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Extensive research into Eyjafjallajökull volcano ash cloud

According to news on Rúv. The British government is starting a major research into the ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull volcano. The size of this research is big and the cost is around 3 million pound. The aim of this research is into how ash cloud behaves, how it spreads and to compare models to reality. This research might also aim to improve satellite detection of ash clouds. But it proved to be not quite reliable in the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption that took place in the year 2010.

Icelandic news about this. I have not found any english news about this yet. Use Google translate like when you play the lottery. Hope for the best.

Viðamikil gosrannsókn (Rúv, Icelandic)

News in english about this. Thanks to Erik Klemetti how did point this out.

£530,000 to study Icelandic volcano (Press Release)
New Class of Ceramic Coatings Could Protect Jet Engines from Volcano Ash (Related press relase)

Post updated at 19:49 UTC on 22 April 2011.

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Risk of volcano ash flood in Eyjafjallajökull volcano

Almannavarnir in Iceland did send out this warning earlier tonight. There is a heavy rain going over south of Iceland. This means that there is a risk of ash floods from south side of Eyjafjallajökull volcano. As that area is still covered in heavy ash after the last year eruption. People traveling in this area is advised to monitor the news or the website vegagerdin.is and vedur.is for more information. The area in the most risk of flooding is Þórsmörk and other rivers that come from Eyjafjallajökull volcano. The most heavy rain is forecast to start from 22:00 UTC and last until 12:00 UTC on 22 April 2011. But this forecast can change without any warning at all. So it is important to monitor the weather forecast for changes.

News about this in Icelandic. Use Google translate if you want to solve a puzzle.

Varað við vatnavöxtum undir Eyjafjallajökli (Icelandic, sunnlenska.is)
Varað við vatnavöxtum á Suðurlandi (Icelandic, Rúv)
Vara við úrkomu og vatnavöxtum (Icelandic, mbl.is)

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Few earthquakes in Iceland, interesting events at Kverkfjöll volcano

Currently it is quiet in Iceland when it comes to earthquakes. It is also quiet in Icelandic volcanoes. As no volcano shows clear signs that is about to start erupting. But in this quiet period it is easy to miss the earthquake signs that appear in Icelandic volcanoes.

A volcano named Kverkfjöll has been showing increased signs of unrest over the past few years. So far the largest earthquake swarm took place few years ago. When a cluster of ML2.5 to ML3.5 earthquake took place in it. But since then it has been rather quite. But it is my opinion that Kverkfjöll volcano are on the path to a eruption. But so far it is unclear how and when it might take place. As Kverkfjöll volcano is continues to be a rather quiet volcano, even it is showing slightly higher activity then compared over the last few years. A better SIL network in this are accounts for some of the few earthquakes. But not all of them far as I can tell. In the last 48 hours there have been two earthquakes at rather uncommon place in Kverkfjöll volcano. Both events where small, less then mag 2.0 in size. But those events are part of a pattern that did start in Week 12 of 2011. But even it doesn’t look like a lot. There has been continues activity in Kverkfjöll volcano over the past few weeks and this activity appears to be continuing. I am going to write a better post about it later, when I have better picture of what is going on in Kverkfjöll volcano.

Last earthquake swarm that was in the larger size took place in October 2010. My review of it can be found here, Kverkfjöll volcano shows sign of activity (2010).

Other then this it remains quiet in Iceland. That is why I don’t have a lot too write about at the moment.

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Quiet time continues in Iceland

The quiet times that have been ongoing in Iceland for the past few weeks continue. It has been been my experience over the past few years that when this type of long quiet happens. Usually there is a medium to large event that follows it. Sometimes it is volcanic. But in most cases it is a medium (Mb5.0+) sized earthquake that follows it.

But while the quiet time continues I am going to write a short story and publish it on Amazon as a e-book. More on that when I set-up a special blog about my story publishing.

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One year since the second phase of Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption started

When the Hawaiian phase of the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano finished many people did believe and think that the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano was over for a long time. But they where to proven wrong about 23:30 UTC on the 13. April 2010 when a new phase started in the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption. For the first few hours of the eruption nothing did happen on the surface. As the eruption had to melt the glacier that was on top of it. That did finish around 06:00 UTC on the morning of 14. April 2010 and the eruption broke up to the surface around that time.

The eruption up to this day had just been Hawaiian type eruption with slow moving lavas and with little to no volcano ash at all. The second phase of the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano was mostly of Strombolian type of eruption. With little to heavy ash fall. But in the early start of the eruption and specially when a water got into the crater the ash fall was heavy. The volcano ash cloud did at it’s highest peak go up to 10 km high.

This eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano is not among the Iceland biggest or the longest one. But during the six weeks of eruption it did manage to shut down Europe air-space down to Spain creating a billion euro worth of pure loss to the economic in Europe. But the ash fall did not just create problems in Europe. In Iceland farmers living close to the Eyjafjallajökull volcano got there own share of problems. Most of the problems where due to the ash fall (A video player that can play wmv file required) and the flooding that took place around Eyjafjallajökull volcano that took place because of the melting glacier on top of Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

Other things that where seen in this eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano was a smoke ring, something really rare and most often found in Etna volcano in Italy. But shock waves where also seen and heard across Iceland during this eruption. But it was also recorded when the eruption was throwing up large rocks from the main crater. Some people also made really cool videos of the eruption. Here is one of it.

Among the many things that did happen was the fact that a lava did flow into the glacier and destroy the glacier in the process. This happening in a eruption in Iceland had not been recorded or observed until the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano in the year 2010.


Picture of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano smoke ring. Picture captured from Vodafone IS web cam that was observing the eruption. Copyright of this picture belongs to Vodafone IS. Click on this picture for a full size.

Update: A meeting at University of Iceland tomorrow since it has been one year since the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

Tomorrow from 17:00 to 19:00 UTC at Askja, room 132 and central space. Please see the pdf file for more information about this even. I was asked by a geologist working at University in Iceland to publish this here for anyone how is interested in going to this event.

Eyjafjallajökull one year on at University of Iceland
Click to read this pdf file.

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Overview of Hjofsjökull volcano activity

Hofsfjökull volcano is not among the most activate volcanoes in Iceland. It has never erupted since Iceland got inhabited. The last eruption that took place in Hofsjökull volcano is undated, but took place sometimes in the last 12.000 years or so.

Here is a short overview of the activity since the year 1999 in Hofsjökull volcano. All pictures are from the web site of Icelandic Met Office and copyright of them belongs to them.

Last earthquake swarm took place in Week 47, in the year 1999.

In Week 21, in the year 2008 a harmonic tremor pulse was detected from Hofsjökull volcano. This started at 13:30 UTC on the 24. May 2008.

SIL stations in Iceland showing the harmonic tremor pulse. Picture number one.

SIL stations in Iceland showing the harmonic tremor pulse. Picture number two.

Spectrograph from the SIL station Saurbær (south Iceland, located on the SISZ).

Spectrograph from the SIL station Skrokkalda. This station is located closest to Hofsjökull volcano, along with the SIL station at Hveravöllum hydrothermal area.

During this episode of harmonic tremor one earthquake was detected in north Hofsjökull volcano.

The one earthquake detected in Week 21 in the year 2008. On the week overview for Week 21 in the year 2008 they think that this might have been a swarm of small earthquakes that they where unable to locate. But I do not agree with that, given the data that is published on this event.

Other then this there have been few earthquakes every now and then in Hofsjökull volcano. But besides that it remains quiet and is most likely to be so for the time being.

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Possibility of dike intrusion in Hamarinn volcano

It appears that there is a chance of a dike intrusion in Hamarinn volcano (Loki-Fögrufjöll area). What suggest that there is a dike intrusion starting in Hamarinn volcano is a earthquake swarm that is unusually dense and has a really narrow area. But normal earthquake swarms usually spread over a small area in the align of the fault line.

How this is developing is a good question. But due to lack of earthquakes it is hard to know for sure at the moment. But at the moment it is worth to keep eye on Hamarinn volcano area.

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Deep earthquake in Hofsjökull volcano

Among the most quiet volcanoes in Iceland is Hofsjökull volcano. It has not erupted in at least 12.000 years from it’s main crater (far as I know). But minor fissure eruptions have taken place in the last 12.000 years in the area around Hofsjökull volcano. But they are undated far as I know. Because of that it is now known when the last eruption took place in Hofsjökull volcano. In terms of Icelandic volcanoes, Hofsjökull volcano is more complex then most. South of it lies the Kerlingafjöll volcano. A volcano known for it’s heavy hydrothermal activity. But Kerlingafjöll volcano has not erupted in historical times in Iceland. But they might have erupted in the last 12.000 years without me knowing about it. In the case of Hofsjökull volcano looks are deceiving. According to a geological map that I have of Iceland, in the case of Hofsjökull volcano it has a second magma chamber and a central volcano inside the SW part of it. That volcano is unnamed for oblivious reasons. That volcano might well behave differently then Hofsjökull volcano it self. But I would theorise that this intergrated central volcano inside Hofsjökull volcano is going to be active when Hofsjökull volcano is.

