An small eruption in Holuhraun

A fissure eruption started around midnight in the Holuhraun lavafield, ca. 9 kilometers north of Dyngjujokull glacier. Lava streams out of a 100 meter long fissure, in the northern part of the lava field, about 15 kilometers south of the Askja caldera. IMO has issued a ONLY orange alert for aviation (there is no danger, it is a small eruption).

The eruption seems to have started near the northern end of the magma intrusion that has been propagating northward from the Bardarbunga caldera since August 16.

Small surface crevasses were seen in the Holuhraun lava field yesterday, leading to increased interest among scientists. The possibility of an eruption migrating southwards, towards the Dyngjujokull glacier cannot be excluded at this time.

Benedikt Ofeigsson, staff member at the Icelandic Met Office is at the scene. In an interview with RUV tonight, he described the eruption as small; lava is flowing to the southeast and some small tephra mantles are coming out of the fissure.

The IMO has issued a red alert (highest) for aviation. That means that airtraffic is restricted in a large area around the eruption. The fissure lies on a northeast - southwest direction.

A live webcam of the eruption can be found at www.mila.is. Road and area restrictions that have been enforced over the last days are still in effect in the area north of the Vatnajokull glacier.

The situation is not serious and is a small eruption. There is a tour company that is already offering a tour to go see the volcano.

Source: www.ruv.is
Jóhanna & Kolla
Iceland24, August 2014

Seismic activity near the Askja caldera

A 4,5 Magnitude earthquake occurred just east of the Askja caldera at 01.52 GMT this morning and strong seismic activity has been detected south of Askja in recent hours. The dike intrusion is believed to have reached a lenght of more than 40 kilometers to the north, towards Askja.

Models of the intrusion, based on GPS measurements of land deformation and earthquake resolutions, indicate that about 20 million m³ of magma have entered the intrusion over the last 24 hours; 3-400 million m³ since the beginning of the episode, on Aug. 16. The intrusion also seems to have caused considerable stress in the bedrock over a large area, including the vicinity of Askja. According to scientists at the Icelandic Met Office, that could explain the 4,5 event near Askja this morning. Most of the seismic activity has however been concentrated near the intrusion, north of Dyngjujokull outlet glacier.

„The 4,5 Magnitude earthquake near Askja was duly noted,“ says Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland. „Our interpretation of that event is that this is a reaction in the rock strata to the intrusion coming from the south. It causes tension, but the earthquake does not signify an impending eruption in Askja.

This is a very interesting sequence of events; big news really in a geological context, even though an eruption has´nt happened yet, and hopefully will not happen. We are looking at the active rift between the plate boundaries in the middle of the country, where much of the volcanic activity has taken place. This particular area has been relatively quiet in recent decades; an intense episode like this has probably not happened for the last hundred years, perhaps not even two hundred years.

How much has the land spread? 

„It´s difficult to say precisely. The intrusion is perhaps 2 - 3 meters wide, but that does not mean that the distance between Egilsstadir and Reykjavik has increased by that; rather the island is being pulled apart, and the landmass on either side is pushed together. But locally, down in the crust, the rock has been cleaved.“

Source: www.ruv.is
Iceland24

Breaking news: Road 864 to Dettifoss has been opened

Road 864 to Dettifoss has been opened again and Ásbyrgi as well. Road 862 to Dettifoss remains closed. The Road and Costal Administration has issued an new map showing the closures as they stand now.

Good news!

Earthquake activity near the subglacial volcano Bardarbunga is still intense, though it has decreased since Sunday. Over 700 earthquakes were detected from midnight to noon Monday. Several earthquakes were above 3.0 magnitude.

Jóhanna, Iceland24
August 2014

Bardarbunga: Aviation alert downgraded

The Icelandic Met Office has downgraded the aviation alert for Bardarbunga, from red to orange, meaning that eruption is not imminent. Subglacial eruption is not thought to have occurred yesterday. Seismic activity is still strong and the dyke intrusion in Dyngjujokull has propagated to the north.

Icelandic Met Office (IMO) said this around 12.00 GMT, after a meeting with scientists and the Civil Protection Agency. The aviation alert was raised yesterday to red, but has now been downgraded to orange. Observations show that a sub-glacial eruption did not take place yesterday as previously thought and the low-frequency seismic signal observed has other explanations.

The dyke intrusion under Dyngjujokull, north and east of the Bardarbunga caldera has however been propagating to the north, and is now believed to be about 30 kilometers long. A 4.2 earthquake was detected there this morning, along with numerous other quakes. Since midnight, more then 700 quakes have been detected in the area. IMO says no indication that the seismic activity is slowing down; therefore an eruption can not be excluded.

Two strong earthquakes occured in the Bardarbunga caldera last night and this morning (Magnitude 5,3 and 4.6). These quakes are associcated with pressure changes in the magma chamber beneath the caldera as magma flows out to the intrusion.

The Civil Protection Agency (CPA) declared an emergency phase yesterday and extended the restricted area north of Vatnajokull. CPA will reassess the situation later today.

Source: www.ruv.is
Iceland24

Small eruption near Bardarbunga

A small volcanic eruption has started near Bardarbunga volcano, according to the Icelandic Met Office. All air traffic is now prohibited in a large radius around the volcano. The met office has upgraded its alert level to red. A 25 km (16 mi) long dike has formed benath the surface.

The main road no. 1 has not been closed, due to the volcanic eruption in Dyngjujökull, North Vatnajökull.

All Icelandic airports are open even though an airspace, 140 x 100 nautical miles, is closed over the sub-glacial eruption site in Vatnajökull.

Jóhanna, Iceland
August 2014