It was inevitable, really. Iceland got lucky for the first four eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula, but when volcanoes are rolling dice in populated areas, they eventually get snake eyes and buildings burn. Grindavík had a Christmas reprieve, but the new year isn’t starting off so well.
That’s life on a reawakened volcanic peninsula.
From virtually the moment the 2023 Sundhnúkur eruption ended, we knew the volcano wasn’t done. The ground began rising, signalling intruding magma. I was surprised when Icelandic authorities allowed townspeople to return to Grindavík and the Blue Lagoon reopened for tourists. The Eldvörp–Svartsengi volcanic system was letting everyone know, very clearly, that it wasn’t done with the lava and that it wouldn’t be done for some time. It was just taking a holiday break. But Icelandic folks are made of tough stuff, and the small matter of a restless volcano wasn’t going to keep them from living life as normally as possible. They just kept a wary eye on the thing and carried on.
Things were coming to a head going into the weekend, and authorities had issued an evacuation order for Grindavík come Monday. The volcano couldn’t wait that long. Around 3 am Iceland time, a dramatic increase in seismic activity let everyone know go time was now. Sirens sounds, emergency alerts texted, and people fled just in time. (more…)
The Reykajanes volcanic system just gave Iceland an awful early Christmas present: a brand new eruption in nearly the worst possible spot. Alas, we can’t return it.
Aerial view of the eruption taken from a Civil Defense helicopter a few hours after the eruption started. Credit: Almannavarnadeild ríkislögreglustjóra
After a long period of quiet, a seismic swarm began just after 9 pm local time in the darkness of a December night. At around 10:20 pm, the ground split open and the magma that had intruded in a long dike over the last two months emerged in spectacular lava fountains, some reaching hundreds of meters in height. The volume of lava is a staggering 100-200 cubic meters per second, dwarfing the other recent Reykjanes eruptions. The fissures quickly expanded to around 4 kilometers in length, and as of this writing are still opening. (more…)
Up til now, volcanic eruptions on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula were benevolent tourist attractions. They put on pretty shows and confined themselves to remote, unpopulated areas, clustered around Fagradalsfjall. No important infrastructure was harmed. People got to hike up and safely experience the birth of a new volcano. It was as good as volcanic eruptions get.
Magma started intruding under Fagradalsfjall in September, just a couple of months after the end of its third eruption. Until late October, it didn’t look like things would get too exciting. But a seismic swarm started near the Blue Lagoon area just north of Grindavík late on the 24th and ramped up dramatically overnight. Over one thousand earthquakes, the largest a M4.5, were recorded overnight, most at a depth of around 5 kilometers. By the next day, the numbers had risen to 4,000, some as shallow as 2 kilometers. And the ground was beginning to deform.
On the 27th, horizontal ground displacement was already up to 2 centimeters, and a M4.0 was recorded just 2 kilometers north of Grindavík. Yikes.
There are so many things to see while watching a livestream of a volcanic eruption. Lava fountains, spatter cones being built up and falling down, turbulence in lava flows… and lava devils?!
Yes, indeed! Keep your focus on the left in the video below, and you’ll see molten lava sucked up and flung about by a vigorous little whirlwind during Kilauea’s latest summit eruption: (more…)
Turkey and Syria are reeling after being struck by two enormous earthquakes in quick succession. Both earthquakes occurred along the East Anatolian Fault Zone; between them and their aftershocks, the damage is catastrophic, and the death toll is already in the thousands and rapidly climbing.
The first earthquake, striking near Gaziantep at 4:17 am local time, was measured by the USGS as a M7.8. At first, it wasn’t clear whether this earthquake struck within the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) or the Dead Sea Transform fault zone. As of this writing, it appears it was located within the EAFZ.
The second earthquake struck near Ekinözü at 1:24 pm local time, and measured as a M7.5. Though it was 95 kilometers northeast of the initial quake and on a separate fault, it qualifies as an aftershock instead of a stand-alone earthquake. More on that later in this post.
We won’t have a clear picture of precisely which faults were involved, the details of the earthquakes, and the implications for the region going forward for months, possibly longer. Once we have some solid science, I’ll write up a properly detailed post for you. For today, I’ll go over some of the best available science, share some sobering videos, and provide ways you can help people in the affected region. (more…)
Imagine going to sleep one night, and then being awakened in the small hours of the morning by a volcano that’s suddenly erupting right beside your town. Fifty years ago, this was the scene for residents of the small Icelandic fishing town of Heimaey, on the island of the same name.
One day, I will write it up properly. It’s an eruption that has fascinated me since childhood, and it’s a wonderful example of people battling lava and pretty much winning. But today is not that day. Instead, I have a collage of videos for you, including one featuring a younger David Attenborough on location. How awesome is this? (more…)
After giving the world a lovely early midwinter gift with the first eruption of Mauna Loa in 38 years, Madam Pele took the holidays off. Kilauea’s summit eruption paused on December 9th, possibly due to the relief of stress as its neighbor’s reservoir emptied.* Mauna Loa’s display ended on the 13th, and both volcanoes slumbered peacefully through the new year.
Pele returned to Kilauea with a spectacular lava show on January 5th. And I’ve got the videos all nicely arranged for you.
It’s Coalmas! Around this time of the year, some people threaten to leave coal in our stockings like it’s a bad thing. Pfft. Geologists know coal is actually a very amazing rock and very cool to have a lump of.
If you’re not convinced that holding a several hundred year-old shiny black flammable vestige of a really unique geological era is a fabulous thing, or if you just want to marvel at its remarkable past, let me suggest Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese. This is one of the best books I read in 2022. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a coal miner’s daughter with a soft spot for rocks that burn. I would have loved it even if I hated the vile, polluting stuff.
After a long period of unrest, Mauna Loa volcano began erupting near midnight on November 27th. Is this eruption a big frigging deal? Is it going to destroy major Hawaiian cities? How did we get here? Let’s delve!
First, you’ve gotta watch the first moments of the eruption though the USGS thermal camera at the summit. Watching a fissure split Moku’āweoweo caldera and fresh lava spill across the caldera floor is absolutely riveting:
Isn’t that gorgeous? I was mesmerized in the wee hours of the morning, refreshing the summit webcams and watching the eruption evolve. There’s something incredibly beautiful about fresh lava fountaining and flowing where it has absolutely zero chance of seriously ruining anyone’s day.
After resurfacing most of the caldera floor (which is a lot- the floor is nearly 15km² in area!), lava flows overtopped the crater rim to the southwest on the morning of November 28th. You could see lava from the coast! (more…)
