After a brief steamy spell earlier this week, activity surrounding the volcano under Eyjafjallajökull has once again died down. There is no longer any steam visible from the volcano. Geophysicist Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson says that in recent days there has been little change at the eruption site.

The flow of steam from the eruption site is ever-decreasing as the volcano continues to cool. The visibility of the steam cloud depends very much on the local humidity, general weather conditions and amount of cloud cover.

“There is a flow of steam from the vent and the eruption channel is cooling and subsiding gradually. The eruption channel heats ground water and creates an outflow of steam there, which is considerable in size,” said Magnús Tumi in an interview with mbl.is.

“How visible the steam cloud will be depends on the wind, relative humidity and cloud cover,” continues Magnús Tumi, adding that this is typical of a cooling volcano such as Eyjafjallajökull.

Source and image: mbl.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull

The Landsbjörg Rescue Team was called out this evening to search for two men in the Fimmvörðuháls area, which is located between the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull in south Iceland.

Fimmvörðuháls was the site of volcanic activity before the larger eruption under Eyjafjallajökull earlier this year. The men intended to visit the eruption site themselves, but got lost in the thick fog which has been covering much of the country today.

One of the men is Icelandic and the other Danish, and both are experienced mountaineers according to information from Morgunblaðið. The men are in constant contact with the search and rescue team, who are now trying to locate them. The team is currently on its way up both of the larger mountains in the area.

The team received a message from the men just before midnight on Sunday that they saw the blue flashing lights of the rescue team somewhere near Þórsmörk. The image depicts a search and rescue team on Fimmvörðuháls.

Source and image: mbl.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull, Tourism

The Icelandic Forestry Service (IFS) today announced that Icelandic forests are coping well with ash from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption. The forest in Húsadalur is thought to be in good shape after ashfall over the period 18th–21st May. There are considerable amounts of nutrients in the ash, which will act as a fertiliser for the plants.

It is stated in the news letter of the IFS that the thickest ash layer fell in Húsadalur, where it was about 3cm in depth, and the thinnest over Langadalur and Básar where it was only around 1–2cm deep. The ash also fell differently in different areas. For example in Húsadalur, the ash fell with rain and clung to trees, whereas in Langadalur and Básar it fell during dry whether and settled on the forest floor.

Húsadalur forest was at first looking a little worse for wear after the first few days of ashfall, becoming grey under the layer of ash, but a few days later the forest returned to its familiar green hue as the trees disposed of the ash from their branches and buds when they leaved.

It may take the forest floor growth a little longer to recover, however, as it will be more difficult for smaller plants to grow up through the ash layer in the thickest places. It is hoped that the ash will eventually wash into the soil when it rains, allowing flowers to bloom. Hardy plants, such as angelica, are already growing up out of the ash, and the number of visible species is expected to increase with the turn to summer.

Source: mbl.is
Image: skogur.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull, Forests

Volcanic activity is continuing to the west of the Eyjafjallajökull vent, and there are intermittent turbulent explosions producing ash, according to a report in Morgunblaðið today. The ash being produced is not being carried very far from the eruption site. The restlessness of the volcano is also showing up in seismological measurements, which saw an increase in intensity with this new spate of activity.

White cumulus clouds produced by the explosions have reached heights of up to 6km. The eruption site will continue to be closely monitored, according to an status report issued by the Icelandic Met Office and the geology department at the University of Iceland.

There is a lot of steam activity in the crater, which has noticeably increased since Thursday. A new crater has appeared to the west of the one where the explosive activity originally emanated. Following a period of restlessness late on Sunday, steam clouds began to rise from the new crater. The clouds and explosions are both small, but because of the clouds it is only possible to see part of the new crater at the moment. The glacier continues to move past the older crater.

As of midday on 4th June, activity has increased in areas surrounding the eruption site, but waned a little towards the evening. Small spells of activity continued, and on Saturday morning reached their peak at around 9am. The restlessness has been steadily decreasing since Sunday morning, yet late yesterday increased for about an hour with small bursts of activity through the night, going as fast as they have been coming.

