In a matter of weeks, the region surrounding the town of Grindavik went from experiencing regular seismic activity to three volcanic eruptions, the latest one happening just yesterday. The town was evacuated last November as quakes grew in
The magma dike was estimated to have a length of 15 kilometers (9.3 miles), cracking the ground beneath the town and even threatening the famous Blue Lagoon, an open-air geothermal spa and major tourist destination. The dike was seen lengthening and rising, and researchers have now established the flow of magma into the dike. It was not just fast – they are calling it ultra-fast.
They have estimated that the flow rate was 7,400 cubic meters per second (261,328.5 cubic feet per second). That’s three Olympic swimming pools every second, or the concrete in the whole
Since the
Lava fountains were seen to be 50 to 80 meters (165 to 260 feet) tall with a plume reaching an altitude of 3 kilometers (slightly less than 2 miles). The Icelandic Meteorological Office reported the formation of tephra falls on Grindavik. Tephra is a frothy material that forms when
“A conspicuous, dark plume rises from one part of the eruptive fissure. This is likely due to magma interaction with groundwater which results in a slight explosive activity where white plume of steam mixes with dark volcanic plume,” the IMO staff
The paper describing the motion of the magma is published in the journal