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Bárðarbunga and Askja - Volcanic Activity


lorenzo

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Posted
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield
  • Weather Preferences: Any Extreme
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield

The lava fountaining looks fairly good this morning. I wonder how they are going.

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Posted
  • Location: falkirk, scotland, 16.505m, 54.151ft above sea level
  • Weather Preferences: dry sunny average summers and really cold snowy winters
  • Location: falkirk, scotland, 16.505m, 54.151ft above sea level

Earthquakes Tsunamis â€@NewEarthquake 1m

5.3 earthquake, 108km WNW of Hofn, Iceland. Sep 15 08:05 at epicenter (20m ago, 82km Akureyri, depth 10km). http://j.mp/1pggWvg

 

caldera dropped nearly 1m just with that one quake

 

post-18233-0-01099100-1410770817_thumb.p

Edited by Buriedundersnow
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Posted
  • Location: Sydney, Australia
  • Location: Sydney, Australia

Significant drop on the GPS, need to wait a bit though to see how much as the trend line makes the short time frame much larger. I think it may be around 60cm though, not the 1m+ its currently showing. 

 

It continues to lessen, maybe 40cms?

barc_cauldron_gps.png

Edited by Filski
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Posted
  • Location: Exeter, Devon, UK. alt 10m asl
  • Location: Exeter, Devon, UK. alt 10m asl

It's still not showing on the IMO site so waiting to see confirmation of mag/location but I'm looking at that as being SE of the caldera rather than within it's boundaries.

 

The drum plots also look a little odd, although I'm a complete green horn when reading these things - possible small quake as a trigger and then is it possible that this is 2 big events on top of each other?

 

http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/drumplot/mapDRUM.php

 

Edit -

 

Scrap that - I was looking at the star on the map and was concerned that it was near grimsvotn but the co-ordinates are for the holuhraun lava field. Guess we need to see a manual check from IMO

Edited by swebby
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Posted
  • Location: Sydney, Australia
  • Location: Sydney, Australia

Finally showing up, depth as 0.1m.

 

Theory: This is an ice quake. As the bottom of the caldera sinks predominantly in the NE, occasionally these big shallow ones are the ice sliding in that direction.

 

The depth of the collapse in that quake is showing as 60-70cm - possibly the largest single drop yet.

Edited by Filski
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Posted
  • Location: Weston-S-Mare North Somerset
  • Weather Preferences: Hot sunny , cold and snowy, thunderstorms
  • Location: Weston-S-Mare North Somerset

That quake at that depth has to be significant, as said that is caused by the ice cracking.

 

On the ground observations are going to be important now, as there must be one hell of a drop or crack opened up on the glacier.

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Posted
  • Location: Exeter, Devon, UK. alt 10m asl
  • Location: Exeter, Devon, UK. alt 10m asl

Can you get a mag 5 ice quake or does the mag have no meaning when it is effectively a surface event? 

 

It is at 99% on the IMO and an ice quake may explain the slightly odd profile but this showed up on all the drum plots over the island and I am surprised that an ice quake can register like that.

 

Edit -

 

We had a 5.3 yesterday that was attributed as a surface event for a while then was later reassigned a depth of 3km.

Edited by swebby
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Posted
  • Location: Sydney, Australia
  • Location: Sydney, Australia

If it is an ice quake then it's not like any other. 70sq km in area and 700m thick. I don't know if the maths works or not.

 

The GPS is still dropping rapidly though. Although the timescale will even things out, it looks like there is a 80cm in only a couple of hrs now.

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Posted
  • Location: Exeter, Devon, UK. alt 10m asl
  • Location: Exeter, Devon, UK. alt 10m asl

That's a thought, if a large part of an ice cap suddenly drops 1M then it would make a bit of a thud on landing.

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Posted
  • Location: Coventry,Warwickshire
  • Location: Coventry,Warwickshire

  Its all still a puzzle to me as to what exactly is going on. Just when you think you might have a handle on things the parameters seem to change. Take the following GPS plot.

 

post-2809-0-36662400-1410784503_thumb.pn

 

 

This would seem to suggest that somewhere near Grimsvötn volcano there has been a drop in the surface. Either magma flowed somewhere else or stopped flowing or there has been an adjustment made to the equipment.  Yet another puzzle.

post-2809-0-63221000-1410784865_thumb.pn

From the university of Iceland site

http://earthice.hi.is/bardarbunga_subsidence_new_data

 

 

I am assuming the drop in the caldera is the actual rock surface of the caldera rather than just a drop in the ice cover, but there seems to be a bit of a north south difference. It is suspected that the ring faults on Bárðarbunga are inwards to the north and outwards to the south, so I would have expected the caldera to tilt. That tilting might even affect the flow of magma into the fissure as you get compression on the ring fault to the south and relaxation on the ring fault to the north. So not what I expected exactly.

