Tag: Grindavík
Alas, Poor Grindavík Volume 2: Lava Invades the Town
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…)
Alas, Poor Grindavík: Iceland Eruption Commences in a Terrible Location
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
Iceland Eruption Nearly Inevitable; Grindavík Could Go Under Lava
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.
Previous Fagradalsfall Eruption Sites. Credit: Icelandic Meteorological Office
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.
But magma hadn’t started moving on up yet.