skjálftasvæðinu (Rúv.is)
YouTube stream.

I am going to add more streams as I find them online.

I’ll update soon as possible if anything happens. This situation is changing quickly.

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Harmonic tremor confirmed in Krýsuvík volcano – Eruption might be about to start

This article is written at 16:14 UTC. This is just a short update because the situation changes quickly.

Harmonic tremor has been detected in the Krýsuvík volcano. If an eruption happens as is now expected this is the first eruption in Krýsuvík volcano since the year 1340.

Harmonic tremor detected on SIL station Vogar. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
Earthquake activity in the Krýsuvík volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

A rift valley has been confirmed to have formed in the Krýsuvík close to the area where the eruption is expected. This is between Keilir and Fagradalsfjall mountains. It is possible to watch live stream from this area on YouTube here.

Update at 16:41 UTC

Second web camera that is run by Rúv can be found here.

Next update when I know more.

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Live stream from eruption in Hawaii, U.S

This is a live video stream from Hawaii, U.S.

New live video feed.

More new live stream feed.

New live stream for 20th of May 2018.

Article updated at 19-May-2018 at 14:33 UTC. New live video feed added.
Article updated at 19-May-2018 at 16:48 UTC. New live video feed added.
Article updated at 20-May-2018 at 14:19 UTC. New live video feed added.

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Katla volcano update article of 29-July-2017

This article is going to be updated as activity continues in Katla volcano today on 29-July-2017. If an eruption starts (big one) a new article is going to be written for that event.

Overview of the activity during the night and today

It seems that during the night a minor eruption took place (this is just my view). This based on harmonic tremor pulse that appeared in Katla volcano after midnight, the source of the activity seems to be north-west part of the caldera. Possibly where a magnitude 3,0 earthquake had taken place at 00:48 UTC. Harmonic tremor remains unstable and above background levels, at the moment however it seems that current harmonic tremor when this is written is due to glacier flood pushing it self from under the glacier. The water that is moving under the glacier is few hours away from (at best) from appearing in glacier rivers that come from Katla volcano.


The earthquake activity in Katla volcano during the last 48 hours. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.


Harmonic tremor in Austmannsbunga in Katla volcano at 12:09 UTC. It clearly shows the minor eruption and ongoing harmonic tremor pulse. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.


Harmonic tremor in Austmannsbunga in Katla volcano at 13:04 UTC. This image shows ongoing activity in the tremor. This is mostly high frequency tremor and that is interesting. What that is not known. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.


Harmonic tremor in Goðabunga at 12:09 UTC. It clearly shows the night minor eruption and ongoing harmonic tremor. The harmonic tremor is however a lot less visible now on Goðabunga. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.


Harmonic tremor as it appears on Rjúpnafell (SIL station). This station is at more distance from the source of the harmonic tremor pulse and shows a weaker signal as a result. The night minor eruption is also clear on this SIL station but current harmonic tremor is less visible, it does appear but at much lower level. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Katla volcano has been moved to yellow alert. It is now possible to watch the glacier flood live from here (Rúv.is). Currently the glacier flood is getting smaller, but that might only be a temporarily thing if more water is on its way from Mýrdalsjökull glacier. There has also been a drop in conductivity for now in Múlavísk glacier river.

Announcement in English on Rúv

People advised to stay away from Múlakvísl (Rúv.is)

This article is going to be updated as needed today.

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Four minor eruptions took place in Bárðarbunga volcano in August-2014

In Stöð 2 (Channel 2) news this evening was a short news segment about four minor eruptions that took place in the time between the dyke intrusion starting (16-August-2014) in Bárðarbunga volcano and until the eruption in Holuhraun (second link here) started (29-August-2014). The second small Holuhraun eruption, that lasted only for few hours (link 1 here [images, 2014], second link here [images, 2014]).

Those eruptions where small, didn’t break the glacier surface, but they did create small cauldrons. Three of those eruptions took place above the dyke on its path to Holuhraun eruption site. One of the eruption took place in side of Bárðarbunga volcano, south of the caldera (red circles on the map in the news). The mystery of what happened to all the melt-water has been mostly solved. Following this eruptions a rift episode took place (ongoing) and that formed cracks in the surface, allowing the water to go underground and not flowing into the nearby glacier rivers.

Magnús Tumi, the geologist spoken with at Earth Science at University of Iceland doesn’t think Bárðarbunga volcano is preparing for a new eruption. I disagree with his assessment. I base my assessment on earlier documented history, far as that goes and also the fact that rifting is currently taking place in this area and such events never do things quietly, even if no eruption happens, earthquakes do (and a lot of them).

Vísir / Stöð 2 news segment in Icelandic

Fjögur önnur eldgos urðu í Vatnajökli frá Bárðarbungu (Visir.is, Icelandic, video, images)

Article updated at 00:50 UTC on 04-March-2016. Error fixes.
Article updated at 21:16 UTC on 05-March-2016. Error fixes.