Source and image: mbl.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull

Many people in the capital area woke up this morning to find their cars covered in a layer of volcanic debris, after ash from the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull carried by the wind fell from the sky. The situation is significantly worse closer to the eruption site, and one infectiologist is monitoring the effects of ash on people’s health. He considers the ash to be having primarily psychological effects at the moment.

Considering the appearance of many cars in the capital area this morning, car washes across the region should be looking at a roaring trade today. Although Eyjafjallajökull is no longer spewing ash over Suðurland, the ash that has already fallen is being carried around the entire country on the wind, bringing about poor atmospheric conditions.

Yesterday there was a significant amount of particle pollution in the air in the capital area.

“For the majority of people here in Reykjavík, this will not have an effect on health. There was an ashy haze over the the city yesterday, and when it rained later in the day the dust that was up in the atmosphere was carried down, as can be widely seen on cars this morning,” said Haraldur Briem, infectiologist at the Directorate of Health.

“It is not known to cause persistent or delayed symptoms or conditions, but we want to know as much about this as possible and we are therefore doing research [close to the eruption site].” Haraldur goes on to say that it is an extremely difficult situation for those in the area to live under the current circumstances, adding that it evidently causes people a lot of distress, but also that this seems to be the current extent of the ash’s effect on people’s health.

Source and image: visir.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull, Health

The volcanic activity surrounding Eyjafjallajökull is all but over. Not everything is lying dormant, however, so authorities can’t officially call an end to the eruption just yet. The development of events over the next few days will be closely followed, after which it will be decided whether the eruption can finally be declared over.

Geologist Páll Einarsson points out that volcanic eruptions usually finish by petering out gradually, rather than coming to a sudden stop. The unusual activity surrounding the eruption under Eyjafjallajökull has, however, diminished significantly, giving rise to perhaps premature claims of an end to the eruption. Páll says that the current eruption is merely a small chapter in the history of Eyjafjalljökull and of Icelandic volcanic activity, and that although this chapter appears to have come to an end, history will nevertheless continue.

Asked about a potential eruption of Katla in the near future, Páll says that there is currently no evidence to suggest that will be case. By way of comparison, there are indications that both Grímsvötn and Hekla are “ready” to erupt at any moment; the same cannot be said for Katla, although she is certain to erupt sooner or later (even if it just a small eruption).

Scientists are closely following events as they develop, saying that nothing indicates the eruption will start up again, but at this point it would be unwise to discount that possibility completely. The steam cloud is still visible at the site of the vent, but no ashfall forecasts have been issued.

According to Civil Protection Department chief Víðir Reynisson, efforts will now focus on clean-up of the ash that has fallen across the region and clean-up assistants will continue their work as long as necessary. The CPD are still paying particular attention to the possibility of mudslides in the area, which could occur if there is a lot of rainfall on the layers of fallen ash.

The road into Þórsmörk is still closed according to Víðir, but repairs to the road are expected to be completed by the Icelandic Road Administration over the weekend. The tourist situation will be closely followed, and it is expected that tourist traffic will be allowed on the road into Þórsmörk with restrictions from next weekend.

Although there has been no ashfall in recent days, there is always the prospect of dry ash entering the atmosphere as it is carried up by the wind, which could lead to poor air conditions and low visibility. Morgunbláðið therefore recommends readers to keep up-to-date with the measurements of airborne particles on the Vista website, which would be wise for anyone planning to visit the area in the near future.

Source: mbl.is
Image: anjči

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull

Well here’s testament to Iceland’s global influence. Or at least it’s Northern European influence. One Steinunn Sveinsdóttir Barkved (right), an Icelandic resident of the town of Sola, not far from Stavanger in Norway, is said to be in no doubt that certain stones that have turned up on the beach close to her home, originate from the volcanic eruption under Eyjafjallajökull.

“I spotted three unusual stones on the beach, which I was completely sure were lumps of lava or pumice. What’s more, there was a sulphur smell coming from one of them. When I came back to the beach later on, I noticed that more of these lumps had washed ashore.”

