Eruptions

Looks like it opened up parallel to the first. Tensional stress at work!

Posted by: EKoh | March 31, 2010 5:57 PM

@EKoh

New rift is perpendicular to the old rift, but perhaps that's what you meant.

ruv.is/sites/default/files/imagecache/frettamynd_staerri/myndir/nyja_sprungan_grafik.jpg

Posted by: Emanuel Landeholm | March 31, 2010 6:07 PM

So much for the eruption slowing down.

Posted by: Chance Metz | March 31, 2010 6:42 PM

@Jon

where are you getting your info , do you have access to some tiltmeter data/dilation data, etc .. can you share the links (or repost them )

Posted by: robert somerville | March 31, 2010 6:47 PM

This eruption is far for over...

Let's hope those fissures are not propagating towards Godabunga or Katla, that's exactly what could trigger it.

If escaping lava from Eyjafjallajökull injects trough the propagating fissures towards its neighbour, it could end up destabilizing what's in Katla's magma chamber and prime it for an eruption.

Has anybody got a map of the vents?

Posted by: Volcanophile | March 31, 2010 7:04 PM

That doesn't sound good and with volcanoes anything is possible.

Posted by: Chance Metz | March 31, 2010 7:07 PM

If you go to the Icelandic Met Office site. Then click on the tab on the top of the page; "Fimmvorduhal, (sp-)".

Good article; Magma Path Reveled. Very interesting fluid dynamics.

Posted by: J. Kennedy | March 31, 2010 8:09 PM

You can clearly tell the second fissure is bigger. A lot more steam or ash is coming out of it and I belive I can see a cone already forming from all the lava and tephera.

Posted by: Chance Metz | March 31, 2010 8:37 PM

Here is a video of the new fissure.

http://http.ruv.straumar.is/static.ruv.is/vefur/31032010_ny_sprunga.wmv

Posted by: Jón Frímann | March 31, 2010 8:48 PM

Boy, I could be wrong, but between the origianl fissure and the new one there is a steam vent that seems to be getting more active at the moment. I am just wondering if it will also open up and I saw cars leaving that area last night!

Posted by: Diane | March 31, 2010 9:09 PM

I have noticed that too. I would not be surpsied if it did open up. Of course it may mean that both fissures merge into one huge fissure. What does suprise me is how long the intnese activity has been going on. A few days ago it would wax and wane over time but for two days it has been going storng.

Posted by: Chance Metz | March 31, 2010 9:17 PM

sorry if posting twice

looking at the continous GPS, it appears that a significant inflation event has happened/is happening at the stations in the area (readings are outside error-bars, probably not all outliers in the same direction , looks like this thing is going/could be to be bigger than first thought :

http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/gps/predorb/
http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/gps/predorb/sohopred.html
http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/gps/predorb/theypred.html
http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/gps/predorb/golapred.html
http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/gps/predorb/hvolpred.html

even hvol, on other side of Katla is seeing some inflation ??

Posted by: robert somerville | March 31, 2010 9:30 PM

Looks likes your new vent just went Diane. I wonder how much gas is in that magma. If this eruption coalesced into one large vent, would that be like taking the top off of a soda bottle?

Posted by: Gordys | March 31, 2010 9:38 PM

Gordys it hasn't quite yet, but it is getting more active. I have seen three fingers of steam and gas from there.

@Jon, you're not kidding it is creating a lot of steam and gas! It looks like it is shooting up to about 1100 meters. At least the glow is that high or looks like it. I can see if there was gas and steam from the area before how it could confuse people. It just tells me to watch it for trouble. Sometimes a fumerol is just a fumerol and won't do more than steam and gas away.

Right now, it is just hard to take my eyes off of it!

Posted by: Diane | March 31, 2010 9:47 PM

It looks like the bottle cap got unscrewed a little more.

Ahh, I have to wake up at 3:55 in the morning and it is 9:00 now.

Posted by: Gordys | March 31, 2010 9:59 PM

@Chance #28

I would say it is probably interaction with ground water below the surface.

