Volcano Watch 2014

Just saw a huge red glowing light flying towards the country then stopped in the sky and then dissapeared.
Ufo coming to watch the action.

a reply to: sageturkey
4.7, 4.7, 5.3 ....
everything says its gonna blow up

or more likely, collapse

a reply to: muzzy

AP is reporting eruption in progress

She said it was not clear when, or if, the eruption would melt through the ice — which is between 100 and 400 meters (330 feet and 1,300 feet) thick — and send steam and ash into the air. She said it could take up to a day for the ice to melt — or the eruption might remain contained beneath Europe's largest glacier.

Source news.msn.com/world/volcanic-eruption-begins-under-iceland-glacier

a reply to: Cherryontop

I think they are finally catching up with this mornings events. If so they decided it was not erupting YET

a reply to: Spacedman13

thanks I had been waiting for someone to tie this event in with UFOs or sunspots

5.1 magnitude quake now. The small eruption which happened yesterday is over, but quake intensity has risen a lot. The strongest quakes are in the caldera, they could be the signs of caldera collapsing. The magma is escaping to new intrusive dike, which is getting wider and expanding towards northeast.

But what happens when the caldera collapses along with 300 meters of solid ice. I guess ash disaster of the century. It will raise the pressure in magma, leading to eruption of either dike or caldera, or both. The tremor is going crazy, there is vast amounts of magma moving underground. This wont end well...

what magnitude would an collapsing caldera give....any records on such events ?

a reply to: Thebel

24th August 2014 06:48 - from geoscientist on duty

Two M5 earthquakes took place in Bárðarbunga caldera during the night:

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred at 5 km depth just after midnight, at 00:09. Its origin was at the northern rim of the caldera. Another earthquake, magnitude about 5, occurred at 05:33 and originated at the southern rim. These are the strongest events measured since the onset of the seismic crisis at Bárðarbunga and the strongest since 1996 (the Gjálp eruption). The magnitude is already confirmed by the European EMSC network and the GEOFON network of GFZ Potsdam in Germany.

Probably, earthquakes near the Bárðarbunga caldera are a consequence of adjustment to changes in pressure because of the flow of magma from under the caldera into the dyke which stretches to Dyngjujökull, more than 25 km away.

Great seismic activity is also near the intrusive dyke in Dyngjujökull. The activity is concentrated at the section which advanced northwards yesterday morning. Analysis shows that the origin of the quakes, there, has migrated a little towards north. Their depth is mainly in the range of 8-13 km. The largest earthquake in the Dyngjujökull area was 3.5 at 04:39.

No signs of tremor, indicative of eruption, were detected during the night.

taken from en.vedur.is...

Strong earthquakes started appearing in Dyngjujökull dike. Magnitude 4.3 being strongest, then 4.2. There is wave of earthquakes moving towards northeast. I guess the dike is expanding in just one direction. Some are very close to surface level. There is bad weather currently, so webcam visibility is low.

Just wondering, but after hearing about magma flowing into the dyke which is increasing in size, could this not be accountable for the earthquakes? Also, would this mean that there is a release in pressure from the bardabunga basin, resulting in no eruption as the pressure is reduced?

From my logic, magma being diverted through a growing dyke would decrease the likeness of an eruption. So I'm going to predict no eruption, unless someone educated can explain why this would make it more likely that an eruption will occur.

Also I believe the authorities have realised this, and that is why the warnings have been reduced from red to orange. It will die down soon enough completely, is my guess.

interresting !
the new activity at katla neighberhood seems to be on straight line with the bardarbunga ...one long fractal zone...
are we on the brink of an very big event?/

en.vedur.is...

a reply to: ressiv

I noticed that too, ressiv. Those small quakes are farther SW, but still on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Just some readjusting related to the activity to the NE?

BTW, another small Mag 4+ rolled in a few minutes ago (15:00 UTC). You can see it on Jon Frimann's private seismos, and in IRIS, on station II.BORG.00.BHZ (located well west of Bardarbunga.)



ETA: EMSC list it preliminarily, as mag 4.3 SW of the caldera.

Weird. IMO say it was mag 4.8 SE of the volcano. It didn't look that big to me...meh, I'm just a hobbyist.

So if there is a big event there what does this look like elsewhere. We know it causes damage there and hope for evacuations being timely. We know Europe might get some ash. Is that the extent of it?

a reply to: Olivine

I saw it... have baering.github.io... constant on my second monitor...

if the ridge is spreading moore than it is far from over..:-)

dang.... another 5 on main caldera !

a reply to: Dianec

Hard to say. Here are links to 2 articles with input by folks who study this area.

And how bad could it be?

Bárðarbunga is a big volcano directly beneath Iceland’s largest glacier. Over the past 10,000 years, it has erupted “more lava than any other volcano on the planet.”

Slate article

Dave McGarvie

The dike seems to be forming towards Askja volcano. Interesting times. Askja is one of those volcanoes which is going to erupt in the nearby future. Its huge caldera, which is filled with water. The geothermal activity keeps the water clear of ice for most of the year. In the past the volcano has been very active, erupting 1919, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926 and 1938. Last time the volcano erupted was in 1961, after that it has been quiet, until recent findings about its risen geothermal activity. Its eruption in 1875 was one of the worst eruptions of historical times, poisoning the land and killing all livestock in Eastern Iceland. Ash from eruption was found in Norway and Sweden. It caused mass emigration from Iceland.



Askja is around the top border, the wave of quakes is going towards it.

the eq's on the dike seems to be getting bigger mag. as it moves further north....:-0
note:
and faster!with this speed it reaches Askja tomorrow...

a reply to: ressiv
It does seem as if the earthquakes centered near the north end of the dike are becoming more frequent, and a bit more shallow. Maybe because they have migrated out from under the weight of the glacier?

This image is from en.vedur.is...=table, showing the most recent mag 2 and higher.

24th August 2014 11:50 - notes from scientists' meeting
Earthquake activity in NW-Vatnajökull is still very strong, 700 earthquakes have been observed since midnight and they are somewhat larger than previous days.
Two large earthquakes, over 5 where in the Bárðarbunga caldera this night.
The activity under Dyngjujökull has propagated northwards and is now mostly under the edge of the glacier, where an earthquake of size 4,2 was recorded this morning.
The dyke under Dyngjujökull is now estimated to be approximately 30 km long.
There are no indications that the activity is slowing down, and therefore an eruption can not be excluded.
Observations show that a sub-glacial eruption did not occur yesterday. The intense low-frequency seismic signal observed yesterday has therefore other explanations.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office has decided to move the aviation color-code from red to orange.