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Archive for the ‘Icelandic volcano’ Category

Powerful Explosive Eruption at Eyjafjallajökull Volcano

Posted by feww on May 19, 2010

Eruption rate believed to be 200 tons per second: IMO

The average height of the volcanic plume is about 7 km (21,000 ft), according to radar observations, with the gray plume drifting northeast.

At least 70 flashes of lightning struck in a 12 hour period with a maximum of 10 flashes per hour, IMO reported.

An ongoing powerful explosive eruption at the current plume height suggests that the eruption rate is at least 200 tons per second, IMO said.

For more details see status report.


This natural-color satellite image was acquired by MODIS aboard NASA’s Terra satellite on May 18, 2010 at 12:20 p.m. local time. The pale gray ash plume blows from the summit of Eyjafjallajökull almost directly northwest. Eurocontrol said the airspace over Europe was open, and ash was unlikely to affect flights until May 20, 2010. Image and [edited] caption: NASA E/O. Download large image (2 MB, JPEG). Click image to enlarge.


MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Eyjafjallajökull and acquired this natural-color image on May 17, 2010.  Image and [edited] caption: NASA E/O. Download large image (2 MB, JPEG). Click image to enlarge.

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Eyjafjallajökull Eruption UPDATE – Latest MODIS Image

Posted by feww on May 12, 2010

Eyjafjallajökull Volcano: NO Immediate Plan to Cease Activity

Eyjafjallajökull continues to erupt with no major changes detected in its  activity.  There is no sign that the volcano could cease activity any time soon: IMO

The Plume is currently reaching a maximum height of about 6,000m (20,000) a.s.l., IMO report said.


This natural-color image of the ongoing eruption was acquired by MODIS aboard NASA’s Terra satellite at 12:15 p.m. local time. Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull Volcano continues to erupt a thick plume of ash. On May 11, 2010, the ash was streaming almost directly south, visibly extending at least 860 kilometers (530 miles) from Eyjafjallajökull. The ash clouds forced the closure of some Spanish and Moroccan airports. Image and Caption: NASA [Edited for brevity.] Click image to enlarge. Download large image (2 MB, JPEG)


Eyjafjallajökull and Gígjökull. Dated 11 May 2010at 10:58 today. Photo Credit: Sigurlaug Hjaltadóttir. Image release by Iceland Met Office (IMO). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice.

Volcanic Ash Advisory from London Met Office – Issued graphics



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Eyjafjallajökull Glacier Hit by New Wave of Seismicity

Posted by feww on May 10, 2010

About 3 dozen quakes strike Eyjafjallajökull Glacier, other quake clusters near Kolbeinsey ridge and Tjörnes fracture zone

Recent IMO Assessment – dated 09 May 2010 at 15:00UTC

The plume mostly reached height of about 4-5 km shooting up to 6 km (20,000 ft) occasionally, and heading southeast despite low level easterly winds.

Deflation continued at Eyjafjallajökull volcano. No indications eruption might end soon.

Eyjafjallajökull view from Hvolsvelli

Eyjafjallajökull view from Thórólfsfelli webcam (Heat Signature)

European Air-Travel

Meanwhile, airtravellers experienced more delays today as more ash clouds drifting from Eyjafjallajökull volcano continued to disrupt some flights.  Transatlantic flights faced severe disruption as planes were forced into long detours to avoid the ash cloud, thereby increasing flight times.

The air traffic volume was about 500 below the daily average of 28,500 flights today compared to 1,500 cancellations yesterday.

“We’re all at the mercy of the volcano and there is just no way of knowing how long it will continue to erupt. We would normally be getting south-westerly winds at this time of year and it’s pretty unusual to have northerly winds dominating the weather. It’s very much a day-to-day situation at the moment. The volcano died down a bit for a spell and has now got more active.” A UK Met Office spokeswoman said.