Posted by: George | March 31, 2010 10:01 PM

@Chance #32

There can sometimes be quite a bit of ground water and more seeping in as water is vaporized by the heat. Think of a shallow aquifer. As the water boils off, water from surrounding areas flows in. It would continue to steam like that until all the water is gone from the surrounding area and no more can seep into the hot spot.

Posted by: George | March 31, 2010 10:21 PM

>Lavos is rising! Heil Our Large Spiky Planet Eating One Eyed Bugs.

*squint*

You can tell when Google Translate is having problems conveying the intended meaning of translated phrase or two.

Posted by: Passerby | March 31, 2010 10:34 PM

Wow, I thought it was declining before but now it looks as if it may turn into a significant event after all!

Posted by: mike | March 31, 2010 11:52 PM

Watch the dark area between the two fissures, down at the base on either side. Signs of weakening and failure.

The eruption is going to grow in strength.

I see no one has bothered to look at Socuel's marvelous rolling graphic recently. It tells the tale of fissure 2 erupting, elegantly.

Posted by: Passerby | April 1, 2010 12:09 AM

my two cents worth- grab bag prediction:

fissures will start moving towards west Katla ...

Posted by: robert somerville | April 1, 2010 1:22 AM

Robert Somerville I hope you are wrong....even if they do I won't worry until something happens in the Katla caldera. Right now they are heading the other way....but it is very interesting right now with the sun about to come up.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 1, 2010 1:30 AM

Are you talking about what looks like rising steam/smoke on far right?

Posted by: Larry | April 1, 2010 1:47 AM

When I look at that view:

eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/

for some reason a quote comes to mind:

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here."
William Shakespeare---The Tempest

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 1, 2010 2:10 AM

Ist there another opening on the N end of the fissure near hrunagil? on the thorolfsfelli cam some glow is visible (there was vigorous steaming visible yesterday)?.

Why is quake activity smaller, when new fissures open?

Good morning
hanns

Posted by: hanns Sperl | April 1, 2010 2:15 AM

There is a lot of fog in the area at the moment. The new fissure cannot be seen clearly.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 1, 2010 3:22 AM

Either snow or ash is falling in this view:
eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 1, 2010 3:33 AM

First of all, congratulations Jon! An e-Beer or a crate of it is most certainly indcated! It is very interesting to see which of the multitude of predictions over the last month or so that have turned out to be correct and the processes by which they were arrived at:

The first prediction made was the area where the eruption would occur and it was made using "logical dedudtion". This was made not on this blog but somewhere else in cyberspace and referred to here. IIRC, someone had had a look at the topographic map and spotted the old scoria cones in the Fimmvörðuhálsi area. If you look at pictures and maps of Eyjafjöllajökull, you will see that the base at approximately the 1000m a.s.l has several areas where previous eruptions have taken place. Since larger eruptions through the main vent would have buried these lesser sites, "logical deduction" would have provided the answer that this type of eruption has in geologically recent times been the most common and since the Fimmvörðuháls area is not glaciated, this area would be the most recent and thus likely area.

The second prediction was as to the type of eruption by Bruce Stout and is an example of the "intuitive leap". It sounds haphazard and chancy, but really isn't. Bruce has great knowledge of volcanoes around the world and on a subconcious level, a comparison of known facts provided the answer.

The third prediction was time, "just under a week" made five days before the eruption based on an analogy. This is an example of a genuinely "lucky guess" and not a true prediction even if thinking outside the box provided a seemingly correct answer.

The fourth predition is Jón's second vent, arrived at by logic deduction based on available facts. Incorporating all published data plus that of his own geophone/seismometer, Jón came to the conclusion that the eruption was not in decline and that in all likelihood, a second vent would open up. He based this (is this correct Jón?) on the following facts: a) there was no sustained deflation indicating that the eruption was not large enough to relieve the volcano of magma, b) seismicity continued at all levels which indicated one or more blocked passages which could yet open up, and c) harmonic tremor was sustained, even if variable. To his credit he stuck to his guns, even when faced by professional opposition, and was proven correct.

