Government officials on Friday evacuated the town of Grindavik, Iceland, warning that a volcanic eruption is imminent. Cracks appeared in town and snaked under buildings, splitting streets and pouring steam into the air above. And while magma hasn’t yet bubbled to the surface, experts agree it probably will soon.
The volcanic activity is occurring on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 25 miles southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. The peninsula represents where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates pull apart, allowing magma to bubble up to the surface periodically in a long history of eruptions.
While the volcanism lay dormant for nearly 800 years, it suddenly awoke in 2020 and was followed by the eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano on March 19, 2021. Volcanic coughs and sputters have occurred since, but a more prominent eruption may be inevitable in the days ahead.
In fact, Iceland’s Meteorological Office warned Monday of a “significant likelihood of a volcanic eruption in the coming days.” It’s believed that a “dike intrusion,” or fissure of magma squeezing between crustal rocks, is burrowed beneath the town of Grindavik. On Saturday, the Office stated that magma was probably within 800 meters, of or 2,624 feet, of the surface.
Over the past 72 hours, the quakes have slowly migrated to the southwest, clueing scientists into the possible movement of magma. The ground has also lifted up to about three feet in western Grindavik. The overall magma intrusion is estimated at about 10 miles long, and continues southwest into the sea. About 100 earthquakes are still rattling the region every hour.
1 comment
Government officials on Friday evacuated the town of Grindavik, Iceland, warning that a volcanic eruption is imminent. Cracks appeared in town and snaked under buildings, splitting streets and pouring steam into the air above. And while magma hasn’t yet bubbled to the surface, experts agree it probably will soon.
The volcanic activity is occurring on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 25 miles southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. The peninsula represents where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates pull apart, allowing magma to bubble up to the surface periodically in a long history of eruptions.
While the volcanism lay dormant for nearly 800 years, it suddenly awoke in 2020 and was followed by the eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano on March 19, 2021. Volcanic coughs and sputters have occurred since, but a more prominent eruption may be inevitable in the days ahead.
In fact, Iceland’s Meteorological Office warned Monday of a “significant likelihood of a volcanic eruption in the coming days.” It’s believed that a “dike intrusion,” or fissure of magma squeezing between crustal rocks, is burrowed beneath the town of Grindavik. On Saturday, the Office stated that magma was probably within 800 meters, of or 2,624 feet, of the surface.
Initially, [a barrage of earthquakes](https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/11/10/reykjanes-iceland-volcano-earthquakes-fagradalsfjall/?itid=lk_inline_manual_8) — including two over magnitude 5.0 and thirteen at or above 4.5 in the past week — was most concentrated about two miles northeast of Grindavik, a town of 3,300 on the janes Peninsula. It’s believed that’s where the upwelling of magma is.
Over the past 72 hours, the quakes have slowly migrated to the southwest, clueing scientists into the possible movement of magma. The ground has also lifted up to about three feet in western Grindavik. The overall magma intrusion is estimated at about 10 miles long, and continues southwest into the sea. About 100 earthquakes are still rattling the region every hour.
**Read more:** [**https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/11/13/iceland-volcano-grindavik-reykjanes-fagradalsfjall/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/11/13/iceland-volcano-grindavik-reykjanes-fagradalsfjall/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)