Peter Cobbold Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 There is a large amount of seismic activitiy going on at present under the Rekjanes peninsula SW of Rekjavik near the famous Blue Lagoon. This earthquake map updates every couple of minutes: https://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/reykjanespeninsula/ This blog is a good source of info from locals and experts, scroll to the end of comments for latest thoughts, and links to data streams (eg GPS measurements of terrain uplift : https://www.volcanocafe.org/possible-runup-phase-at-fagradalsfjall/ Enjoy, but have a thought for the Icelanders' uncertainty. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted February 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 It is in the area of Krisuvik solfatera where a phreatic ( steam ) explosion occurred in 1999. I had seen the site before and after, and a concrete block the size of a house, the capping on a borehole, had completely disappeared https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina/the-colourful-geothermal-area-at-seltun-krysuvik-on-the-reykjanes-peninsula-in-sw-iceland Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted February 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 In the past 7 days that site of a high precision GPS station at Krisuvik has moved 80mm east and 40mm south, but within noise for up/down https://notendur.hi.is/~hgeirs/iceland_gps/KRIV_100p.pdf Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barkerwilliams Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 Quite a large area on the move. Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bleednipple Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 A bit of wider context. The very seismically active Reykjanes peninsula, on which Keflavik airport stands, is part of the 16,000 km mid-Atlantic ridge along which new crust is continually being created, pushed up volcanically then outwards in both directions, propelling the continents apart. At Thingvellir you can actually stand astride the fissure that is in a very real way the boundary between (tectonically speaking) the North American and Eurasian continents. It's moving apart at around 2.5cm a year on average, IIRC. (My university tutor, Fred Vine, was one of the pioneers of the geoscience of plate tectonics. He provided in the early sixties one of the early proofs of ocean floor spreading, by flying a magnetometer survey across the Reykjanes Ridge which showed the mirrored 'bar code' of geomagnetic reversals frozen in the new crustal rock.) Anyone who has any kind of chance to visit Iceland should take it, I would say. It's amazing. Driving across the interior is absolutely epic, the closest I've felt to being on another world. Nigel  Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Prof S K Runcorn of N/Tyne univ was part of that mid-60s revolution in geology, measuring remnant magenetism in oceanic crust samples. He was also interested in growth rings in corals as evidence from fossil corals of earth rotation slowing. A friend of mine got the plum job of working on the Great Barrier Reef, diving to attache plastic bags to coral outgrowths and adding strontium to label a   growth ring. He then chopped off the outgrowth for later sectioning an analysis back in N/Tyne. After several weeks he had a large collection of hard-won specimens that needed drying before packaging, so he put them on deck in the sun.                            A deck hand swept the deck clear of the smelly rubbish.    Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 16 hours ago, Bleednipple said: A bit of wider context. The very seismically active Reykjanes peninsula, on which Keflavik airport stands, is part of the 16,000 km mid-Atlantic ridge along which new crust is continually being created, pushed up volcanically then outwards in both directions, propelling the continents apart. At Thingvellir you can actually stand astride the fissure that is in a very real way the boundary between (tectonically speaking) the North American and Eurasian continents. It's moving apart at around 2.5cm a year on average, IIRC. (My university tutor, Fred Vine, was one of the pioneers of the geoscience of plate tectonics. He provided in the early sixties one of the early proofs of ocean floor spreading, by flying a magnetometer survey across the Reykjanes Ridge which showed the mirrored 'bar code' of geomagnetic reversals frozen in the new crustal rock.) Anyone who has any kind of chance to visit Iceland should take it, I would say. It's amazing. Driving across the interior is absolutely epic, the closest I've felt to being on another world. Nigel  Yes, definitely an amazing country, and very well organised for tourists. A 3-night trip based in Rekjavik is a good introduction. We once did a winter day-trip from Liverpool that allowed us to do the Golden Circle bus trip whcih included Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir. The south coast out to Wik and the tongue of Solheimjokull glacier, past Hekla and Eyjaf, and the sea stacks in the Pepsi advert is another 12 hour minbus day-trip. The interior is traversed by a service bus in 10 hours, in summer only. Its a cold desert between distant ice-caps, the dirt road passable only May to first snow, and then only legal to 4wd. Self-drive cars are banned from interior dirt roads and even hired 4x4s are banned from fording rivers, So trips off the perimeter road are best amde by hiring a 4x4 with driver oor in a bus-tour for a group of ca 30. Peter  Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Those of us who had colour telly in 1973 may recall the nightly reports of the eruption on the island of Heimaey off the south coast of Iceland. Here's an account written for Volcancafe by Albert, a professor of planetary geology at Manchester https://www.volcanocafe.org/the-heimaey-story/ First to be evacuated were residents of a nursing home, in such a hurry that they left their dentures behind. A bag with all their false teeth was sent after them, but without any tags to identify the owner................... Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bleednipple Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 6 hours ago, Peter Cobbold said: Self-drive cars are banned from interior dirt roads and even hired 4x4s are banned from fording rivers, So trips off the perimeter road are best amde by hiring a 4x4 with driver oor in a bus-tour for a group of ca 30. We've done quite a few of the interior highland roads, known as the 'F' roads, in a rented self drive Landcruiser and forded various rivers. The F26 in particular is epic. Most of the gravel roads are actually not bad provided you stay on them (it's illegal anyway to drive off road in Iceland). And don't forget to start out with a topped-up tank every day as it may be a couple of hundred km to the next filling station (one of them, marked on the national map, turned out to be a diesel tank in a farmyard!). Nigel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2021 I have been out off self-drive by insurance issues. This is the F26 sprengisandur road: https://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/iceland/2734-sprengisandsleie-route-f26.html   Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2021 New blog post by Albert https://www.volcanocafe.org/a-reykjanes-story-2/comment-page-1/#comment-51665 scroll down the comments for very latest news Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 Aviation code orange ( magma possibly rising) Live webcam:Â Â Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 I think the webcam is pointing SE from near Kevlavik airport ca 15 km form the earthquake swarm. Reykavik is ca 20km east of Kelier, the blue laggon clsoe to the right side of theh frame. The road running elft to right is the main road linking Reyjavik to the airport. Eruption has possibly started, evacuation of farms begun. Helicopter checking for eruption. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 New blog post on VC: https://www.volcanocafe.org/imminent-eruption-near-keilir-likely/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 Nothing seen by CG helicopter https://twitter.com/gislio/status/1367144588549447684 Â Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 Webcam near Vogar, closer in, main road Reyjkavik to airport runs across view https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/03/03/beint-vefstreymi-af-skjalftasvaedinu Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 3, 2021 Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 1 minute ago, Peter Cobbold said: Webcam near Vogar, closer in, main road Reyjkavik to airport runs across view https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/03/03/beint-vefstreymi-af-skjalftasvaedinu Cant seem to access that one, press play just gives a sign in Icelandic which I have no idea what it means, Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 5 minutes ago, stuart said: Cant seem to access that one, press play just gives a sign in Icelandic which I have no idea what it means, Stuart. It works for me ,but the webcams do tend to get overloaded so worth trying again. It should look like this Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/03/03/volcano-alert-press-conference-live-updates eruption expected within hours, but not big. In other words, a "tourist eruption" about 20km from their capital city. No chance of keeping the crowds away ! Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 20 minutes ago, stuart said: Cant seem to access that one, press play just gives a sign in Icelandic which I have no idea what it means, Stuart. I've lost it too now. Not enough bandwidth at their end I guess. There will be full HD cam set up by a telecoms company if an eruption starts. Â Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 Blog site by Icelander enthusiast. Includes a tremor plot indicative of magma on the move https://icelandgeology.net/ Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 Laki 1783 was a BIG fissure eruption, heres how it affected Scotland: https://theconversation.com/how-18th-century-weather-diaries-shed-light-on-the-effects-of-an-icelandic-volcanic-eruption-on-scotland-156002 Bigger still was the fissure eruprtion of Eldgja in 934, creating a 75 km long canyon by blasting rock skywards not by river erosion https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/eldgja-canyon.html Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted March 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 Earthquakes continue but no more 2-4Hz tremor since 4th, so magma not on the move. Its a waiting game. Here's a webcam closer in to Keilir( and others around Iceland )Â Â https://www.livefromiceland.is/webcams/keilir/ The magma filled dyke at ca 2km depth is thought to be 1 metre thick,but maybe 20km long. Potentially a lot of lava if it erupts, but even so a tourist attraction to Icelanders Peter PS Jokulsarlon webcam may be familiar to fans of 007 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TorontoTim Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 Bah. It's dark. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 That tends to happen at night Tim. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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