I wish all my readers Merry Christmas 2011. I hope that everyone have it good during the holidays.
Days off schedule during Christmas
During this Christmas I am going to take few days off. This means that I am not going to update this blog unless something major happens. The days that I am going to take off are 24, 25 and 26 December. This is according to how Icelandic people hold there Christmas. Some automatic posts are going to appear on the 24th December. But that is about it.
Ongoing earthquake activity in Katla volcano (Week 50)
Yesterday and today there has been some earthquake activity in Katla volcano. While this earthquake activity is less then what have been taking place during the past few months this activity is bit higher then it used to be during the winter times. The largest earthquakes so far have had the magnitude around ML2.0 (from what I can tell). Currently this earthquake activity is limited to three areas inside Katla volcano caldera according to report from Iceland Meteorological Office.
Earthquakes in Katla volcano during the past 48 hours. The ares with most earthquake activity can clearly be seen inside Katla volcano caldera. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Meteorological Office.
This earthquake activity is more then compared to the winters few years back. Here is an comparison from the years 2009 and 2010 in Week 50 (current Week).
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano during Week 50 in the year 2009. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Meteorological Office.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano during Week 50 in the year 2010. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Meteorological Office.
As can be seen with this comparison, the earthquake activity now in Katla volcano is considerable higher then in what is called an normal year in terms of activity in Katla volcano. What this means is unclear. But this suggests an eruption is not far away in Katla volcano. But when and how big is impossible to know at current time. Many of the earthquake swarms in Katla volcano are due to dike intrusions taking place in the Katla volcano caldera. But not all of them get to the surface to start an eruption. However such activity can and has increased hydro-thermal activity inside Katla volcano caldera. As has been evident during the past few months in Katla volcano caldera.
Earthquake swarm in Bárðarbunga volcano
During the night there was an small earthquake swarm in Bárðarbunga volcano. The largest earthquake in this earthquake swarm was ML3.04 in magnitude. It had the depth of 8.5 km. This might have been a n dike intrusion. But it is hard to know that for sure at the moment. This earthquake swarm only lasted for an about 2 to 3 hours before it stopped.
The location of the earthquake swarm in Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Meteorological Office.
The earthquake swarm also did appear clearly on the tremor plots on the SIL stations that are close to Bárðarbunga volcano. The second set of spikes there are from Hamarinn volcano. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Meteorological Office.
This earthquake swarm was also seen on Grímsfjall volcano SIL station. The rise in harmonic tremor is due to a storm that is passing over Iceland at the moment (going to go over Iceland today). Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Meteorological Office.
Hamarinn volcano
Following the earthquake swarm in Bárðarbunga volcano an earthquake swarm did start in Hamarinn volcano. This earthquake swarm is so far small and the largest earthquake so far is an ML1.9 in magnitude. But Hamarinn volcano had an minor eruption in July 2011. That minor eruption created an glacier flood that was larger then the flood that did come from Mýrdalsjökull glacier the week earlier. Activity after that has however been little and few earthquakes have taken place. It is impossible to know if there is going to be any more eruptions in Hamarinn volcano. But it cannot be ruled out given current activity in it.
Year in review on Rúv News
Rúv News has put up an page with major events in Iceland during the year 2011.
Grímsfjall volcano eruption in May 2011 can be viewed here.
The glacier flood from Mýrdalsjökull glacier due to the small eruption in Katla volcano can be found here. Sadly there is no mention of glacier flood from Hamarinn volcano yet.
This video should be available outside Iceland. If it is not. Please let me know I can send an complain email to Rúv News about it.
The dormant volcanoes in Iceland
While all the active volcanoes in Iceland get all the press and coverage. There are volcanoes in Iceland that are not so active and have remain dormant for thousands of years now and currently do not show any signs of activity. Some have some hot spring activity. But that is about it for them. The following volcanoes in Iceland have not erupted in historical times. Some have not even erupted in past 12.000 years best to my knowledge. But as history has proved in other parts of the world. An dormant volcano can start to erupt when it feels like it and without any warning at all in some cases.
This is based on Global Volcanism Program data. So it might be subject to errors and updates.
Volcano
Hrómundartindur – Last eruption is unknown. This volcano is an stratovolcano.
Grensdalur – Last eruption was in Pleistocene and its current status is Pleistocene-Fumarolic. This volcano is an stratovolcano.
Grímsnes – Last eruption is believed to have taken place around 3500 BC. But this volcano is marked as tephrochronology. This volcano makes crater rows when it erupts.
Geysir – This volcano last erupted in Pleistocene and is marked as Pleistocene-Geysers. This is an stratovolcano.
Hveravellir – This volcano last erupted around the year 950 AD. It is currently marked as radiocarbon. This is an subglacial volcano.
