Posted on by Jón Frímann

Update on Bárðarbunga and Askja volcanoes at 13:34 UTC

This is a none picture update on Askja and Bárðarbunga volcanoes. The reason for this none picture update is that I haven’t had time to work on the images yet. This is the first time this has happened in Iceland since modern recording started. What is going to come out of this I do not know yet.

If you are in the area. Please don’t go into the closed area. There are fines for during so and it is also extremely dangerous since we don’t know properly what happens and risk of sudden flood is high and growing. Eruption might start at any time without warning, both outside the glacier and inside the glacier. If an eruption takes place in a glacier covered area, that means sudden glacier flood that are going to kill you if you are in flood path. In such glacier flood it is not just mud, volcano material, but also an ice bergs that are larger than 5 floor houses. If you get lost in such flood, the chance of being rescued from such flood are none. If you want to watch what is now unfolding do so at the save distance, this show is going to big according to my earliest estimate and guess work (not going to publish that here).

Askja volcano

  • The dyke from Bárðarbunga volcano has entered Askja volcano. Not the fissure swarm, the volcano it self.
  • Askja volcano status has been elevated to Yellow.

Bárðarbunga volcano

  • Cauldrons in Vatnajökull glacier that is on top of Bárðarbunga volcano have not grown during the night.
  • The water seems to be flowing into Grímsvötn (Grímsfjall volcano) lake. It has risen close to 15 meters in the past few days.
  • Earthquake activity is high. Both in the main volcano were a magnitude 5,4 earthquake (EMSC magnitude, USGS magnitude) took place today (28-August-2014) at 08:13 UTC. The earthquake took place in the caldera rim as most of the large earthquakes have happened.
  • Over 1300 earthquakes happened yesterday in the north end of the dyke swarm.
  • Cracks have started to happen in the crust above the dyke. This means the dyke is getting wider and is higher up in the crust then suggested by earthquake activity. There are reports of small cauldrons in Dyngjujökull glacier in the area, in the place were the glacier is thinnest and ending.
  • Harmonic tremor remains high on all SIL stations around Bárðarbunga volcano.

The situation is extremely dynamic and is going to change fast in next 24 to 48 hours. I am now close to 80% sure that an eruption is going to take place in both Askja volcano and Bárðarbunga volcano, since minor eruptions have been taking place under the glacier already.

119 Replies to “Update on Bárðarbunga and Askja volcanoes at 13:34 UTC”

  3. Well said ohr! The tone of some of comments left on here give the impression people are overspeculating/catastrophising. Jon is much more grounded in his approach.

  4. Anyone having problem opening live webcam. Was on it and then box popped up saying server could not play movie. I went back and the link is now dead. Any ideas

  5. What do you think the chances are that the dike is gonna bypass Askja, but stay in the G swarm, and make for clear seismic faults up near where the G swarm splits, say by where the VEGG station is.
    I understand there are some exposed tectonic faults up there, that haven’t been injected by previous intrusions.

    That would get you nearly to Krafla.

  6. There is a stable source of light on the Mila webcams. Difficult to see. Could be a car.

  10. Is that lava erupting from a fissure in the Mila cam? Color looks like it is. Doesn’t look like car lights to me. I see three distinct light sources, not two. Also importantly I see a large spike in activity on the DYN and other graphs that would corroborate the increase in activity.

    1. Okay yes that’s erupting lava according the new headline Volcano Cafe “Eruption has started”. Looks minor so far but as magma pressure decreases that might actually increase the lava flow from the mantle if the rift reaches that far down (guessing it does). Wow.

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