Posted on by Jón Frímann

Going back to being Iceland volcano and earthquake blog from midnight (21.03.2012)

One of the lessons in life is that something you do does not always work, this is what I learn from when it comes down it. Sometimes it does not work first time around, sometimes it does work second time around. Sometimes it just does not work at all. My change in focus on this blog falls into the last group. It does not seems to work in my opinion of my readers. While only few have expressed this opinion to me. I take it seriously. Based on the opinions that I have heard so far. I have come to the following conclusions and made this decision following it.

From midnight UTC time. This blog is going to be renamed back into being Iceland volcano and earthquake blog. This means my focus is only going to be Iceland and nothing else (well, maybe I make an exception or two if it something really interesting) . As has been told here in comments there are other bloggers how cover other parts of the world and do an good job of it.

So from midnight. This blog and the forum is going back to the name “Iceland volcano and earthquake blog”. This also covers the forum. But the change is going to be more dramatic there. As I am going to arrange it in accordance with this change. No posts are going to be deleted, but are going to move around a bit. No blog posts are going to be deleted from this blog do to this name change. It is part of history in my view.

38 Replies to “Going back to being Iceland volcano and earthquake blog from midnight (21.03.2012)”

  1. Good decision Jón. I read your blog whenever I have time and I love to read about Iceland and its capricious volcanoes. And from reading I learn. I do not always write comments, but I do read a lot and I suppose many others do the same. It is good, I think, to write on volcano & earthquake related stories from other places too from time to time, like just now on the Mexican earthquake…

  2. Glad you are going to concentrate on the subject which you have special knowledge on that no one else can write – Volcanoes of Iceland. That makes your website unique and interesting.

  3. Jon: I know I’ve been critical on Twitter of some of your posts for overreaching. Some of this may simply be a language barrier, some of it is probably your enthusiasm for the subject carrying you to conclusions that go beyond what a conservative scientist would read into limited data. Don’t let these criticism’s stifle your curiosity or your will to express it. When I criticize it’s because I want to see my fellow geobloggers do a better job of communicating science, not less of it. If my criticism has not been constructive then I’m the one who isn’t communicating effectively.

    Keep on blogging, on whatever topics interest you. Take criticism in stride. There may be things to learn from your critics, but stifling your curiosity is never one of them.

  4. Wow, yeah, great decision Jon 🙂 Happy for you 😀 You are such a great writer, but I know that Iceland is where your heart belongs 🙂

  5. I like your decision. The best blogs out there are focused on one topic: the author’s area of expertise. Just don’t be afraid to cover other topics occasionally when they are interesting and you can give good input. I really liked your coverage of El Hierro. I also think you could provide good information on anything volcanic in the North Atlantic, such as the Cape Verde islands, Madeira, and the Azores.

  7. I have now updated the mobile plugin for this web site. It now should work properly for all mobile devices out there. Both iphone and other types of mobile phones that are out there.

  8. It is not that I dont want to hear about other countries volcanology, but Iceland is only a few hundred miles from us in the Hebrides, so what happens there is likely to affect us, so my interest is primarily there. However, that interest has sparked considerable research and I now know a lot more about what happened and how our area was formed primarily by the Atlantic Ridge.

    Your site is educational and informative, keep up the good work!

  9. @Jon: Would it be worth writing a blog post about the change in depth of the EQ at Katla? More and more quakes are going deep down.

  10. Jon I personally liked the previous name but I understand why you changed it back to the original name. I don’t mind updates about other areas. Maybe you can collapse the updates for other areas, that way you can still post them here with a + next to it to expand that post that is not related to Iceland. I don’t know.. Either way I’ll still keep coming here.

    If you find this stuff can be heavy on the mind, it can help a lot to learn a small meditation to slow the ‘over thinking.’ When you notice your mind focusing too much on a subject like this that bothers you, focus completely on three breaths. That’s it. It will help to slow the mind that will obsess on subjects, because that is what the mind can do when it gets momentum.

    Thank you Jon.

  11. Dear Jón,

    I am one of the readers on your blog who seldom places a comment or question.
    It’s a very good decision to go back to only Iceland!
    I didn’t like it, that you – when el Hierro erupted – immediately changed the name in Iceland and Canary islands (I know the name is not complete / correct, but now everybody knows what I mean).
    I fell in love with Iceland when I first visited this beautiful island in 1997.
    When Fimmvörduhals and in succession Eyja erupted, I started reading this blog (still miss the comments of Carl le Strange and others from those “early” days though, but I know changes are part of a vivid blog)!
    Anyway, the blog became more and more “fragmented” (as I’ve read in other comments, but it’s a good definition of what was happening) and finally it concerned the entire planet.
    I understand that, with quiet times in Iceland, you write about other interesting geologic / vulcanic subjects. Maybe – like you mentioned yourself before – you can write about historic eruptions / geology in Iceland.
    As for me, my primary interest (love) is Iceland, that’s why I choose this blog in the first place! So, for me, the majority of the blog posts / comments should be focused on Iceland! But, that’s my opinion!
    An idea for event’s outside Iceland is this: on the best dutch site covering Iceland (www.ijsland-enzo), you can subscribe on the “earthquake email service”.
    Everytime when there is an earthquake or significant eruption on the globe, you receive an email.
    For example: yesterday I received such an email about the Mexican quake. This email provides a link to a site with information on the quake in question (mostly USGS). So I can decide to look there or not.
    Emails about an eruption, contain a link to the site of John Seach (volcanologist).
    If you should have a “system” like this, you can write about Icelandic volcanoes and geology on your blog and meanwhile provide an opportunity to your blog readers to stay informed on other events on this earth.
    Funny: in my first phrase, I said that I seldom write on this blog; but when I start writing….
    Finally my last positive comment: via this blog I met someone who is now a good friend of mine (the question about the Landrover, last november).
    Whatever you do Jón, I stay loyal to your blog and keep on reading it!