 

Tremor charts are all over the place with no significant increases where you might expect if conditions were changing.

 

http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/oroi/allarsort.html

 

I did however notice a slight uptick at godabunga which is of course is near katla. This may just be the natural cycle of things there with minor bubbling up occurring regualarly. There also appears to a bit of a jump at kreppuhraun (kre) and smjorgil (smj), which may just be due to the wind or vehicles passing, but has me a little confused as these areas are a distance from Bárðarbunga. About all I can say is that I think at the moment there is no significant change in the eruptions.

 

There are continuing earthquakes at the Bárðarbunga caldera with some being quite shallow.  (5.4 km SE of Bárðarbunga 5.4 magnitude at 0.1km).  That could be an ice quake , but it seems too big for that. Most likely the ring faulting is happening close to the surface now. The implications of that might be that volcanic warm air can trickle up to the edges of the caldera, starting to melt a little ice. Once water can also trickle down the ring faults there are likely to be little steam explosions which may knock and jolt along the caldera edges.

 

It is also interesting to me that Icelandic met office latest fact sheet on the situation said the following

 

 

Large-scale subsidence of the caldera occurs, causing an eruption at the edge of the caldera. Such an eruption would melt large quantities of ice, leading to

a major jökulhlaup, accompanied by ashfall.

http://en.vedur.is/media/jar/myndsafn/Factsheet_Bardarbunga_20140915.pdf

 

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/articles/nr/2947

 

 

This I think is a possibility with rather than a full collapse of the caldera it continues to slowly sink and tilt with perhaps magma finding a route to the surface up through the ring fault on the northern side of the caldera. Equally there is a possibility that things will all quieten down. My suspicion is that this will not be the case based on the fact that over the last 20 years parts of Iceland have risen over 2 meters (a large part of that may be due to ice rebound after the iceage) which suggests some built up pressure underneath Iceland.

 

Bearing in mind I think things will happen on a longer timescale than some might expect and will be more gradual, I suppose we ought to consider what would happen in a full caldera collapse. Once of the things perhaps not talked about much is the pressure wave or infrasonic wave which could be created.  Remember that Krakatoa is reputed to have blasted out windows over a thousand miles from the volcano and rupture ear drums of sailors near by. There are significant reasons why this might not be the case here , not least because of the shape of the caldera deflecting noise upwards rather than outwards, but it might be worth a discussion.  My guess would be that a large part of the caldera floor would end up as ash in the atmosphere and anywhere downwind is going to suffer a bit of a deluge of ash. I am also not quite sure what a lump of rock possibly 12km by 7km dropping into a magma chamber would do. Would you get a significant earthquake which could trigger earthquakes elsewhere in the world. Would the crust weaken and let through more magma? What kind of sulphur dioxide amounts would be released into the atmosphere?

 

Too many questions and its all amateur speculation so take anything I say take with a great deal of scepticism, but as ever I hope my musings help better minds than mine to explore things. Perhaps they might even trigger some new avenues of scientific fact gathering (As if). If you are still none the wiser then join the club but I hope you enjoyed the post anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted
  • Location: west croydon (near lombard)
  • Location: west croydon (near lombard)

http://www.ruv.is/frett/a-flyover-at-holuhraun-lavafield-video

 

The video is taken from the northern margin of the lava field; in the background the steam from the fissure is visible, some 20 kilometers away. The dark patches are active lava outbreaks; newer lava coming from beneath the frozen crust. This video was taken by volcanologist Bryndis Brandsdottir.

 

The lava field at Holuhraun is estimated to cover at least 24.5 square kilometers (yesterday´s estimate). The volume of the lava output is estimated to be at least 0.2 cubic kilometers (200 million cubic meters).

Edited by john pike
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Posted
  • Location: west croydon (near lombard)
  • Location: west croydon (near lombard)

15.09.2014
The concentration of SO2 (Sulphur Dioxide) is increasing in Kópasker and the surrounding area in northeastern Iceland. No gas monitoring is in the area but the inhabitants have felt the pollution and symptoms. Inhabitants are advised to close all windows and turn up the heat inside, while the concentration is high. Follow the Met Office forecast www.vedur.is/enalmannav3.jpg on wind direction.

The area likely to be affected by air pollution from the eruptoin is now marked by Bárðardalur to the west to Hólasandur/Merlakkaslétta platou in the east. This evening the affected area is more to the east from Mývatn-area in the west to Vopnafjordur bay in the east. Tomorrow lighter westerly winds are expected and likely effected area will be from Vopnafjörðyour bay, and south towards Djúpivogur.

