Volcanic eruption increasingly likely with 1,000 new earthquakes in Iceland
The Icelandic Meteorological Office today reported around a thousand new earthquakes since last midnight near the town of Gindavík, in the southwest of the island, and although the tremors did not exceed a magnitude of 3, the danger of a volcanic eruption in the coming days is increasing.
“Since the morning of November 11, seismic activity in the magma intrusion has remained fairly constant. Since midnight on November 12, around a thousand earthquakes have been recorded within the limits of the dam, all of them with a magnitude of less than 3.0”, according to the statement updated at 12:30 GMT today.
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A volcanic dam are intrusions of volcanic material, in a liquid state, that solidifies in a slow process.
It specifies that “the greatest seismic activity occurred from the center of the corridor towards the north and south, under Grindavík”, in the southwest of this island in the North Atlantic, and that “most earthquakes take place at a depth of between three and five kilometers at the bottom of the magma intrusion.”
“GPS measurements from the last 24 hours show that the deformation associated with the magma tunnel that formed on Friday, November 10 has slowed down,” which “suggests that the magma is moving closer to the surface,” it adds.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office, the University of Iceland and the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management concluded in a meeting on Saturday, based on the latest measurements of seismicity and ground deformation in the Grindavík region and the latest geophysical models and risk assessments, that the ongoing intrusion represents a serious volcanic hazard.
According to geophysical models, the intrusion is estimated to be spreading slowly upwards and the magma is believed to be 800 meters below the surface.
“The exact location of a possible eruption site is unknown, but the 15-kilometer length and orientation of the dam offer a good indication of possible sources,” the statement added.
The Icelandic authorities declared an emergency situation on Friday after a series of earthquakes near Gindavík and warned of a possible volcanic eruption, ordering a preventive evacuation of this city 50 kilometers from the capital, Reykjavík.