    Henk
    Holland

  12. Its not exactly Occams Razor but near enough, a simple explanation about volcanoes and earthquakes is better than an overly complex one. I was thinking the blog was getting a bit overly complex so I am glad to have it back to the simple but imformative blog it used to be. Keep up the good work

  14. A volcano tourist company in Iceland did send me this.
    —
    A unique opportunity for adventurous travelers to descent into an Icelandic volcano magma chamber opens up this summer

    Inside the Volcano

    Here is a trip of a lifetime: For the first time in history, travelers coming to Iceland this summer will have the opportunity to see what a volcano looks like on the inside. The dormant Thrihnukagigur volcano near Reykjavik, Iceland is the only place on earth where a huge volcanic magma chamber is accessible and currently safe to explore. The size and scope of the chamber participants can descent into is enormous; it is bottle shaped and its ground space is equivalent to almost three full-sized basketball courts. The distance from top to bottom is about 150 meters (450 ft.) a little short of three NYC’s Statues of Liberty planted on top of each other.

    The operation of this unique and exclusive tour, only available for a period of 6-8 weeks in the summer of 2012, is a part of an ongoing environmental-, geological,- and marketing research on the volcano.

    Future plans are to make the phenomenon accessible to the public and to create one of the most unique tourist attractions in the world. Visitors would then walk from the slopes of the Thrihnukagigur volcano through a ground tunnel to a viewing platform inside the crater from where the enormous size and amazing colors of the chamber could be enjoyed. An environmental impact assessment is currently being conducted and license applications are in process. Hence, all participants in this year’s tour will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about their experience.

    The tour being offered this coming summer will be unique in the way that participants will descent 120m/380ft through the top crater and down to the ground bottom of the magma chamber, accompanied by experienced and specially trained guides. An open elevator system is used in the operation, transporting participants up and down the chamber in a cable lift. All equipment and processes have been tested extensively and approved by the administration of Occupational Safety and Health in Iceland.

    The tour will be operated from June 15th – Jule 31st with several confirmed departures each day during that period. The tour is operated in small groups and takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete, including up to one hour inside the volcano. Prices start from USD 270,- / EUR 200,- per person.

    For more information, visit the website:
    http://www.insidethevolcano.com

    Thrihnukagigur volcano last erupted over 4000 years ago. It’s located approximately 30km/20miles from Reykjavik. The magma chamber, in which participants in the tour will be descending into, is often referred to as the heart of a volcano. It’s there where the liquid rock awaits to find a way through the surface, causing a volcanic eruption. In most cases, the crater usually closes after the eruption with hard cold lava. Thrihnukagigur volcano is a rare exception of this, being a case where the magma in the chamber has disappeared. It’s believed that the magma solidified on the walls or quite simply went back to the depths of the earth.
    —-

    While I am not going to put this into a blog post. I am going post it here into the comment. Even if this is just an advertisement for this tour.

    1. It certainly sounds (& looks) interesting, as for this going back to Iceland volcano and earthquake blog i think it’s a great idea.

    2. Yes there was a TV documentary on this volcano not long ago. It was a good watch.

  15. Jon, I completely agree with your decision. There are tons of blogs for other parts of the world, and you have staked your claim on Iceland blogging long ago. There will always be critics, ups and downs, and periods where not a lot goes on, but they don’t matter much when you’re doing what you love to do. You can always make a totally separate blog for world volcanoes, but I agree, keep the Iceland Volcano and Earthquake Blog!!

  18. Good decision Jon. You have certainly many silent followers (like me, because I’m interested by Iceland, but don’t really knows about).
    I’d really like to descent into an Icelandic volcano magma chamber … Thanks for this information even if I don’t if possible for me (money and holidays …).

  19. Good decision Jón, continue the good work!
    By the way, did you change the mobile site? It seems that we can’t see the comments anymore 🙁

    1. I did change about the plugin that handles mobile web site. But I am going to test a new plugin to handle mobile devices.

      I have tested the web site on my Nokia N8. It works without any issues there.

      [Comment updated at 03:04 UTC on 22.03.2012]
      [Comment updated at 03:18 UTC on 22.03.2012]

      1. Now the mobile version is really fast and a pleasure to read! The previous plugin was slower than snail’s hesitation and a major pain on my ass to read.

      2. I am using the same plugin as before. But it did some updates on it own.

        I am currently looking for a good mobile plugin for my wordpress web sites.

  20. That is true, Jon. I am also one of the silent followers, and I read your blog because of the information about activity in Iceland.
    Keep up the good work! 🙂

  21. Hi Jon, Good instinct! …

    For me , it is hard enough keeping up with even a couple of blogs. Back during the eruption of el Hierro, it was more than I could manage to just follow the Hierroens FB page.

    Glad to see you retreat to an Icelandic core interest.

  23. Because I was not here a long time, perhaps a silly question: Why are the avatars sitting on the name – and how I can change this ?

  24. little stupid question…
    im going in iceland next week, any chance i can get lucky and see katla erupt?

    1. I think it’s too quiet there, but have a nice journey to iceland!
      I’m a little bit jealous…
      But this time it’s El Hierro (next week)!

      1. By the way: Jon, thanks for going back to a iceland volcano blog. I’m looking for some of my (not professional) photos and will post them into the forum. I don’t know now if it’s better to post them under the volcanos or in the photo-thread.
        Any proposal?

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