While on the subject of predictions and guesses, may I draw your attention to a process known as "logic complementation"? We tend to see things that are not there but logic/experience tells us ought to be there, ie if we see smoke, logic and experience tell us there must be a fire somewhere close, thus we see it. This is very common in witness psychology but there have been several examples here, foremost of which is my own "observation" of new vents on the second or third morning of the eruption... :o

Posted by: Henrik | April 1, 2010 3:43 AM

@Henrik, I did notice that the earthquakes there where getting really shallow. Many of them where at ~100 meters. There is still a chance that there are going to open new fissures more to the north then before. But as things are changing it seems that a fissure opening under the glacier is the next thing to happen. There have been earthquakes in that area and they continue to get more shallow as more of them happen. They also carry the low period seismic signal, that tells me that magma is making the cracks wider in the crust. This simply might be a matter of time, or what is more likely is that there is a sudden increase inside Eyfjallajökull that starts that eruption with a bang. There might not be many earthquakes before that fissures opens up.

The reason why we didn't get any earthquake this time might because the crust here has turned "soft" because of the 1200C heat in the lava flows below it, from the feeder channel where the lava is pushing it self up.

I use the method that can be simple explained like this. I check if there is a more possibly of B and D happening then C and A. It is a complex process. But it works most of the time. But not always as it goes.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 1, 2010 3:55 AM

I would like to say something about this current eruption.

I'm sorry for my bad English as it is not my mother language, let's hope I will manage to explain clearly what I mean...

IMHO this eruption is not one from Eyjafjallajokull proper, but from a basaltic dike which coincidentally erupted in a location not too far from the preexisting volcano.

Iceland is notorious for having lots of monogenic volcanic fissures, such things already happened around Hekla, where fissures nearby the main volcano erupted lava with an entirely different composition from the usual samples from Hekla itself.

Only one thing could tell.. chemical analysis of the sample to know if the magma could relate to Eyjaf, to Katla or to something else (intruding basaltic dike, rifting event from elsewhere).

But what's not good is if there's any silicic eruptible magma under Eyjaf or Katla, any basaltic melt going in the wrong place could start things off... indeed with a bang...

Posted by: Volcanophile | April 1, 2010 5:29 AM

Hi.

I know nothing about volcanos and i am quite worried now.
Could you guys please provide some sort of alert level so we ignorants have a chance to decide when its time to do something?
Like when is it time to go buy food and so on.

Also a little bit about possible scenarios would be very usefull.
On many sites there are a lot of doomnuts talking about the end of the world etc. People like me need to lean on science and knowledge, so here i am!
How serious can this be? Is it a possiblility of world wide impact at all?
Regards to all.

Posted by: gusan | April 1, 2010 5:40 AM

On the cam, things are starting to get interesting to say the least...

The steam plume is rising very high very fast by convection, and we can see it rotating counterclockwise.. something reminiscent of cumulonimbus clouds I believe..

PS:: As I'm typing, I swear I saw a lightning strike in the plume!

That's CRAZY!!

Posted by: Volcanophile | April 1, 2010 5:46 AM

Volcanophile certainly has a point, though from the seismic activity preceding the activity it seems to have come from below the center of Eyjafjallajökull, so it is probably closely related to that volcano. But it's quite primitive basaltic magma, something that has not stayed and differentiated in a reservoir for some time. I am not very convinced there's much risk of silicic magma being involved in this case, although it might turn out wishful thinking. In the ideal case this will continue to be one of these eruptions that play around opening a little fissure here and another there, like Hekla did in 1970. So I agree with Jón that more fissures will possibly open, though as things look for the moment, the largest risk remains that of snowmelt and phreatomagmatic explosions where there is interaction with snow. Much of the vapor and gas that we see in this moment is due to such interactions, and it appears much more voluminous because you can clearly see that the weather is more cloudy and humid. The Þórólfsfell actually shows a veil of cloud moving in, hiding the view of the eruption. Higher levels of relative air humidity lead to more condensation, a phenomenon everybody living near a constantly degassing volcano knows well, because on humid days gas emission appears more vigorous and voluminous although in reality there is no change in emission.

