Posted on by Jón Frímann

Eruption started close to Hagafell mountain (Update for Grindavík on 18. December 2023 at 23:17 UTC)

This is a short update. Information here is going to get outdated quickly.

An earthquake swarm started at 21:05 UTC in the dyke area that formed on 10. November 2023. This earthquake swarm is ongoing and seems to be connected to when the eruption fissure expands south towards Grindavík town. The eruption started at 22:17 UTC. There’s a lot of dangerous gas pollution from this eruption. Do not get close to this eruption. This is not a small tourist friendly eruption.

A lot of red dots showing the earthquake activity in the dyke and Svartsengi just before the eruption.
The earthquake activity in the dyke. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

I’ll post new article when I know more in next few hours.

One Reply to “Eruption started close to Hagafell mountain (Update for Grindavík on 18. December 2023 at 23:17 UTC)”

  1. We all knew this would happen, that it was just a matter of time. I think there are really only two main questions for laypersons like myself. 1) How big will this eruption get, and 2) will other areas start showing increased activity, in other words will the “rip” in the crust spread (due to geophysical tension), or is this merely a localized weak spot?

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