Vulcanologist Melissa Pfeffer said seismic data indicates that lava from the volcano is melting ice beneath the Vatnajokull glacier. She said it was not clear when, or if, the eruption would melt the ice and send steam and ash into the air.
Minutes earlier, Iceland raised its aviation alert for the volcano to the highest level of red on Saturday, indicating an eruption that could cause “significant emission of ash into the atmosphere.” Red is the highest alert warning on a five-point scale.
Scientists had planned to fly over the glacier later Saturday to look for changes on the surface but it was not clear if that would still take place.
Authorities had evacuated several hundred people earlier this week from the highlands north of the Vatnajokull glacier as a precaution. The area is uninhabited but popular with hikers.
Iceland sits on a volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge and eruptions have occurred frequently, triggered when the Earth's plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface.
A 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano produced an ash cloud that caused a week of international aviation chaos, with more than 100,000 flights cancelled. Aviation regulators since have reformed policies about flying through ash, so a new eruption would be unlikely to cause that much disruption.
Pfeffer said the amount of ash produced would depend on the thickness of the ice.
“The thicker the ice, the more water there is, the more explosive it will be and the more ash-rich the eruption will be,” she said.
(AP)
http://www.france24.com/en/20140823-iceland-issues-aviation-alert-volcano-errupts-bardarbunga/
24/8/14
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Related:
Iceland orders evacuation due to possible volcano eruption
Threat to flights as Iceland's biggest volcano rumbles
Islande: alerte rouge au-dessus du volcan BardarBunga...
Le Bardarbunga en éruption: l’Islande ferme son espace aérien....
- M 4.7 - ICELAND - 2014-08-23 18:33:06 UTC.....local time: 18:33
Region ICELAND
Date time 2014-08-23 18:33:06.2 UTC
Location 64.70 N ; 17.48 W
Depth 2 km
Distances 222 km E of Reykjavík, Iceland / pop: 113,906 / local time: 18:33:06.2 2014-08-23
113 km S of Akureyri / pop: 16,563 / local time: 18:33:00.0 2014-08-23
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Iceland's meteorological office says a subglacial eruption is underway at the Bardarbunga volcano, which has been rattled by thousands of earthquakes over the past week....
ReplyDeleteVulcanologist Melissa Pfeffer said seismic data indicates that lava from the volcano is melting ice beneath the Vatnajokull glacier. She said it was not clear when, or if, the eruption would melt the ice and send steam and ash into the air.
Minutes earlier, Iceland raised its aviation alert for the volcano to the highest level of red on Saturday, indicating an eruption that could cause "significant emission of ash into the atmosphere." Red is the highest alert warning on a five-point scale.
Scientists had planned to fly over the glacier later on Saturday to look for changes on the surface but it was not clear if that would still take place. ...............http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Iceland-Subglacial-eruption-is-underway/articleshow/40811314.cms
Overview of seismic events in August 2014...
ReplyDeleteIn this article, updated information on the Bárðarbunga seismic activity is given with daily status reports from the scientist of IMO and the University of Iceland. New material is added to the top of the article. The original information is at the end of the article. All in all, this article gives an overview of events. For additional material, check also the news list on our front page.
23rd August 2014 17:08 - status report
Overall assessment from the joint daily status report 230814 of the Icelandic Met Office and the University of Iceland, Institute of Earth Sciences:
The aviation color code has been raised to "red" as the data is currently interpreted as a subglacial eruption. Both the thickness of the ice at the possible contact point (100-400 m) and the volume of lava in possible contact with ice are highly uncertain. It could be 0-20 hours before lava reaches the surface of the ice. It is also possible that the lava will not break through the ice, and the eruption could remain subglacial.
23rd August 2014 14:10 - a small eruption under Dyngjujökull
A small lava-eruption has been detected under the Dyngjujökull glacier.
The Icelandic Coast Guard airplane TF-SIF is flying over the area with representatives from the Civil Protection and experts from the Icelandic Met Office and the Institute of Earth Sciences. Data from the equipment on board is expected later today.
Data from radars and web-cameras is being received, showing no signs of changes at the surface.
The estimate is that 150-400 meters of ice is above the area.
The aviation color code for the Bárðarbunga volcano has been changed from orange to red.
Some minutes ago (14:04), an earthquake occurred, estimated 4.5 in magnitude.
23rd August 2014 12:20 - notes from the scientists' meeting
Intense earthquake activity continues at the Bárðarbunga volcano – a situation that has persisted since 16 August.
During the last 6 hours the dyke has propagated ~5 km to the north. The rate of earthquakes has increased such that they are happening so quickly that it is difficult for the seismologist to discern individual events. Observed high frequency tremor is interpreted to be caused by the propagation of the dyke.
Some larger earthquakes of magnitude 3 - 4 have been measured in the Bárðarbunga caldera in the last days. These events in the Bárðarbunga caldera are interpreted as adjustments related to decompression in the caldera since the beginning of the unrest.
Most recent GPS data shows that magma flow is continuing..................http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/articles/nr/2947
M 4.3 - ICELAND - 2014-08-24 15:00:12 UTC....local time: 15:00...
ReplyDeleteMagnitude M 4.3
Region ICELAND
Date time 2014-08-24 15:00:12.7 UTC
Location 64.45 N ; 17.91 W
Depth 12 km
Distances 196 km E of Reykjavík, Iceland / pop: 113,906 / local time: 15:00:12.7 2014-08-24
138 km S of Akureyri / pop: 16,563 / local time: 15:00:00.0 2014-08-24
24/8/14
Iceland lowers aviation alert from Bardarbunga volcano...
ReplyDeleteREYKJAVIK, Iceland -- Iceland lowered its aviation alert level to orange from red Sunday, saying there was no sign of an imminent eruption at the Bardarbunga volcano. And scientists at the Icelandic Meteorological Office said their announcement Saturday that the volcano had experienced a subglacial eruption was wrong.
But the office cautioned in a statement that seismic activity at the volcano, which has been hit by thousands of earthquakes over the past week, was not slowing, and an eruption remained a possibility in coming days.
Two earthquakes measuring over 5 in magnitude -- the biggest yet -- shook the volcano beneath Iceland's vast Vatnajokull glacier early Sunday. The Met Office recorded earthquakes of 5.3 and 5.1 in the early hours..................Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/iceland-lowers-aviation-alert-from-bardarbunga-volcano-1.1973527#ixzz3BKMxToFD
24/8/14