Steinunn is half-Icelandic and says she knows Iceland very well, but has lived in Norway for a while. She has no doubt that what she found are lumps of lava ad that they couldn’t be anything Norwegian. The distance from the southernmost tip of Iceland to the town of Sola is about 1,374 km (854 miles, very rough Google Earth estimate), so the pieces of lava would have travelled at least this far to reach the coast of Norway.

Source: mbl.is
Image: mbl.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull, Norway

Well this will come as a relief for many. Scientists and top geology boffins are now claiming that activity surrounding the Eyjafjallajökull eruption has died down significantly and that the volcano under the glacier ‘appears dormant’.

According to measurements conducted by heat-sensitive cameras, the temperature inside the volcano has dropped to 100°C and that is just producing steam, rather than ash and lava. The measurements were taken by the Icelandic Met Office and University of Iceland.

A memo issued by the Met Office today confirms that the activity remains at minimal levels. The steam cloud which surrounds the eruption site contains no visible ash, and is around 2km in height. Levels of activity continue to decrease and are approaching those surrounding the area before the eruption. Earthquake activity has also dropped significantly; however one tremor from the volcano was detected last night.

No ashfall forecasts were issued today and no lightning has been detected by instruments. The civil defence department of the National Police Commission says that spirits have lifted in the Suðurland region and that optimism prevails among those who live in the areas surrounding the glacier. This will give farmers in these areas a period of (hopefully permanent) respite and the opportunity to get to work removing all that ash from their land.

Sources: guardian.co.uk, mbl.is
Image: anjči

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull

As our dearest Eyjafjallajökull volcano continues to spew out ash into the atmosphere, the appropriate authorities have decided that there will be no internal flights from Reykjavík airport as the ash cloud is too dense to allow safe flying. As of Sunday evening, Keflavík International Airport remains open, and aeroplanes are flying into the airport from the USA and are expected to fly in from Europe on Monday morning.

Iceland relies heavily on its domestic flights, as there is no railway system in the country and it is the fastest way to travel between large population centres.

According to information from the Icelandic Met Office, it is uncertain whether flights from Keflavík International Airport will operate today, and they expect to be able to shed a little more light on the situation by midday. It is possible that the airports in Akureyri and Egilsstaðir will need to be closed this evening, although there is no confirmation of this as yet. The ash is mainly spreading to the north, one spur heading over Sprengisandur, whilst another is heading south and is just encroaching on the Faroe Islands.

The situation is highly dependent on wind direction, the ash will affect any airport if the wind blows it in that direction and in a high enough quantity. The decision was made today to close most UK airports, those in the north of the country being closed first. Limited services are flying in and out of Gatwick and Heathrow airports, and they expect to be able to resume full services later today.

As the situation remains highly changeable, we could see these airports reopen as others close as the wind direction changes and carries the ash away. Volcanic ash is as famously difficult to predict as the lottery numbers, so keep an eye on the situation if you’re expecting to fly soon!

Source: mbl.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull, Transport

Geologist Haraldur Sigurðsson considers it likely that an extensive fissure in the earth’s crust lies underneath Eyjafjallajökull. Earthquakes, which began there on Friday, appeared in regular lines oscillating from the southwest to the northeast.

Haraldur says on his website that the series of earthquakes that began on Friday is somewhat unusual. “Fourteen quakes appeared in regular lines going from the southwest to the northeast, as the image from the Icelandic Met Office shows [see right]. This isn’t the first time that earthquakes have shown this trend, but this is by far the most significant example. The earthquakes are relatively small, and range from 1 to 27km in depth. It is likely that they follow a specific fissure, fault or open corridor in the crust. This trend is really the main fissure trend in the southern part of the volcanic zone.”

What this means for the eruption is unknown, and it doesn’t really help to predict any future activity. It does, however, shed a light on the source of volcanism in the area and helps geologists further their knowledge of a very geologically active land.

Source: mbl.is
Image: Icelandic Met Office

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull

Ash, which fell over the Westman Islands yesterday, is being carried up into the air with even the slightest of winds, according to residents of Heimaey (pictured below right) and has led to the closure of the island chain’s swimming facility. There has been little ashfall over the archipelago today, but with any slight movement of the wind, the ash becomes so disturbed that it becomes difficult for residents to see from one house to another.