I guess the lack of seismicity before the second fissure opened is because no new conduit has formed, the conduit has only bifurcated in its most superficial portion - it has propagated laterally. And again, our experience from Etna confirms that it's not the opening of the fissures that makes seismic activity, it's the vertical uprise of magma, and the breaking of rock in this process. When Etna erupted in 2001, the opening of the first fissures was preceded by four days of extremely strong seismic activity. During the next few days more fissures continued to open, over a whole length of about 6 km, but seismic activity died down after the first fissures opened.

On the contrary, when there was long-lived activity that was fed by a sequence of little magma batches, you'd see seismic activity preceding each new batch by a few days. That's exactly what has also happened here, and what led to Jón's expectation of new vents opening. The question is, will this eruption evolve further, with still more vents opening? For once I hope Jón is not right when he says that the eruption might extend to the subglacial part of the volcano. That would render things more complicated and increase the hazard from this eruption, which is not what I wish people who live nearby.

In the meantime a new map of the lava flows as of 31 March has been posted here:
http://www.jardvis.hi.is/Apps/WebObjects/HI.woa/swdocument/1015759/Hraun+21-31+mars+2010.pdf

Posted by: Boris Behncke | April 1, 2010 6:00 AM

Wow! It is interesting with this new fissure opening. When I look at the fimmvörðuhálsi webcam I see some flames in a area halfway between the old cone and the large steam plume. Is this the new fissure? Or is the new fissure where all the steam is?

Posted by: Mattias Larsson | April 1, 2010 6:46 AM

Based on the Fimmvorduhals webcam, it appears to me that the steam/cloud arisen from the new fissure generated a local snowfall.

Posted by: Viktor | April 1, 2010 6:50 AM

It was the new fissure that I saw back in post #67 :)

Posted by: Mattias Larsson | April 1, 2010 7:22 AM

@Boris Behncke, I would like to avoid being with dangerous happening. However, I just use the data that I have and what they tell me. Currently the data is telling that there is a chance that there is going to open a fissure under the glacier. There are indicators that the current fissures are not enough to release the pressure that is building inside Eyjafjallajökull. That means that the magma is going to make a new path ways to release that pressure. The best way for the magma to do that is to go up in direct line. That line is under a small patch of glacier and now it is just a question of when, not if in my opinion.

Harmonic tremors are on the increase in Eyjafjallajökull at the moment. It should show it self in the eruption soon or has already.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 1, 2010 8:53 AM

Volcanic lightning is not so crazy, Volcanophile. In fact it is a common phenomenon at volcanoes around the world. The frequent minor eruptions of Sakurajima and Krakatau often feature volcanic lightning in the plume. Perhaps it is unusual for a basaltic eruption though.

Posted by: mike | April 1, 2010 9:14 AM

A new video from RÚV -- gorgeous!

http://http.ruv.straumar.is/static.ruv.is/vefur/01042010_flogid_yfir_gosstodvar_1_april.wmv

Posted by: Anna | April 1, 2010 9:30 AM

15.07 GMT, another large EQ spike ~5km SSW Básar - M 2.2 at 2.4 km and M 2.8 at zero km

Posted by: Henrik | April 1, 2010 11:27 AM

That M 2.8 is just been upgraded to a 2.9 at 0km

Posted by: Frankill | April 1, 2010 11:49 AM

EQ at the national resort Thorsmork - M 2.6.

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev;=_t&hl;=is&ie;=UTF-8&layout;=1&eotf;=1&u;=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.visir.is%2Farticle%2F20100401%2FFRETTIR01%2F940543584&sl;=is&tl;=en

Posted by: Johann | April 1, 2010 11:57 AM

In my above post (#83), should read EQ "felt" at Thorsmork but it originated from Eyjafjallajökull.