Information on possible health effects and response to increased concentration of SO2 can be found on the webpage of the Environmental Agency. The Civil Protection and Emergency Management advise people to look up for further information http://ust.is/einstaklingar/loftgaedi/so2#Tab1

15.09.2014
Volcanic gases with possible effect human health are released into the atmosphere from the eruption in Holuhrauni. The most abundant gases are water ( H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Other substances such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S), hydrogen(H2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF) og helium (He) are also released, but in smaller amounts.

The human health effect is mainly caused by SO2, the most common symptoms are irritation in eyes, throat and respiratory tract and people can experience difficulties in breathing in high concentrations of SO2. Persons with asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and heart diseases are more sensitive compared to healthy people and develop symptoms at lower concentrations compared to others. They are adviced to have their respiratory medication available. It is wise to use the same recommendations for children as for people with underlying respiratory diseases, although no reliable data on children and SO2 is available.

It is therefore of importance to monitor the concentration of SO2 in the atmosphere. The Icelandic Met Office mesasures SO2 at the eruption site and developes daily forcasts on SO2 concentration in the atmosphere that are based on SO2 measurements and weather conditions. The purpose is to alert the public in areas where high concentration can be expected and the results are published on The Icelandic Met Office home page. The amount of SO2 that are released in the eruption is an important factor, but the wind direction and force also have a large impact on the concentration of SO2 in the athmosphere.

It should be reiterated that it is impossible to foresee all circumstances and it is therefore crucial to respond to unexpected events. The general public is encouraged to respond if an unextpected plume appears, stay indoors, close windows and turn of the air conditioning if they experience symptoms from the plume.

The Envrionment Agency of Iceland measures SO2 in various locations, information is available at the home page for the agency http://www.ust.is/einstaklingar/loftgaedi/so2/#Tab4
.

 

http://www.almannavarnir.is/displayer.asp?cat_id=133

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Posted
  • Location: Hoyland,barnsley,south yorkshire(134m asl)
  • Weather Preferences: severe storms,snow wind and ice
  • Location: Hoyland,barnsley,south yorkshire(134m asl)

Latest from

 

http://volcanocafe.wordpress.com/2014/09/14/is-it-a-plume-is-it-a-cloud/

 

as for the EQ this morning @0.1km,there are discussions on the live youtube chat room saying that it happened 100m below the surface(not in the glacier)

 

not much has happened since then.

 

p.s oh,did you here about the EQ in Sweeden,4.7 two hours ago+ many others around the globe

 

http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/

Edited by Allseasons-si
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Posted
  • Location: Brighton (currently)
  • Location: Brighton (currently)

The plume looks dark tonight, could just be a trick of the light

 

attachicon.gifPlume.png

 

Very quiet after that strange one this morning

 

Several small ones along the fissure

It is hard to say because of the changing weather conditions. But I have to say, I thought the fissure eruption would have finished by now but that single vent keeps going.

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Posted
  • Location: Hoyland,barnsley,south yorkshire(134m asl)
  • Weather Preferences: severe storms,snow wind and ice
  • Location: Hoyland,barnsley,south yorkshire(134m asl)

It is hard to say because of the changing weather conditions. But I have to say, I thought the fissure eruption would have finished by now but that single vent keeps going.

One has opened up to the left of the main fountain Karyo.

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Posted
  • Location: Brighton (currently)
  • Location: Brighton (currently)

One has opened up to the left of the main fountain Karyo.

Yes, now you mention it I can just about see it as it is turning darker.

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Posted
  • Location: Hoyland,barnsley,south yorkshire(134m asl)
  • Weather Preferences: severe storms,snow wind and ice
  • Location: Hoyland,barnsley,south yorkshire(134m asl)

Also of note(observations)

 

has that river got bigger and closer just to the right of the dopplar radar,could be back biulding due to the lava field stopping the flow?

 

http://www.livefromiceland.is/webcams/bardarbunga/

 

don't know if this image has been posted,i don't think so

 

NE of Askja,poss fissure soon.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ODtLndQ.jpg

 

a F.A.Q on barda

 

http://zolaweb.com/bardabunga_facts.htm

Edited by Allseasons-si
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Posted
  • Location: Morley Leeds (West Yorkshire) 166m
  • Location: Morley Leeds (West Yorkshire) 166m

Could it be possible for this volcano to just switch off and go back to sleep so to speak for the next decade ? Of is it past the stage of no going back now and it will erupt ?

Edited by Love Snow
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