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☆ Iceland Braces for Another Volcanic Blast. Should We Worry?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Sarah Hurtes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Once revered as the abodes of the gods, some bring forth diamonds from the depths of the earth. But they also spit lava, shake the earth, unleash towering walls of water and repaint the world’s skies. “We’re going through a volcanic crisis,” said Matthew J. Roberts, the managing director of the Icelandic Meteorological Office. “This is perhaps the most intense period of volcanic activity affecting an urban environment at the moment.” Officials are now further restricting access to the likely eruption site, he said. The latest episode began on May 29, when a volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted for the fourth time since December.

Persons: “, ”, Matthew J, Roberts Organizations: Icelandic Meteorological Locations: Iceland, Grindavik

☆ Iceland’s volcanic activity may continue for decades, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —After 800 years of calm, volcanoes have awakened in the Reykjanes Peninsula of Iceland — about 56 kilometers (35 miles) south of the nation’s capital, Reykjavik. While there is no risk of a global calamity happening, researchers are now warning that new scientific evidence suggests the eruptions originating from the Reykjanes Peninsula could continue for years or even decades. But people staying there, with the possibility of a very rapid onset of volcanic activity, I don’t think that’s recommended. “The Reykjanes peninsula is exactly on this plate boundary,” he added, “and it seems that we are now witnessing the earliest part of a major eruption episode. Icelandic geoscientists and international collaborators are tracking the frequency and intensity of seismic activity and ground deformation in real time.

Persons: that’s, ”, Valentin Troll, John Moore, Hugh Tuffen, “, Emin Yogurtcuoglu, volcanologist Einat Lev, Lamont, Lev, Jessica Johnson, ” Johnson, Tuffen Organizations: CNN, Iceland —, Uppsala University, Terra Nova, Lancaster University, Keflavík, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Columbia University, University of East Locations: Reykjanes, Iceland, Reykjavik, Grindavík, Sweden, volcanology, United Kingdom, Iceland Iceland, Kentucky, Fagradalsfjall, New York, University of East Anglia

☆ Iceland volcano dramatically erupts again as streams of lava reach town’s defensive walls
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Met Office had earlier warned that a volcanic eruption was likely following “intense seismic activity” at the crater and a build-up of magma in its underground reservoir. “Lava is flowing outside the defense walls at Grindavík in several places, and lava is also starting to flow outside the walls at Svartsengi,” Víðir Reynisson from Iceland’s Civil Defense told RUV. Another volcanic eruption is seen from a helicopter flight for the fifth time since December on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland on May 29, 2024. The site is part of southwest Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula — a thick finger of land pointing west into the North Atlantic Ocean from Reykjavik. Rather than having a central volcano, the Reykjanes Peninsula is dominated by a rift valley, with lava fields and cones.

Persons: RUV, ” Reynisson, Defense’s Reynisson, Benedikt Ófeigsson, ” Organizations: CNN, Iceland’s, Met Office, Iceland’s Civil Defense, Almannavarnadeild, Getty, Iceland’s Met, Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Iceland, Grindavík, Hagafell, Svartsengi, Anadolu, Reykjavik

LONDON (AP) — A volcanic eruption in southwestern Iceland appears to have subsided, though scientists are warning that the area may experience further eruptions in the coming months. Iceland’s Meteorological Office said late Thursday that the eruption had decreased significantly. The eruption began at about 6 a.m. local time on Thursday in the area northeast of Mount Sýlingarfell, the Met Office said. Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said authorities hope to restore hot water to the area by midday on Friday, national broadcaster RUV reported. The eruption site is about 4 kilometers (2½ miles) northeast of Grindavik, a coastal town of 3,800 people that was evacuated before a previous eruption on Dec. 18.

Persons: Mount Sýlingarfell, Katrin Jakobsdottir, Benedikt, RUV, ’ Organizations: Iceland’s, Office, Met Office, RUV, Icelandic Met Office, “ Locations: Iceland, Mount, Grindavik

GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday, less than two months after a previous eruption in the area forced the evacuation of the coastal town of Grindavik. The eruption began about 6 a.m. local time, sending lava into the air along a 3-kilometer-long (1.9-mile-long) fissure northeast of Mount Sundhnukur, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. This is the third eruption since December of a volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which is home to Keflavik, Iceland’s main airport. The volcano eventually erupted on Dec. 18, sending lava flowing away from Grindavik. A second eruption that began on Jan. 14 sent lava towards the town.

Persons: Mount Sundhnukur, RUV Organizations: Icelandic Meteorological, Coast Guard, Met, Keflavik Locations: GRINDAVIK, Iceland, Grindavik, Mount, Iceland’s, Europe, Iceland's, Reykjavik, Sýlingarfell

☆ Volcano Erupts in Iceland for Third Time Since December
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Egill Bjarnason | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A volcano system in southwestern Iceland erupted on Thursday, for the third time since December, with fountains of bright orange lava visible from Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, about 30 miles away. The eruption occurred at 6 a.m., according to the country’s Meteorological Office, on a mountain ridge on the Reykjanes Peninsula, where a significant share of Iceland’s population of about 375,000 lives, although they did not appear to be at risk. Iceland’s civil defense agency said the nearby Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa that is a popular tourist destination, had been evacuated on Thursday morning. Grindavik, a small fishing town of 3,800 that is the closest population center to the volcano, was evacuated before the volcano last erupted in January and destroyed part of the town. It remains empty.