Posted by: Johann | April 1, 2010 12:13 PM

Oops, meant Lassen, not shasta (got S on the brain, a climber's trapped up there)

Posted by: parclair | April 1, 2010 12:31 PM

Why are there people still driving up there? It looks very active at the moment.

Posted by: Jon | April 1, 2010 12:56 PM

"Parclair, since they have moved the cam back"

I am not sure they physically moved it back or of they just reduced the zoom a bit to get a wider field of view. I think they just zoomed out a little.

Posted by: George | April 1, 2010 1:06 PM

Parclair, you know what?! I just took a good look at the cam again and I think that little steam area I saw last night just might have opened up. The stuff coming from it looks black so maybe it did crack open. Not sure, but it does look like it. Steam is usually NOT black!

Posted by: Diane | April 1, 2010 1:09 PM

Hi newbie to the list from NE Oregon, sitting on a slab
of Columbia River Basalt in Island, City, Oregon Ok,
that slab is covered with several hundred feet of Grande
Ronde Valley blue clay. Being a former Commercial Pilot.
and did a lot with USGS and Amry Corps of Engineers as to
survey of St.Helens before and during the eruption, I am quite impressed with the videos and pictures of this eruption. What little hair I have stands up on the back of my head, like the time I flew a USGS vulcanologist inside
St.Helens crater a few weeks after the May 18th event.
I will never forget that glow...

Posted by: G.T. McCoy | April 1, 2010 1:18 PM

Diane, I climbed Lassen many years ago. I don't remember the view around, but sure remember the view straight down from the trail. (I remember stumbling more than once)

Now I'm wondering about another one, on the top pic of the
http://www.vodafone.is/eldgos/en cam.

on this side of the scoria heap, just below the currently chugging vent. It looks white, but I think it drifts into the fimmvorduhalsi view as grey. What do you think?

Posted by: parclair | April 1, 2010 1:32 PM

The earthquake at 15:07 UTC was a low frequency earthquake (ML2.9 0km event), that means that magma created it and the magma is now at ~0km depth and is cooking the rock at the moment. But it does not appear that it has pushed trough the crust yet. Even if it at shallow depth. The harmonic tremors are increasing according to IMO plots. This is developing really dangerous way. It is hard to tell when the magma might break up. But that is only when the pressure is enough on it, and that does not appears to have happened yet.

@Boris Behncke, then my mom and dad will have a good red wine to drink. Sine I don't drink alcohol in real live. :-)

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 1, 2010 1:51 PM

Holy COW! That steam emission just went crazy. Can't see what happened, though.

Posted by: George | April 1, 2010 2:13 PM

Wow ! there's a huge amount of steam just erupted from a possible new vent on the vodafone webcam.

Posted by: zander | April 1, 2010 2:14 PM

big new steam plume in the neighborhood of rift #2. Could the rift be extending?

Posted by: doug mcl. | April 1, 2010 2:16 PM

After the 2.9 it may be a new fissure. I hope the vehicle that just went by toword the steam gets out OK.

Posted by: Dasnowskier | April 1, 2010 2:19 PM

Dusk will be coming soon, prime viewing time in about an hour or so.

http://www.daylightmap.com/index.php

Posted by: George | April 1, 2010 2:24 PM

maybe a vent to the right

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 1, 2010 2:40 PM

~18.35 GMT. A young lady in the company of two men walked past the webcam, speaking into her cellphone. She stopped and blew a kiss to the cam/viewers. Wonder if it was "our" Heidi Ritterbusch who finally stopped being a "vulcanologist who has never seen an eruption." If so, congratulations Heidi, and thanks for the e-Kiss!

Posted by: Henrik | April 1, 2010 2:44 PM

Ok that plume to the right looks more like just steam from a lava flow now.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 1, 2010 2:52 PM

@Zander (#110). I think you and I may be of the same mind: If I were to go, I'd go with a vulcanologist renowned for his or her abject lack of physical courage... ;)

Posted by: Henrik | April 1, 2010 2:56 PM

@Passerby #114

I believe everyone is aware of the risks involved. Think of it in more Darwinian terms.

