Eruption at Reykjanes

/ 19/03/2021

The long-awaited eruption has started, and has been confirmed by IMO. Just after 9pm the first light became visible on the cameras. At 21:40 official confirmation came. IMO has decided that the eruption began at 20:45. The location is not entirely clear yet, but the most recent earthquakes would indicate it is pretty much where expected, just south of the peak of Fagradalsfjall. There was no seismic signal, but in hindsight the near-surface M3.1 this afternoon was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
This solves the question whether this event was tectonic or magmatic. This is the first eruption in Reykjanes since about 1200 AD, and is likely the start of a longer period (centuries) of new activity on the peninsula. The current eruption may or may not last long. We do not know very much about how volcanics on the peninsula works. But eruptions here are likely to produce of order 0.1 km3 of lava, enough perhaps to reach the ocean and cause inconvenience, but not do major damage.

The fact that there were no earthquakes announcing the eruption suggests that the magma was already very close to the surface. A filled conduit is silent. The earthquakes come from breaking the conduit open, and tremor from filling it up. There was almost no tremor either (a15-min low frequency burst before the eruption was reported, only noted in hindsight), so magma may already have been ready since a few days. It was just waiting for the weekend.

The red glow suggests fountaining but we are waiting for further reports. We will add news here as it appears. We actually rely mostly on you!

And as a final point, when we announced the 1-year postponement of the eruption last year (April 1), we had no idea how close we were to reality.

A direct view of the rift is from the following webcam. It was at first pointing in the wrong direction but not has a great view of the eruption

https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/03/20/beint-vefstreymi-fra-borgarfjalli-ad-eldstodvunum

Another suitable webcam is https://www.ipcamlive.com/60401b8d3413c
Also see
https://www.visir.is/g/20212080986d/oroasvaedid-i-beinni-utsendingu

Road cameras are at http://www.road.is/travel-info/web-cams/south-west-iceland

Image provided to us by Judge Matthews and reproduced by permission

The eruption is confirmed to be in the Geldingaladir. A 500-meter fissure is reported with 4-6 small fountains. In this location the lava will be confined and does not appear to endanger infrastructure. It is a perfect small eruption. The valley is enclosed, and if the the eruption lasts long enough to fill up the valley (less likely) it would flow into another valley and go north away from any people. (It seems more likely that the eruption will stop well before but may erupt in a new location.) For a detailed map, we recommend http://kortasja.lmi.is/mapview/?application=kortasja


www.facebook.com/Vedurstofan/photos/a.431284043605831/3930732966994237/

Keep posted! And keep posting.


https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/03/20/beint-vefstreymi-fra-eldstodvunum

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558 thoughts on “Eruption at Reykjanes”

    • those white coats are staying pretty much in a group…. i’m thinking Japanese Tourists. 😉

  3. I wonder if Carl is one of the people watching the eruption in person right now. 🙂

  4. lot of people hangin round…wonder if they got sticks for barbeque …😀

  5. I’m more worried about the three helicopters whizzing around than I am about the eruption! Sleet and smoke make for poor visibility.

  6. In terms of volcanic activity, how did the 20th century compare to the 19th?

  8. On the KAS and VOS drums thhere are repeated episodes of something looking like wet tremors the last hours. Magma on the move in the neighboring volcanic zone?

    • Unless they are geologists equipped with safety equipment and looking to collect samples, then that is looking like a disaster waiting to happen. Ejecta landing well down the sides of the cone, is not going to take much of an increase to put some bombs right on top of that group.

      The other group by the flow front near the stream are not in a good place either, thinking about the group that got hurt by pheratic explosion with a flow on a snow field a couple of years back – was it at Etna?

      • I was in an airplane flying scientists
        Near St Helens when an precursor eruption barfed rock and ash I did a quick 180 and got out. “Can’t we get closer?” Whined one of the geologists.”NO” I said . May 18th proved why you didn’t want to get close.

        • Yes, I know scientists like that. Intelligence does not always give foresight

    • Well, if you are going to risk your life watching an eruption up close, then a mild basaltic eruption is the safest possible thing you can find.

  12. Is it just me, or is there an intermittent bubbling in the lava pond just behind the edge, right in the middle of the webcam view?

  14. if there are any virgins on that ridge, i hope they watch their step… that lava is coming around.

    • OO i’ve got an idea….. let’s climb up this ridge and get completely surrounded by lava and the flows come around from the far side on the right. and then we can all fight for seats on the helicopter when it tries to rescue us…. where is Charlton Heston?

    • It has just crossed the stream. Time to zoom out the camera!

      • well they did slightly move it to the right… Where is Carl anyway??