A new outdoor area was opened at the Westman Islands Swimming Pool last week, but it has now become necessary to close it because of the ashfall, according to the website Eyjafréttir. It is unclear how long it will take to clean up the area, as it is covered in a tartan-like material which can take a long time to clean. When volcanic ash comes into contact with water, it turns into a thick sludge which becomes concrete when it dries out, fusing together and requiring heavy plant to remove some instances.

In addition to this, the deep pool, the childrens’ pool, the three hotpots and the waterslides will all need to be cleaned. For those of you unfamiliar with the cultural significance of the swimming pool in Iceland, think of this incident as akin to a local British pub or American bar being closed temporarily. Whilst the Westman islanders are sure to be more than peeved by the ash’s unwelcome presence, this will at least provide some temporary work for a bored teenage islander. Get scraping!

Source: mbl.is
Image: michaelclarke

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull, Westman Islands

Sláturfélag Suðurlands (SS) has offered to slaughter Suðurland farmers’ livestock next week. Guðmundur Svavarsson, production manager for SS in Hvolsvöllur, says that today every departmental manager in the area was contacted in the area surrounding Eyjafjallajökull.

“We will able to provide it, if farmers want us the slaughter their livestock next week. Then we will solve [the problem],” said Guðmundur in an interview with Morgunblaðið.

This follows continued ashfall in the area, which has forced farmers to move their livestock indoors.

Source: mbl.is

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull

The ever-persistent ash cloud from the volcano under Eyjafjallajökull is progressing steadily westwards, last night falling on the town of Selfoss. The ash came down with rain, settling everywhere. Previously, the wind has blown the ash cloud in a predominately east to southeast direction, meaning that the cloud has avoided large population centres in Iceland and instead caused flight interruptions across Europe.

The wind direction in Suðurland changed yesterday evening to an easterly, bringing with it ash which began to fall across the county of Rangárvallasýsla and over the town of Selfoss, the largest town in southern Iceland. “The eastern part of the sky was pitch black,” said Magnús Páll Sigurjónsson, a policeman in Suðurland, in an interview with Morgunblaðið.

“With the ash falling together with rain, the cars look like they have been driven through a puddle of mud,” he continues, adding that the sky appears grey-brown to the south, indicating that ash is in the air. The ashfall is similar to that surrounding the 1980 eruption of Hekla.

“The raindrops are black. I popped out of the car for a moment, and I noticed that my raincoat bore the mark of the ashfall when I got back in,” said Steinunn Ósk Kolbeinsdóttir, a reporter for Morgunblaðið. There has been heavy ashfall in Hvolsvöllur this morning, where ash covers cars and houses. “There was black rain and everything was dark,” siad Steinunn. “It’s clearing up a bit now, but there’s still a black ashcloud visible over Landeyjar towards the sea.”

Source: mbl.is, mbl.is
Image: Icelandic Coast Guard

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull

The activity surrounding the Eyjafjallajökull eruption shows little sign of slowing down, according to a report published by Morgunblaðið today. The volcanic activity, described as “steady” by the earth sciences department of the University of Iceland, doesn’t seem to be giving anything away about the possibility of the eruption ending any time soon. Looks like the person selling vials of the ashy stuff can look forward to a steady supply of stock for the foreseeable future.

Geologist Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson maintains that the eruption is a special one compared to others in Iceland, because of both its duration and the fact that activity has increased since it first began erupting. He also warns that people should prepare themselves for the fact that the eruption may take a long time to subside.

The volcano underneath Eyjafjallajökull is often described as Hekla’s little sister (herself described as the gateway to hell). One can only hope that she will not wake up her bigger sister with her rumblings any time soon, or not, depending on whether you are of a geological persuasion. Those of us with flights booked for the summer can take solace in the fact that flight rules in airspace containing volcanic ash were today relaxed in the UK.

Source: mbl.is, guardian.co.uk
Image: anjči

Labels: Eyjafjallajökull, Geology