Hofsjökull – This volcano has erupted sometimes in the last 12.000 years. It has the marking holocene. This is an subglacial volcano. The second volcano in this system is not marked in GVP database. But that volcano is named Kerlingarfjöll. I do not know when it last erupted. There is also an embeeded second volcano in Hofsjökull volcano that is Independent from the main Hofsjökull volcano (yes, this is the case it seems). I do not have any idea when that did last erupt.
Esjufjöll – This is an sub-glacier volcano in Vatnajökull glacier. Its last eruption is uncertain. But is believed to taken place in the year 1927. From the year 2000 this volcano has been showing signs of increased activity. This volcano is an stratovolcano.
Fremrinamur – This volcano is last believed to have erupted in the year 1200 BC. This volcano is an stratovolcano.
Þeystareykjabunga – This volcano last erupted around the year 900 BC. This volcano is an shield volcano.
Snæfellsjökull – This volcano last erupted around 200 AD. It is currently marked as radiocarbon. This is an stratovolcano.
Helgrindur (also known as Lysuhóll) – This volcano has no record of eruption. But it is thought that it erupted sometimes in the past 12.000 years. But exact time is not known. This volcano makes pyroclastic cones. This volcano is the smallest volcano system in Iceland.
Tindafjallajökull – It is unknown if this volcano has erupted during holocene. But the GVP information say that dozen of small eruptions took place in early holocene. This is an stratovolcano.
Snæfell – This volcano is located east of Vatnajökull glacier and south of Kverkfjöll volcano. It was once believed that this volcano was extinct. But new research into it has changed that opinion. This is most likely an stratovolcano. But I do not have it confirmed. This volcano has at least not erupted for several thousands years or more. Currently there are no information about this volcano in the Global Volcanism Program database.
Skrokkalda – This volcano is dormant. But I do not know if it has erupted in historical times or not, but I do no think that is the case. I am also not sure what type of volcano it is.
There are few more volcanoes missing due the fact that they are not in the Global Volcanism Program database. But I have them on a map that I own. So they are going to be added later when I update this blog post.
Harmonic tremor continues to drop in El Hierro volcano
It seems that currently the eruption in El Hierro volcano is coming to an end. I do not know if this is an permanent end to the current eruption or just an short break in it. The reports that I have seen so far suggest that the main crater out of the coast of La Restinga has stopped erupting. The current harmonic tremor however suggests that an eruption is still taking place somewhere. But I have no idea where that might be at current time, and so far no clues where that might be. But the lack of earthquakes north of El Hierro Island suggests that an eruption might be taking place there. But that is just speculation.
The harmonic tremor in El Hierro volcano at 20:36 UTC. Copyright of this picture belongs to IGN (Instituto Geográfico Nacional).
Other then this. There is not that much to report from the eruption in El Hierro volcano, or what is left of it at current time. If there are any major changes. I am going to report them soon as I can. But at current time. It does not look like there is isn’t a lot needed to be reported on the eruption in El Hierro volcano.
More man made earthquakes in Hengill volcano
Since 04:49 UTC this morning (17 December, 2011) there has been an earthquake swarm in Hengill volcano. This earthquake swarm is due to hydro-thermal power production that is currently taking place in this area. But the Orkuveita Reykjavíkur (OR) is obligated to pump down cold water into the bedrock at depth that is greater then 800 meters. This water is used hot water that they pump up from the ground to warm houses and make electricity.
The earthquake swarm at 12:45 UTC on 17 December, 2011. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Met Office.
The evolution of the earthquake swarm since it did start. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Met Office.
The earthquake swarm as it did appear on my geophone at Heklubyggð. But the geophone at Eyrarbakki is scheduled to be up and running in next week. This picture is released under Creative Commons licence. See top bar for more information under CC Licence.
The earthquake swarm in Hengill volcano is currently ongoing. So far the largest earthquakes have had the size ML2.1 according to the automatic SIL system. Due the high number of earthquakes, the earthquakes have been wrongly placed on the map of Iceland that Iceland Met Office has. This are not real earthquakes in most cases, just wrongly located earthquakes that are taking place in Hengill volcano. The earthquake swarm is currently ongoing. If there are any major changes to this earthquake swarm. I am going to update this blog post with information about it.
Short overview of volcano eruptions in Canary Islands
Here is an short overview of volcano activity in Canary Islands during the past 1000 years. But I do not want to go any more back in time. But this is similar to what I did about Iceland few months ago. For refrence I am using Global Volcanism Program data. I do not have any other data point at the moment. This blog post is going to be updated as more eruptions takes place. This is the same thing that I do with historical overview about volcano eruptions in Iceland.
Year of eruption
Gran Canaria has not had any eruption in past 1000 years.
Fuerteventura has not had any eruption in past 1000 years.
Year ~1060, eruption starts in Tenerife.
Year ~1480 eruption takes place in La Palma.
Year 1492, eruption starts in Tenerife on ~24 August.
Year 1585, May 19. Eruption starts in La Palma. It lasts until 10 August.