        • The power of VC. We ask for an eruption a year on advance, they oblige. Ask to move the camera, done while we type. And now we ask for the tourists to stay safe. Even the ones on the ridge. I saw at least one far left on the slope, at a place here she/he could easily have been cut off.

    • Thanks!

      Nice to see how the flow field changed over the last couple of hours…

    • Nice! I love how it shows the lava boats on the flow field. They were impressive in Leilani.

    • Thank you! Interesting to see the way the two lobes change in the amount feeding them.

    • Great timelapse! I like those terraced ponds of lava. Just like terraced pools in some hot springs, only with lava!

    • Please do more time lapses for any interesting developments. It is 4:00AM in Adelaide and I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.

  19. No matter the size or location of an eruption it always brings out the same comments on You Tube. Is this a sign that The Yellowstone Super Volcano will blow? One I saw linked Etna and iceland as being the start of The End.
    Jesting aside Despite the small size this eruption is special.. Not only because it may herald new thinking about the Reykjanes peninsula’s future but it has also demonstrated how far we have come in the last 20 years in predicting eruptions by reading the precursory quakes. Volcanoes will always surprise us, but we are getting better at understanding them, thus giving us an opportunity to alert populations and save lives.
    Iceland has such a wonderful reaction to natural events. They are organised and take warnings from the specialists seriously unlike many other countries. Congratulations to the Iceland Emergency teams and the IMO for showing the world the way to go!

  21. This eruption reminds me of the Le Piton de la Fournaise eruptions, very similar in size and in flow.

  23. ok….. i’m starting to get concerned about these people now…. some seem confused….

  24. I think I am finally caught up again. Guess there is a time when it is still light In Iceland and here in the SF Bay area.
    I find it interesting that we get a decent live cam. When Hawaii went up everyone got into a fight over who owned the copyrights.
    I usually keep the HVO cams in a browser tabs. I wonder why they still only update once a minute. I can understand why it takes time for images to arrive from mars. So why can the US not provide a decent webcam.

    Did anyone ever find out is sheep is the root of Suðurstrandarvegur? Giggle will not translate that word.

  25. Has anyone else noticed that it is to the day 11 years ago that the eruption at Fimmvörðuháls started? Nothing conspiracy lunacy about it, just a fun coincidense imho.

    • Iceland likes to throw eruptions by spring equinox. You know, in the land of elves and sagas, it adds a bit of mystic flavour to it.

      And Iceland does us a favour. In winter, winds are stronger, so gas dispersion is better. Also less tourists, so less changes of something going wrong. Imagine an eruption starting in the middle of the day in July. Much better to start eruptions in March, when weather is snowy and cold.

      Also it makes better photographs.

      – – –

      Speaking more seriously, there are a couple of volcanoes that seem to have a mild statistical tendency for seasonal eruptions: Katla erupting in autumn months, and Hekla erupting in spring months. For Katla, this might be connected with melting of ice cap and melted water triggering an eruption at the base of the caldera. For Hekla, I have no idea why it tends towards spring. Other volcanoes erupt without any seasonal trend.

      I could speculate very wildly why eruptions could occur more frequently around equinox times. Tidal forces are larger during equinox period, so might that plays a role. I might be awarded an “Ig Nobel Price” if I research this.

  26. As the day is a-gettin’ dark we will once again fall for the aperture and contrast trick. With the light fading the cams will show allegedly bigger fountains. And even if we know that, we will still think that it is ramping up.

  27. Saturday
    20.03.2021 17:21:53 63.913 -22.241 5.4 km 2.8 99.0 2.0 km NE of Fagradalsfjall

  28. I trust that they’re trained professionals, but the people at the base of the cone are making me very nervous – especially given that the intensity seems to be ticking up. I keep envisioning the wall of the cone collapsing… hoping everyone stays safe.

  29. This image is 7-8 hours old, but by comparing it to the view from the webcam, then it looks like the people at the cone are danger of slowly getting surrounded in the nearish future. Luckily the flow isn’t spreading super fast, but we can’t see if there’s any expansion outside the right edge of the webcam. Obviously there is the possibility of helicopter rescue and perhaps walking on the hardened flow, but why risk it.
    Sunset is in about 1½ hour.

    • Interesting to see if the volcano has enough material fill that valley to the brim. It will form a lava lake, since heat evaporation is much slower. Lava pools up and doesn’t spread out forming a thin easily cooled sheet. There is also a possibility of building up so much weight that the flows stop and new fissures open up where the resistance is weaker.

  30. Ejecta appears to be increasing and onlookers thankfully retreating. With the increase of activity I just looked to that area to the left we assumed may be burning vegetation. Its active again and the is orange up on the slope so must be another fissure.

