Eruption in Iceland - Geldingardalur - minor fissure eruption
So the last 3 weeks has been crazy, we've had over 40,000 earthquakes, bigger ones being around 5.0-5.6, many around 3-5, and thousands under 3. This is an area not far from the blue lagoon and Grindavík, about 30km from Reykjavík.
We finally got the expected fissure eruption, its thankfully located in a small valley surrounded by hills so the threat of the lava flow is zero, and its quite small in size this little eruption.
Here is a live feed from the eruption:
BBC coverage:
https://grapevine.is/ for lots more photos, video of the eruption and news in English.
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Last edited by Thor; 03-25-2021 at 01:57 AM.
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Love volcanoes. This one is interesting having been to the country recently.
Thor, is the location west of highway 43? I haven’t found a good description of exactly where. EDIT, north of Suðurstrandarvegur (therefore east of 43)?
What surprises me the most is how close people are getting. I read they’ve closed the area now because of air quality but as seen in this video there were lots of people out there, more than we saw at any tourist attraction we were at in August. I guess the hike to the valley is long and they have had a number of rescues from tired people or people who got lost.
I talked to that Drone guy who flew so damn close, amazingly no damage to the drone, I had another friend who had some melt on his drone, nothing that disabled it, but still lol
This is a strange eruption, there are early indications that the lava from this eruption is very deep, and could mean a long eruption as it's not from a shallow lava lake below, if this is the case this eruption would be very unique and rare.
Quote:
An examination of its volcanic products suggests that the magma flows from a depth of 17-20 km (10-12 mi), and is of a more primitive sort than we’ve seen before.
Lava flow from shield volcanoes is generally slow, but it can continue for a long time - possibly years. Such a scenario cannot be ruled out with regard to the current eruption in Geldingadalur, Fagradalsfjall mountain, states geologist Magnús Á. Sigurgeirsson. The magma flows at a volume of 5-10 m3/second.
Among well-known shield volcanoes on the Reykjanes peninsula is Þráinsskjöldur, formed about 14,100 years ago. Another shield volcano, better known, is Skjaldbreiður, northeast of Þingvellir National Park, created 9,000 years ago.
Iceland Review has a map of the hiking trail now. Also good on search and rescue volunteers who marked a trail. It’s only 3.5kms one way which isn’t too bad. Though that area is pretty exposed.
Spoiler for size.
Spoiler!
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Lava flow from shield volcanoes is generally slow, but it can continue for a long time - possibly years. Such a scenario cannot be ruled out with regard to the current eruption in Geldingadalur, Fagradalsfjall mountain, states geologist Magnús Á. Sigurgeirsson. The magma flows at a volume of 5-10 m3/second.
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So a new fissure opened up a few hundred meters from the main eruption, the area was evacuated, but again no real threat to anyone as this area is still quite remote.
The webcam was moved and is showing the lava flow from the new fissure. edited, added a multi-camera youtube channel to see all the available cameras in the area.
__________________ Allskonar fyrir Aumingja!!
Last edited by Thor; 04-07-2021 at 03:46 AM.
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No, this is a rather small fissure eruption, its only spewing out lava and some gases, nothing much at this point.
Interesting interview yesterday from Iceland's most respected vulcanologist, some of the points he made were fascinating:
The lava is ancient, has not been seen in 6000 years in Iceland, its coming from the mantle/crust boundry 15-20km below the surface.
Because of the depth of this magma, its likely this will last a long time, he was hesitant to answer details, but hinted at many years.
This depth of lava also suggests that the Reykjanes penninsula is waking up, an area from the international airport to the capital region. This could mean more and more frequen fissure eruptions in this whole area.
An interesting tid bit was the suggestion that this puts the world famous blue lagoon at risk, as the super heated water it uses at its geothermal plant could reach temps that would force it to close. Currently the lagoon is closed due to risks of superheated water getting into the lagoon with little to no notice.
The current eruption site expanded 2 days ago to three new fissures, 200m away from the original eruption. They can see a drop in 1m level in a straight line between the two points, suggesting more fissures could be imminent.
__________________ Allskonar fyrir Aumingja!!
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It seemed to me like more of these geological events have been in the news over the past few years, but according the internet, there isn't an increase of volcanic activity. In fact, the world has been on the low-end of average over the past decade. The eruptions have been happening in areas that are easier to report on.
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It seemed to me like more of these geological events have been in the news over the past few years, but according the internet, there isn't an increase of volcanic activity. In fact, the world has been on the low-end of average over the past decade. The eruptions have been happening in areas that are easier to report on.
So the Gods are NOT angry, and it’s NOT the end times?
Oh man. I have some people to apologize to.
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The one very concerning thing in Iceland is the retreating and shrinking glaciers that cover most of our most deadly volcanoes. With the glaciers getting thinner means less pressure on the big volcanoes like Katla (Eyjafjallajökull's BIG sister x10 bigger), and a few others we'd rather not see erupt.
With this new activity in Reykjanes Penninsula and the thinning of glaciers, the retreat of them, we are expecting a lot more big eruptions in Iceland, which would be very bad news for everyone.
Eruption in Iceland - Geldingardalur - minor fissure eruption