Posted by: George | April 1, 2010 3:02 PM

Morgunblaðið has just released a short interview with one of Iceland's foremost volcanologists, Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson. He described the eruption as "stable" and said there was no way predicting how long it would last. The opening of the new fissure yesterday (31 March) was in his opinion due to magma finding a path through fractured and weakened rock. Asked about the significance of earthquakes below Eyjafjallajökull today, he said there was nothing special about them, that there had been a lot of seismicity since the start of the eruption, and this was caused by the continued ascent of magma.

This interview plus another impressive video can be found at the following link:
http://mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/2010/04/01/mallar_afram_naestu_vikurnar/

From this video and another one that I indicated in comment #72, you can appreciate how much the lava has already filled of the deep canyon into which it is continuing to cascade.

Watching the closest webcam in the late afternoon light, there is nothing I can relate to further vents opening, it does indeed seem stable. Lava emission seems to be pulsating, which is why there are repeatedly new surges advancing in direcions previously spared by lava flows. The new flows thus encounter remaining snow, each time producing a lot of large steam plumes.

Posted by: Boris Behncke | April 1, 2010 3:14 PM

Looking at the Mílu webcam from the south: did the new fissure activity increase or extend to the south and east at around 3:20 (ET)?
Sudden surge of cars leaving, and there is a new fire fountain with fair amount of ash projected very close to where a lot of the cars had bunched for a look.

Posted by: Steinn Sigurdsson | April 1, 2010 3:30 PM

@122 http://i43.tinypic.com/2djp7c5.jpg

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2010 4:05 PM

The vodaphone cam looks like the whole downhill side is covered in lava now.
Similar effect on the long range Mila cam.
Is this just a artifact of the lighting?
KJ

Posted by: KJ | April 1, 2010 4:36 PM

It does appears that the new fissure is getting longer in the last hour or so. This process might have started around 15:20 UTC. But it is hard to know for sure.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 1, 2010 4:46 PM

I don't know it got larger but it is sure putting out more lava now than it was a few hrs ago.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 1, 2010 5:01 PM

For example, imagine I held a stick that I had removed from a fire. In daylight the end would look black. But in darkness you would be able to see the glowing ember that is not visible in daylight. It is sort of the same thing going on here. That and the illumination of steam from the eruption which makes it very difficult to tell at night which is the vent and which is steam with a webcam while you can clearly see the difference in daylight.

Posted by: George | April 1, 2010 5:10 PM

These are not glowing embers, they're hot conflagrations. You would have seen this by day. Even if the camera is enhancing light capture for image quality, the eruption has definitely picked up pace after dusk.

The rubbernecking, risk-besotted sightseers appear to be very close to the eruption site, despite official prohibitions.

Posted by: Passerby | April 1, 2010 5:17 PM

I am simply amazed by the traffic up there. Dozens and dozens of cars moving between the two vents.

Posted by: Viktor | April 1, 2010 5:18 PM

George I am going by what I see in this cam:
eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 1, 2010 5:23 PM

It is hard to determine the distance the cars are from the two fissures from the webcam, but the police and various search and rescue teams are up there to make sure people dont go to close. But there are always some people that venture to close and the police or the s&r; teams have to drive them back.

Posted by: Kristinn | April 1, 2010 5:28 PM

Judging by the daytime view, the closest cars are actually less far away than the lava fountain is high. This is rank stupidity, the potential consequences of which is something I'd rather not have to watch live.

Posted by: Henrik | April 1, 2010 5:31 PM

The camera view has changed since that picture was taken. The view is "zoomed out" to give a wider field of view than it had 24 hours ago. You can now see more stuff to the left that was invisible to the camera last night. (Talking about the view frá Fimmvörðuhálsi) It might be slightly more active, and you are going to see more from the opposite side (the view frá Þórólfsfelli) because the lava field has grown considerably in the last 24 hours.