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Volcanic Ash Closes Parts of UK Airspace Again

Posted by feww on May 5, 2010

Iceland’s Volcanoes Could Potentially Cause Collapse of Europe

Eyjafjallajökull Volcanic Ash closes Airspace over Ireland and Scotland Once Again

Airspace over Northern Ireland and Scotland will be closed from 07:00 to 13:00GMT (UTC) on Wednesday due to a new cloud of volcanic ash drifting from Eyjafjallajökull Glacier volcano in Iceland, the UK Civil Aviation Authority said.

The ash cloud is expected to move further south, possibly forcing the closure of airspace in the NW England and north Wales today.

“The situation is very dynamic, so passengers expecting to travel from the impacted airports should contact their airlines to check whether their flight is operating,” CAA website said.


Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Latest graphics   click image to enlarge


These images are monitoring for the presence of volcanic ash emission in the vicinity of Iceland using infrared data from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. Because cloud particles and volcanic ash particles interact with the infrared radiation in different ways, data at several different wavelengths can be combined to identify the main ash plume, which, when present, would be shown as yellow and orange colours in the images. Note that it is only the thicker parts of the plume that are able to be detected by this method. In addition, the ash plume is often masked by overlying high cloud. Source and Copyright EUMETSAT/Met Office.

A Webcam Image of Eyjafjallajökull Eruption saved by Icelandic Review yesterday. The webcams seemed to be out of action today.


One function of webcams is to prevent unnecessary traffic to the site of volcano, which could also be extremely hazardous.

Icelandic Met Office said:

Plume was observed at 5.8-6 km height (19-20,000 ft) estimated from the Icelandic Coast Guard (ICG) flight at 10:40 and 15:30 GMT. It is heading east-south-east to south-east from the eruption site. Plume track clearly visible up to 300-400 km distance from the eruption site on a NOAA satellite image at 13:13 GMT.

On lava flow they reported:

Lava is still flowing northwards, forming a lava fall down the steep hill under Gígjökull, about 4 km north of the crater. Blue gas is seen rising from the lava and white steam plumes are seen somewhat lower and mark the front of the lava stream. The size of the eruptive crater is 280 x 190 m. Lava splashes are thrown at least a few hundred meters into the air.

Status Report: 14:00UTC, 04 May 2010 – IMO and Earth Science Island:

Explosive activity and ash production is strong and has increased since yesterday. Dark ash plume rises above the crater. Lava is still flowing northwards, forming a lava fall down the steep hill under Gígjökull, about 4 km north of the crater. Blue gas is seen rising from the lava and white steam plumes are seen somewhat lower and mark the front of the lava stream. Radar images from ICG-flight today show tunnels in Gígjökull increasing in size and continuing the build up of the cone at the crater. The size of the eruptive crater is 280m x 190m. Lava splashes are thrown at least a few hundred meters into the air.

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Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Portents Catastrophic Sequence

Posted by feww on April 26, 2010

Three Reasons Why the Moderators Believe a  Sequence of Catastrophic Eruptions May Occur in Iceland

  1. It would be consistent with the resurgence of volcanic activity globally, which may have started recently.
  2. Historically, the eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull have been associated with subsequent eruptions at a larger volcano, usually Katla.
  3. Volcanic eruptions are a component of the planet’s defense mechanism.

In our opinion, the question is no longer “if” but “how soon” a cataclysmic event, or indeed a series of events would occur.

The answer, we believe, is found in EDRO Collapse Model.  As of 2010, Google Civilizations are about half way through the human-induced antiphase.

Status Update:

Eruption at Eyjafjallajökull continues unabated. No significant change reported since previous update.


An image of the eruption at Eyjafjallajökull (2010.04.24 – Þórdís Högnadóttir – 2). No other information available in English. Source: Institute of Earth Sciences. Image may be subject to copyright. Older images …

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Lava finally flows from Icelandic scientific band

Posted by feww on April 25, 2010

Lava flows northwards from the Eyjafjallajökull crater, melting the glacial ice: Report

The local experts do not believe large-scale flooding could occur from the melt water, but then again …

Oh, and if you are wondering why everyone in Iceland is suddenly speaking about lava flow in the past tense, you’re not alone. The rascals didn’t tell anyone lava had started flowing 4 days ago!