    • It’s so persistent, I wonder if it’s a tree trunk. If so, it’s probably the only tree within ten miles…

      • It seems to be more active at the same time as the main cones increase their activity, so I’m increasingly confident it may be a fissure. Doubt it’s burning veg, but a gully with a stream getting dammed up and causing pheratic activity is still an option.

        • I think it’s an extension of the fissure because there’s low fountaining.

  31. i don’t see any more people….. have they all pulled away???

    • nope… they are still there… rain cleared vision a bit…

  32. have the Icelantic volcano people made any estimate of how much lava is expected or do they think this is mantle created?

  33. Have you noticed that the cones make the shape of a dragon head, with the biggest flow on top of it´s head?? The Reykjanes dragon was mentioned some time ago I think, and here it is

  34. Activity has picked up further. Also, I notice there have been a number of small quakes around Nathagi again, as well as a few in the direction of Keilir.

  35. Shallow M3.1 closer to Keilir. New fissure opening?

    • What about harmonic tremors or tornillos? Any of this occurring there?

      • Hard to tell from the public plots. It looks like there are triggered quskes in nearby faults both east and west of the dyke. Something is happening in the dyke, but it’s not extending laterally. That leaves widening or going up. I think we will see more fissures open before this is over. The latest M3.1 is in the spot that was my second candidate for an eruption to start.

    • Sorry about that, I misread the lists. The shallow M3.1 was the one yesterday 🙈
      Note to self: double check details before posting. The one I was supposed to check was M2.8 and deeper. Nothing to see here, move along…

  36. leaving for a previous engagement… watch for me… there will be a pop quiz when i get back.

  37. According to scientists, the following scenarios are possible:
    1) Eruption ceases in the next days/weeks
    2) New fissures open up near the current one or along the magma chamber
    3) Lowered danger of large earthquakes near the eruption
    4) Up to 6.5M earthquake by Brennisteinsfjöll
    https://twitter.com/gislio/status/1373349391906529289

  38. People visiting the eruption are reminded that:

    1) New fissures can open up at any time
    2) Lava can move quickly and collapse at the edge
    3) Craters are growing in height and can collapse
    4) Explosions can occur if lava reaches water
    5) Lethal gasses can collect in valleys
    https://twitter.com/gislio/status/1373349874079518725

  39. There’s definitely a flicker on the left side. It doesn’t appear to be in the same line as the first fissure, but it could be another sub-parallel segment. Still early days…

    • Agreed, there are two small points of light that flicker (others in the lava field do not) and have been getting bigger (twilight?) as I have been watching. This mini-fissure might be under the lava shortly…..

      [Rescued from the netherworld/Lugh]

    • That helicopter parked up bottom left In the second “after” image. Shark like.

      I’ll get my coat.

    • Definitely getting more intense. Really high fountains from the middle cone on occasion.

  42. The lava is not as fluid as Iceland highlands basalts

    The lava rivers here.. turns to rubble Aa as soon as they leave the lava channels. And even a spillout forms Aa sheet

    IMO write that the magma is rather crystal rich, yet its still a fluid magma

  43. I was surprised that the rift opened up on the ridge. Somehow there was a weakness underneath it. Does that mean this ridge was itself formed from an older dyke, at the same location?

    • Looks like the eruption is on a ridge from a very old subglacial fissure eruption,

    • I assume all the edifices must sit atop a dike? With what increasingly looks like another small fissure on the left hand side slope, you would think the natural place for the main vent would be the valley floor – gravity rules?

      • The rift in Kilauea was on the slope, not the bottom. But it needs a weakness, and a shortest path from the dike to the surface. The tope of a ridge seems an unlikely place. But it happened, and once the system is established it is quite happy.

        I don’t think the left hand part is another rift. You can see the fresh lava very well in the dark but there isn’t any at this location

    • It appears that there were known faults in that area that had been linked to volcanism. There was an article/interview on mbl.is earlier today about a 23 year old bachelor dissertation about these. The geologist, Vigfús Eyjólfsson, also mentioned that during the last few weeks he had multiple other geologists reach out to ask where they could get their hands on the paper. The article then links to a pdf of his scanned paper

      https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2021/03/20/ritgerd_um_fagradalsfjall_raetist_23_arum_sidar/

  46. Not sure if anyone else has picked up on this video yet:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi2JomZoTvE

    Close up on the ground video and pictures from this afternoon, interview with the person who took them. In Icelandic, of course…perhaps someone would be kind enough to provide a condensed translation?

    • No, no worries. Reykjanes does not have that kind of magma reserves.

    • The big eruptions in Iceland don’t come from this area, Katla, Grimsvotn, and Orae-something is our chance for the big society crushing eruptions!

  49. Looking at the webcam, it looks more like a point source than a fissure. Then again , I can’t see behind the ridge…

  50. There are two more fountains opening to the right? Maby fracture is expanding/opening…

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