Overall, it looks to me like the eruption is relatively stable. And it could stay like this for a year or stop next week or get twice as big tomorrow. We just can't tell.

Posted by: George | April 1, 2010 5:32 PM

@Randell
http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-fimmvorduhalsi/
It looked like a tongue of fire lapped at the line of lights then they decided to get out of the dragons feeding trough

Posted by: Gina Nye | April 1, 2010 5:37 PM

@George 144

I totally agree. We just have to watch and wait...and enjoy.
And hope that it behaves for the local population.

Posted by: Gordys | April 1, 2010 5:45 PM

I hit submit too soon. I was agreeing with George about the eruption staying like this for a year, stop next week, or get twice as big tomorrow. As far as for today, it looks like(as far as inflation goes), the eruption has found an equilibrium. Of course there were those EQs earlier today, do we have magma finding other places to go that have not shown up yet? What is going to happen tomorrow? What is the supply system? We don't know.

Ahh Randall, it is tempting but I can't take that bet.

Posted by: Gordys | April 1, 2010 5:56 PM

@Randall
Alrighty then. It's a bet....I feel like I have been suckered in.

Posted by: Gordys | April 1, 2010 6:16 PM

There is a new faszinating video available, which has been taken when the new fissure was still very new: http://http.ruv.straumar.is/static.ruv.is/vefur/31032010_nyja_sprungan_i_navigi.wmv

Posted by: Chris | April 1, 2010 6:22 PM

Randall, I never was a very good poker player. I wonder how I can get e-beer delivered in far Northern Minnesota.

I have a question. Has the weather been very generous for the viewing of all parties of this eruption, or is this typical for this location?

Posted by: Gordys | April 1, 2010 6:29 PM

@Chance

I agree...Wow, this is cool, splat sizell.

Posted by: Gordys | April 1, 2010 6:38 PM

As far as i can see it untill now, every few days it's gearing up.

Posted by: Frankill | April 1, 2010 6:50 PM

Couple of guys ride a bike from Thorsmörk to the site of the eruption -- a great series of pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/sigurthor.einar/Orsmork30Mars#5454752378981817010

Posted by: Anna | April 1, 2010 7:08 PM

Randall, lets think about this now. Just getting to this point was iffy, there have been intrusions before and nothing has happened. I am thinking with just the eruption starting, you have used up an ace, king and a pair of jacks. With the new fissure yesterday, you used up a couple of queens. So what I am thinking so far, you have used up an ace, king, two queens and a pair of jacks. We have to think about what altitude this eruption is going on at. I'll bet you one of my aces and one of my kings that the next fissure opens up at a lower elevation that what the eruption is at now....unless we get a new magma influx, maybe for some reason the plumbing to the current eruption site gets blocked, or the throat that the eruption is keeping all of us so mesmerized gets blocked...then??

Posted by: Gordys | April 1, 2010 7:17 PM

Gordys these two fissures are small face cards at most;) I am with you though I bet the next one does come lower down.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 1, 2010 7:24 PM

About people taking unacceptable risks - note that hardly (if any, as it's an large area, unaccessable w/o guide) any tourist will go on his own. It are the tour-operators that take the risks. As a tourist, you rely on the tour-operator, and as usual - it's all about money. Last night, saw tremendous amounts of headlights on the webcam - either snowmobiles or 4wd's. Big money for the Icelandic tourist-industry, on average 400 Euro's or so, and tourists have to sign they accept the risk. If you go to Iceland for the eruption only, and the operator tells you it's save ("we know the location situation, and we take safety first"), what would you do as a tourist ?

Posted by: Geurt | April 1, 2010 7:44 PM

Ok Randall, I had to start someplace for negotiation. How about the jack and 8 of hearts for the fissure?

Good point Volcanophile. I have not been able to find any information about gas emissions. I am wondering if there has been any change of chemistry since the start of the eruption.

Posted by: Gordys | April 1, 2010 7:48 PM

...and Heidi should be back at her hotel as of writing this - exhausted, but too excited to sleep. Looking forward to read her story.