Notice: The following updates were issued by various Icelandic organizations. Unlike the govt organizations in the US, nearly all of the  information broadcast by government organizations and educational outlets in Iceland and most European countries may be subject to copyright. If your use of their data goes beyond the educational use/ fair use, be sure to contact the authors for copyright clarification/ permission.

Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management -Media team

Specialists from the Institute of the Earth Sciences (http://www.earthice.hi.is/ ) and the Icelandic Meteorological Office (http://www.vedur.is) flew over the eruption site in Eyjafjallajökull late yesterday. The lava flow seems to be of similar volume as in recent days (20-40 tons per second). The quantity of the volcanic plume is slowly decreasing. The flow of lava is most likely to have started near noon on April 21 when water started flowing continuously from Gígjökull. Steam plumes rose from the northern edges of the caldera after noon on that day and could be seen from a helicopter. Deflation associated with the volcanic tremor was noticed at the same time. There are no signs of melting or flow of water to the south. There are also no indications that the eruption is coming to an end.

There are still disruptions in domestic and international flights, according to information from ISAVIA, and passengers are therefore strongly advised to seek further information from air carriers and at: http://www.textavarp.is/ .

Icelandic Met Office Report

Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland

Indications of lava flow to the north – 25 April 11:30

Yesterday evening, geophysicists from the Institute of the Earth Sciences found indications of lava flow from the eruption site. The risk of sudden melt water flow is, however, minor. Following is their description:

“North of crater a roughly 300 m long and wide depression has been melted out in the last three days. Steam plumes rise from the depression, especially at the margins. This is explained by lava flowing northwards from the crater with the steam rising where lava meets ice … Flow of lava is considered to have begun around noon on Wednesday 21 April.”

Icelandic Meteorological Office and Institute of Earth Sciences, UoI

Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull – status report 25 April 2010 at 1800

Eruption plume:
Height( a.s.l):  Unknown, not seen above cloud cover at 5.3 km.
Heading:  NW
Tephra fallout:  Minor (light fallout detected at two farms 10 km NW of vents)

Conditions at eruption site: Overall activity similar as yesterday.  Eruption seen from west in the morning – north crater still active.  External water has not affected vent activity much since 18 April.  Geologists field observations (2-10 km from vents) show that explosivity is magmatic and that the tephra produced since 18 April is much coarser than during first four days.  Explosions heard at Fljótshlíð, 10-15 km NW of vents.   Meltwater discharge suggest similar lava activity.  Processing of data obtained yesterday shows that lava had advanced 400-500 m northwards from crater, forming an ice depression extending some 700 m from vents.

Overall assessment:  Magma flow rate has remained at similar level over the last few days.  Plume activity is gradually declining.  Flow continues flowing towards north.  No signs of melting or meltwater discharge towards south.  No signs of termination of eruption.Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull – status report 24 April 2010 at 1700
Eruption plume: Height( a.s.l): 13000 feet (4 km)
Tephra fallout: Minor (plume dark but no reports of fallout in districts around volcano)
Meltwater: 100-120 m3/s, based on gauge at old Markarfljót bridge and a rough estimate of base flow.
GPS deformation: Indicates slow subsidence towards the center of the volcano.
Magma flow: Eruption plume: less or equal to 10 tonnes/s.
Lava flow: 10-30 tonnes/s
Total magma flow: 20-40 tonnes/s

For additional details see: Institute of the Earth Sciences

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Posted in eyjafjalla, Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, eyjafjallajoekull volcano, Eyjafjöll, Iceland volcano, Icelandic volcano | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Eyjafjallajökull Eruption – UPDATE 24 April

Posted by feww on April 24, 2010

Comparative Calm Before Explosive Storm?