Organizations: country’s Meteorological Locations: Iceland, Reykjavík, Blue

☆ Iceland Scrambles to Shelter Residents Made Homeless by Volcanic Eruption
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Egill Bjarnason | Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To house the evacuees of Grindavik, the Icelandic town where lava poured into some houses last week after a volcanic eruption, a former prime minister proposed building a new town from scratch. A politician said Airbnbs around the island nation should be restricted to make room for the residents. About 3,700 people lived there before the eruption, a significant number of residents for Iceland, whose total population is only 400,000. The authorities are scrambling to house the residents and contain their financial losses, and the issue is dominating the national debate. Residents of the town are living in hotel rooms, in summer cottages, in temporary rental apartments or are being hosted by family members.

Persons: “, Katrin Jakobsdottir, ” Organizations: ” Locations: Grindavik, Iceland

☆ Volcano Erupts in Southwestern Iceland After Thousands Evacuate
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Volcano Erupts in Southwestern Iceland After Thousands EvacuateA volcano erupted in southwestern Iceland near the town of Grindavik on Sunday. Thousands of residents were evacuated overnight, according to the Associated Press. Photo: Icelandic Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management/AFP/Getty Images

Organizations: Associated Press, Icelandic Department of Civil, Emergency Management, Getty Locations: Southwestern Iceland, Iceland, Grindavik

LONDON (AP) — A volcano erupted in southwestern Iceland Sunday for the second time in less than a month, sending semi-molten rock toward a nearby settlement. The eruption just before 8 a.m. came after a swarm of earthquakes near the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. “Right now, a new fissure opened south of the first fissure from this morning,'' Iceland's Met office said in a statement. But the walls of the barriers built north of Grindavik have been breached and lava is on the move toward the community, the meteorological office said. “This continues to surprise us,” Benedikt Ófeigsson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office told Iceland’s RUV television.

Persons: ” Benedikt Ófeigsson, Iceland’s, isn't, Gudjon Organizations: Icelandic Meteorological, Keflavík Locations: Iceland, Grindavik, community's, “, Sýlingarfell, ” Iceland, Europe, Reykjavik

☆ Why Iceland’s Volcanic Activity Is Different This Time: It’s All About the Lava
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A 9-mile sheet of molten rock tunneling toward the surface of a peninsula in southwestern Iceland has set off hundreds of earthquakes and raised concerns that a volcanic eruption is imminent. “We haven’t had an eruption close to the population since 1973,” said Ármann Höskuldsson, a research professor in volcanology at the University of Iceland. As a precaution, the nearby town of Grindavik has been evacuated.

Persons: haven’t, ”, Ármann Höskuldsson Organizations: University of Iceland Locations: Iceland, volcanology, Grindavik

☆ Iceland shields geothermal plant from risk of volcanic eruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Streetworks continue, after cracks emerged on a road due to volcanic activity near Grindavik, Iceland obtained by Reuters on November 14, 2023. Iceland's Justice Minister Gudrun Hafsteinsdottir told state broadcaster RUV that a large dike has been designed to protect the Svartsengi geothermal power plant, located just over six kilometers from Grindavik. A spokesperson for HS Orka, operator of the power plant, told Reuters that the plant supplies power to the entire country although a disruption would not impact power supply to the capital Reykjavik. Seismic activity in southwestern Iceland decreased in size and intensity on Monday, but the risk of a volcanic eruption remained significant, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a statement. As of late Monday evening, the volcanic hazard assessment in and around Grindavik was unchanged from Sunday.

Persons: Gudrun Hafsteinsdottir, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Johannes Gotfredsen, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Christina Fincher Organizations: Reuters, Administration, Facebook, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Iceland's, RUV, HS, Icelandic Meteorological Office, Thomson Locations: Grindavik, Iceland, Reykjavik, Icelandic

☆ Risk of volcanic eruption in Iceland remains high
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

COPENHAGEN, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Seismic activity in southwestern Iceland decreased in size and intensity on Monday, but the risk of a volcanic eruption remained significant, authorities said, after earthquakes and evidence of magma spreading underground in recent weeks. Thorvaldur Thordarson, professor in vulcanology at the University of Iceland, said most recent data indicated a smaller risk of an eruption in the area around the town of Grindavik. [1/5]A view of cracks, emerged on a road due to volcanic activity, near Grindavik, Iceland November 13, 2023. Volcanic activity in the area continued for six months that year, prompting thousands of Icelanders and tourists to visit the scene. In August 2022, a three-week eruption happened in the same area, followed by another in July of this year.

Persons: Matthew James Roberts, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Grindavik, Hans Vera, Vera, It's, Louise Rasmussen, Tom Little, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Johannes Birkebaek, Ilze, Essi, Alex Richardson Organizations: Icelandic Meteorological, University of, Administration, Facebook, REUTERS Acquire, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, Iceland, Reykjavik, vulcanology, University of Iceland, Grindavik, Belgian, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki

LONDON (AP) — Residents of a fishing town in southwestern Iceland left their homes Saturday after increasing concern about a potential volcanic eruption caused civil defense authorities to declare a state of emergency in the region. The town of 3,400 is on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik. Authorities also raised their aviation alert to orange, indicating an increased risk of a volcanic eruption. Concern about a possible eruption increased in the early hours of Thursday when a magnitude 4.8 earthquake hit the area, forcing the internationally known Blue Lagoon geothermal resort to close temporarily. The magma corridor is about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) long and spreading, he said.

Persons: Grindavik, Pall Einarrson, Iceland’s RUV, “, ” Organizations: —, . Police, Iceland’s, “, Meteorological Office, Authorities Locations: Iceland, Reykjavik, Europe, North America, Grindavik, Grindavík

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