[Martyn Wells]

Previous "Grim" eruptions...

2004 Subglacial Eruption
A 5-day long eruption began at Grimsvotn Volcano on 1st November 2004. An intense swarm of volcanic earthquakes began 3 hours before the eruption. The eruption began under 150-200 m of ice and melted its way to the surface in 1 hour. On 2-3 November an eruption plume reached an altitude of 13 km, accompanied by volcanic lightning. The ash plume reached Norway, Finland, and Sweden.The total volume of the jökulhlaup was 0.5 cubic km.

1998 Eruption
A 10-day eruption began on 18th December 1998 within the caldera of Grímsvötn volcano, at a location 10 km S of the 1996 eruption. Within 10 minutes a plume rose 10 km above the Vatnajökull glacier. The plume was visible from Reykjavik, 200 km W. Eruption vents were located along a 1.3 km long fissure orientated E-W on the S caldera fault.

1996 Eruption
A 2-week long subglacial eruption began on 30th September 1996, along part of the East Rift Zone that traverses beneath the NW side of Vatnajökull, Europe's largest continental glacier. The eruption was preceded by earthquakes on 29th September at Bardarbunga volcano. The high-frequency tremor resulted from lateral magma
injection from a shallow magma chamber beneath Bardarbunga toward the 1996 eruption site at Gjalp.

Within a day, the earthquake hypocenters migrated 20 km south, where a subglacial eruption started during the evening of 30th September. The eruption caused glacial ice to subside by 50 m in 4 hours, forming a bowl-like depression. On 2nd October the eruption broke through the ice, creating an ash plume 500 m high. By 3rd October the glacier had subsided over an area 8-9 km long and 2-3 km wide. On 4th October, water in the caldera lake reached this highest levels of the 20th century. The eruption occurred within 70 km of the great Laki fissure eruption of 1783-85.

1983 Eruption
An eruption began at Grimsvotn Volcano on 28 or 29 May 1983. The eruption broke through ice on 29th May and deposited a 5-km long thin layer of ash on the ice cap, south of the vent. Explosions occurred in the lake, and a steam plume rose to a height of 8000 m.


1982 Eruption
On 28th January 1982 a glacier burst (jökulhlaup) occurred at Grímsvötn caldera in Vatnajökull glacier. The eruption volume was 1.3 cubic km and lowered the ice level in the caldera by 50 m.


1972 Eruption
A glacial outburst flood occurred at Grimsvotn Volcano in March 1972.


Laki (Skaftar Fires) and Grimsvotn eruptions 1783-1785
The eruption at Laki began on 8th June 1783 with a brief explosive event on a short fissure, and lava rapidly began to flow into the Skaftfi river gorge. Lava reached the lowlands, 35 km away, four days later.

Laki eruption created a 25 km long fracture and basalt lava flows extended 70 km. The lava flow covered 565 square km (14.7 cubic km). Large amounts of gas were produced in the eruption which covered most of Europe in a blue haze.

Fluorine was released by the eruption and cattle died from eating the contaminated grass. Over 200 000 livestock were killed in Iceland and the resulting famine resulted in 10 000 deaths.


Grimsvötn Volcano

[markh]

The 2004 eruption spewed out a total volume of 0.5 cu km. The estimated volume of recent Eyja was 0.25 cu km. I am amazed at the lack of global interest in this! Its potential could see another April x 2.
M

[Dave W]

I suspect the papers feel that they've done ash to death this year ;)

[Dave W]

All quiet again now I see..

[Sam Jowett]

Harmonic tremor on a gradual decline, yes... perhaps the flood was too small to release enough pressure above the main vent?

[Paul Domaille]

Quote

Dave W - 3/11/2010 16:44 I suspect the papers feel that they've done ash to death this year ;)

If only they would do the same with certain long range forecasters 666

[Sam Jowett]

Esjufjöll volcano at the SE part of the Vatnajökull icecap seems to have rumbling away for several days now. It hasn't erupted since 1927, but worth keeping an eye on...

http://www.jonfr.com/volcano/?p=209
http://en.vedur.is/e...es/vatnajokull/

[JCW]

More quakes at Vatnajokull....and a mag 3+ quake as well!