A Powerful Earthquake May Strike Iceland

The Plume at Eyjafjallajökull Rises to a Height of about 7,000m Sporadically, Idling Mostly at 4,000m

Fire Earth Moderators believe the volcano is spewing more ash than it did 2-3 days ago, despite the local reports.


Webcam at Valahnúk. Image recorded at 13:15UTC on April 24, 2010. Click Image to enlarge.


Hvolsvelli View [best image available all day from the webcam. Reduced visibility caused  by volcanic ash, fumes, dust and clouds.]

Icelandic mat office said:

Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland -Update on activity
Little changes – 24 April 2010 11:15

Volcanic tremor has been similar as the last 2-3 days.
Ash fall may be expected to the west and northwest from the eruption, minor in the Reykjavik area.
Water level in Markarfljót river is slightly higher than yesterday.

The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, Media team, released the following bulletin earlier today:

News Release, 24 April 2010, 06:30

According to the Hvolsvöllur police, this was a quiet night. A little ash has fallen on Hvolsvöllur, and it is visible as a very fine dust on cars. The Weather Bureau expects strong winds from the northeast and the east along the southern coast, elsehwhere the winds will be softer and there will not be much precipitation. The ashen mist will probably move to the west and the northwest of the volcano, even reaching Reykjavík, but only in slight quantities

In a news release from the Chief Epidemiologist yesterday, it appears that wen ash mist occurs, or an increase in suspended particulates in the atmosphere, those who suffer from a dormant heart og lung disease are advised to remain indoors, but there is no call for using masks. It is expected that the eruption-related suspended particulates pollution in the capital area might be close to a similar pollution caused by traffic, and the warnings issued by health authorities will be in accordance with such pollution. The public should keep track of news and information and instruction on the websites of the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, http://www.almannavarnir.is, and of the Environment Agency, http://www.ust.is .

According to information from the airports, air traffic is limited to and from Keflavík, Reykjavík and Akureyri at the moment. No IFR-permissions are issued for Akureyri Airport, but the Egilsstaðir Airport is open to all flight traffic. Further information will be released later this morning.

The information centre for the media at Hvolsvöllur (tel. 847-4846) will remain open during he week-end. A press representative will be there, but there will be no meeting with specialists at 8 am. On the other hand, such meetings will be held at the information centre in Skógarhlíð from 08:00 til 09:00 am, Saturday and Sunday. Today, geophysicist Sigurlaug Hjaltadóttir, from Iceland Weather Bureau, Árni Snorrason, director of the Weather Bureau, and Árni Birgisson, director of the airport and guiding dept. of  Isavia, will answer questions conveyed by the media and press agents.

Detailed Map of eruption Site [The Institute of Earth Science Nordic Volcanological Center]


Click on image to get larger map (pdf-file)
Prepared by: Ásta Rut Hjartardóttir (astahj@hi.is), Páll Einarsson (palli@hi.is)

See also

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Posted in eyjafjalla, Eyjafjallajökull, Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Eyjafjallajökull glacier, Eyjafjöll, Iceland volcano, Icelandic volcano | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Eyjafjöll Eruption – Images of the Day

Posted by feww on March 27, 2010

Hvannárgil Canyon Lava Fall


Photo Credit: RAX /Ragnar Axelsson/via MBL. Image may be subject to copyright.


The Lava Fall. Photo by Páll Stefánsson. Image may be subject to copyright.

Lava from  Fimmvörduháls crater on a mountain pass in south Iceland has changed direction the Hrunagil canyon into the Hvannárgil canyon forming a spectacular 100-meter high lava fall.

“There is a continuous flow of lava,” geophysicist Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson told Morgunbladid. The lava flow now extends to about one kilometer from the fissure.

Another Disappointing Image from NASA


A natural-color satellite image showing …  The image was acquired on March 24, 2010, by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. Credit: NASA

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Webcams – Volcanoes in Iceland

Latest Images (RUV): http://www.ruv.is/flokkar/hamfarir

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