Year 1646, eruption starts on 2 October in La Palma. It lasts until 21 December.
Year 1677, eruption starts on November 17 in La Palma. It lasts until 21 January 1678.
Year 1704, eruption starts in Tenerife on 31 December. It last until 27 March in the year 1705.
Year 1706, eruption starts in Tenerife on May 5. It lasts until 13 June.
Year 1712, eruption starts on October 9 in La Palma. It lasts until 3 December.
Year 1730, eruption starts on September 1 in Lanzarote. It lasts until April 16 in the year 1736.
Year 1798, eruption starts in Tenerife on June 9. It lasts until ~14 September.
Year 1824, eruption starts in Lanzarote on July 31. It lasts until 24 October.
Year 1909, eruption starts in Tenerife on November 19. It lasts until November 27. It lasts until November 27.
Year 1949, eruption starts on June 24 in La Palma. It lasts until 30 July.
Year 1971, eruption starts on October 26 in La Palma. It last until November 18.
This blog post is going to be updated regularly.
Blog post updated at 20:55 UTC. Fixed some errors in the text.
Reduced information for next few months on this blog
So, the school is out for me. This means that the second phase of my plan is now on. But that means I am going to live with my mom and dad for next several months. This however has that problem that I cannot run my main computers, this means my access to the data that I have collected during the years is limited to none. I also am not able to post high resolution earthquake traces in this time period. As my main earthquake computer is going to remain offline until I move back to Denmark. The earthquake traces are going to remain online as they have been. As the remote stations them self update the images for the moment. This is also going to be case with the new geophones that go up in December (2011) and in January 2012.
My plan is to move back to Denmark sometimes around the time May to July in the year 2012. But I start to look for apartment for an rent (around 3500 DKK) in March of 2012. All suggestions on good apartments in Denmark are welcomed, I prefer renting from an renting companies. Not private individuals. I already have some idea where I might be located when I move back to Denmark. I hopeful that I am going to be just outside Copenhagen. While I am living with mom and dad I am collecting money for the move back to Denmark, as moving from Iceland is not cheap (cost just for my belongings is estimated around 300.000 ISK, or around 14.000 DKK, 1.893€, $2.469 with current exchange rate on ISK). I have already collected some of the money needed for the move back to Denmark. But I need bit more so I can also pay insurance on the apartment + one month in rent ahead of time (at least) + one month with full rent without rental benefits in Denmark (at least). I also want to collect for new television (I do not watch television that much. I just like to figure out what I can get on it. It is one of my hobbies).
This is my current status. It is all moving along for me as I had planned (even bit faster then I had originally planned).
Until I move back to Denmark. I am going to do my best to update this blog properly with pictures and everything. It is also an factor that my mom and dad only have slow 3G internet connection. It can also drop out if there is heavy snow or rain taking place. So I might be out of internet connection suddenly at times. But I hope that does not happen often.
Other: Look what Foo Fighters did in New Zealand. Foo Fighters New Zealand gig causes ‘volcanic tremor’ (BBC News)
Update on the eruption in El Hierro volcano (13 December, 2011)
Here is a long overdue update on the eruption in El Hierro volcano. But the eruption in El Hierro volcano is now in its third month.
Overall there has not been a lot of change in the eruption that is taking place in El Hierro volcano. But from what I can gather the eruption is taking place in just one vent at the moment. But that is common with this type of eruption. As they start with an fissure, but they end up just one vent erupting and building an cinder cone. Currently the eruption is taking place underwater. But that does not stop it from building an cinder cone. If the eruption continues long enough it is going to form an new island in this location. If that happens, the eruption is going to go from ash making eruption and down to lava eruption. Islands that form in this type of eruptions stand an better chance of lasting more then few months in the ocean. As the eroding powers of the ocean can wipe out a new Island in matter of months if it is just made out of volcanic tuff material.
Current harmonic tremor in El Hierro volcano eruption. The spikes are believed to be explosions taking place in the eruption area. Copyright of this picture belongs to IGN (Instituto Geográfico Nacional).
Steam event taking place in the eruption of El Hierro volcano. This picture is from 4 December, 2011. Copyright of this picture belongs to IGN (Instituto Geográfico Nacional).
There is also an other event that has mostly gone unnoticed by people. But that is the fact that earthquakes have stopped in north part of El Hierro volcano, current rate of earthquakes is close to zero during 24 hour period. This strongly suggests that an eruption has started in north part of El Hierro volcano. I have no idea where it, as there are no signals at the surface of the ocean that give clues to where this eruption might be taking place. But an similar drop in earthquakes took place just after the eruption in south El Hierro volcano started. The depth in north part of El Hierro Island increases sharply and any eruption that is currently taking place on more depth then 1000 meters is going to be hard to impossible to detect properly.
I am going to continue to monitor the eruption in El Hierro volcano. If there are any major changes. I am going to report it soon as I can do so.