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/vatnajokull/

 

 

 

[Sam Jowett]

It's Askja that seems to be rumbling most near Vatnajokull today...

http://www.volcano.s...m?vnum=1703-06=

[Sam Jowett]

There's hints that either Esjufjöll or Grimsvotn volcano might be showing some inflation under the Vatnajokull glacier: http://www.jonfr.com/volcano/?p=233

Suggestions of unusually positioned earthquakes under Katla may be due to magma movement: http://www.jonfr.com/volcano/?p=227

[Martyn Wells]

New SIL stations have been fitted around Eyjaf... and now we have quite a swarm of quakes around Eyjaf and Katla. Whilst this could coincide with the new stations being implemented, there have also been reports of intermittent steam from the crater lake... Further, explosions have been heard recently in the last few days at farms noth and east of the volcano.

Here's the latest view of Eyjaf... No notable increase in water flow or jokull underway, and harmonic tremble seems fairly stable (though unlike the original eruption, that needed to melt away previous eruptive material, any magma left in chambers and sills would still be pretty warm and viscous, perhaps lending to a more rapid rise in magma flow.

Note in the image, is that steam at the crater or a cloud? You decide for yourslef, but for me it's a trick of the light and is a backlit by the setting sun.

In summary, there could be awful lot of coincidence going on here and nothing will come from this. On the other hand we might be seeing the first signs of a new eruption. I'm sure other more knowledgable than me here will choose their own interpretation :)

[Sam Jowett]

They were "frostquakes" apparently... see: http://www.jonfr.com/volcano/?p=426

[Martyn Wells]

Grimsfjall: cluster of 3 strong earthquakes have just occured in the caldera, and harmonic tremor in the area has started to rise. The latter may be caused by local weather conditions... however well worth watching this area.

[Martyn Wells]

An earthquake of 4.9 mag has just been reported in the vicinity of Vatnajokull. There is no confirmation of this quake at the moment via USGS, and so the quality and location of this event are currently sketchy...

[PK2]

Quote

Martyn Wells - 19/1/2011 14:26

An earthquake of 4.9 mag has just been reported in the vicinity of Vatnajokull. There is no confirmation of this quake at the moment via USGS, and so the quality and location of this event are currently sketchy...

Looks (ATM) like the Icelandic "Met"/whatever are locating it nearer Eyjafjallajokull/Myrdalsjokull (can't work out which quake is which :( ).

[5hort5]

I see there are reports starting to come out about the larger one having tremors now:

http://www.telegraph...t-to-erupt.html

[PK2]

Quote

5hort5 - 9/2/2011 08:55

I see there are reports starting to come out about the larger one having tremors now:

http://www.telegraph...t-to-erupt.html

The story has a dedicated thread but I feel it's relevant here too. I hope Andy doesn't mind me cross posting this 8-)

Quote

Andy Mayhew - 11/2/2011 11:07

Quote

The Icelandic geophysicist, Professor Pall Einarsson, whose words have caused something of an international volcano scare, says he is dumbfounded by how much his message has changed in translation. Pall Einarsson was interviewed by Icelandic broadcaster RUV in Icelandic about a series of earthquakes in the highlands.The interview was then translated and used by Britain’s Daily Telegraph, among others. Since then the message has morphed out of all recognition, Einarsson says.

“It is really strange how this news came into existence. I wasn’t even warning of a likely eruption at Bardarbunga [in the interview],” he told IceNews. “The things I emphasised in my interview with RUV’s Bjorn Malmqvist were that the earthquakes at Bardarbunga and Kistufell last week are not unusual, there are often movements there, and sometimes much bigger than this.

http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2011/02/10/iceland-volcano-professor-hits-back-at-eruption-scare-stories/#ixzz1DeC07pnJ

[doctormog]

With a significant increase in earthquake activity today is the Krísuvík volcano setting up for an eruption?

Edit: These data show the ongoing swarm rather well:

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/reykjanespeninsula/#view=table

Perhaps it'll settle down again but it might be worth keeping an eye on, just in case.

[Nigel Bolton]

Hmm, the quakes are getting bigger.............................

N.

[markh]

Holy crap, that's a spit from the blue lagoon. I bet the bathers are bubbling ;-) Keep an eye on this...a quick return could be beckoning.
M