The icecap in Hofsjökull volcano is deep. At it’s deepest point it is 650 meters deep at the most. The deepest points of the icecap are in the main caldera of Hofsjökull volcano. If Chaitén volcano in Chile has teaches geologist anything. It is that a long dormant volcanoes don’t need a long time to go from dormant to active eruption. That is why I find it worrying that deep earthquakes have started to appear in Hofsjökull volcano, even if they are extremely rare so far.

Over the past ten years or so there has been a slight increase in earthquake activity in Hofsjökull volcano along with increase in hydrothermal activity. But so far it has just been a minor earthquakes. The strongest ones getting up to ML3.0 at the strongest. No earthquake swarm have ever been recorded in Hofsjökull volcano to my knowledge (since recording begin in Iceland).. Last earthquake swarm was recorded in Hofsjökull volcano in the year 1999, then a earthquake swarm of 22 earthquakes took place, all of those earthquakes where just minor earthquakes. Besides being one of Iceland largest volcanoes, its location also makes it extremely dangerous. As it is located in the middle of Iceland, and a glacier flood from it could go many different ways down to the ocean and over large populated areas in Iceland. The increase in hydrothermal activity started in Hofsjökull volcano in the year 1994 or about that time. It was at least first documented in that year. A sulphur smell was recorded when the homoeothermal vent was checked out that year in Hofsjökull volcano. Increase in hydrothermal activity in Hofsjökull volcano is interesting as it is followed by a slight increase in earthquake activity over a long period of time.


Location of the two earthquakes. The deep earthquake is the one closer to the caldera. This picture is from Icelandic Met Office web site. The copyright of this picture belongs to them.

The earthquake that started me to get worrying about Hofsjökull volcano is the earthquake that took place 10:11 UTC on 5. April 2011. That earthquake had the depth of 27.6 km. It’s size was ML1.4, so it was a small earthquake. I do not believe that this depth is a result of a error in the SIL system (can happen sometimes). A second earthquake took place at 10:13 UTC, its size was ML1.6 with the depth of 1.6 km.

Whatever that is happening in Hofsjökull volcano is worth watching. Even if it not going to erupt just yet. It is also my opinion that Hofsjökull volcano is not part of Western Iceland Rift Zone (pdf). But its is the most southern part of a failed rift zone often called Skagafjörður volcanic zone (pdf). It is a failed volcanic zone that is mostly extinct, only Hofsjökull volcano and Kerlingarfjöll volcano remain active in that volcanic zone at the most southern end of it.

Other information.

Jarðhiti í Hofsjökli (Tímarit.is, Icelandic, 1996, pdf) – Article with picture of where the hydrothermal vent was found in Hofsjökull glacier.
Hofsjökull (Wiki, english)

Text updated at 18:11 UTC on 6. April 2011. Minor fixes in the text.

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Overview of the earthquake activity in Grímsfjall volcano

Here is a short overview of the activity in Grímsfjall volcano in Week 08 and Week 13 for a comparison. A quick review of the earthquake data on the Icelandic Met Office web page suggests that the current path to a eruption started in Week 07.

It is clear on the pattern that has been evolving over the past four to five weeks where the eruption is most likely going to happen. That location is almost directly below the SIL station that Icelandic Met Office.


Week 08. Picture is from the Icelandic Met Office. Copyright of this picture belongs to Icelandic Met Office. Click on the picture to get full size.


Week 13. Picture is from the Icelandic Met Office. Copyright of this picture belongs to Icelandic Met Office. Click on the picture to get full size.

The evolving cluster of earthquakes can clearly be seen in this week overviews, and other in between them (Week 07 to week 13). It is clear that the magma has found a collection spot inside Grímsfjall volcano. But the question remains where it is going to break it self when a eruption starts. It is rather that question rather then when it happens, given the earthquake pattern that I am seeing coming from Grímsfjall volcano at current time.

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Two earthquakes in Grímsfjall volcano

This two earthquakes did happen in Grímsfjall volcano today. There signature clearly shows that they are created by magma breaking the crust. The background noise (SIL tremor plot) in Grímsfjall volcano also appears to have changed following this two earthquakes. I am not sure why that it. But this two earthquakes might be a pre-sequence to a eruption in Grímsfjall volcano. But it is hard to be sure on that at this moment. But I am sure that it is getting shorter to a eruption in Grímsfjall volcano.


Unallocated earthquake, most likely from Grímsfjall volcano. This picture is released under Creative Commons Licence. See link at top for more information.


Unallocated earthquake. This earthquake is from Grímsfjall volcano. The automatic size is ML2.9. With the depth of 1.1 km. This picture is released under Creative Commons Licence. See link at top for more information.

If anything more interesting happens at Grímsfjall volcano. I am going to post more information about it soon after it happens.