Posted by: Geurt | April 1, 2010 7:51 PM

@Anna #162

Those are indeed great pictures. However, they make me think of the Darwin Awards, as well as the movie Independence Day, when the awestruck people gather underneath the space ships.

Posted by: Barry Abel | April 1, 2010 7:57 PM

@Andrew, it is from the ground level.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/seismology/determining_depth.php

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 1, 2010 8:07 PM

A lot of steam activity just started in the new fissure. It might be that the lava has started to melt new snow nearby.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 1, 2010 8:19 PM

Gordys I posted this in the other thread SO2 data and alert service

sacs.aeronomie.be/nrt/orbit.php?Region=001

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 1, 2010 8:25 PM

On my way down. Brief impressions - less lava flowing and lower vigour at the vents. There's a new flow to the east of the first fissure; people were approaching it closely and in one case frying eggs at it!

Posted by: Fireman | April 1, 2010 9:00 PM

Re Fireman post 183
On Your Way Down?
as coming back down from the volcano.
Are You on site?

Best!motsfo

Posted by: motsfo | April 1, 2010 9:17 PM

The Iceland Review has an article on safe places to view the eruption:

http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16539&ew;_0_a_id=360287

Posted by: parclair | April 1, 2010 10:02 PM

Passerby, if you're talking about twin streaks coming off the hill mid-screen on the frimmvorduhalis cam, I'm pretty sure those are vehicles of some kind. I've seen them the last couple of nights, and there's a distinct pooling-of-light effect as they come down the hill to the flat area.

Ah, the camera's down now. Tomorrow.

Posted by: parclair | April 1, 2010 10:35 PM

are all cams down ?

Posted by: Gina | April 1, 2010 10:45 PM

@Thomas Wipf 60 and others - a note here about speed. The important point I would like to make is that at a time of low seismicity, there were 3 straight-shot vertical bursts of magma, one on top of the other (practically). The first burst opened the new fissure and was traveling at great speed. Here's my evaluation:

Seven nearly simultaneous quakes starting at 15:07 UT/11:07 AM EDT.

Set One traveled vertically 2.4 kilometres in 17 seconds (its 2nd and final expansion of the set - at surface/0 km. ripped it open like a zipper) and was the most forceful - R2.8

...50 seconds delay, then...
Set Two traveled vertically 2.2 kilometres in 14 seconds (its 2nd and final expansion of the set - at the 1.4 km. depth)

...70 seconds delay, then...
Set Three traveled vertically 2.7 kilometres in 13 min 17 sec. (its 3rd and final expansion of the set - at 1.3 km depth)

So as I "see" it (since all three ejections vertically smoothed the walls, subsequently there has been little seismicity because there has been little resistance. In addition, since set 2 and set 3 each expanded the "walls" at the 1.3km depth, there is a wider "throat" there into which to pump more magma. So this one could be a "keeper" and the one higher on Fimmvörðuháls may gradually block up.

I think it's important, however, to consider that if there is more vertical deformation that even this significant a fissure is not relieving the upward pressure from the reservoir which wants release. And this magma can travel quickly and without warning when it wants to get "out"... 2.2 kilometres in 14 seconds equals about 155 metres per second... again, I remind, without prior warning! Despite the wise words of a senior geologist, nobody *really* knew it was going to come out there.

Everyone think about this please. If there is more vertical deformation I suggest that Civic Protection remove people from Eyjaföll altogether. This is not some dolphin show.

And I also remind folks that the pattern of consistent and early "channel-opening"... secondarily most prominent (after the present fissure location)... was under the southeast flank facing the sea - not under Gigajökull. Magma already opened its advance path within Eyjafjallajökull, inside the mountain and almost all the way down to the sea... view Socuel's timelapse again if you've forgotten.

p.s. the uppermost panorama (click on my name-link) shows both gorges, I believe, down which magma and lahars are now flowing. The hiking trail is between them.

Posted by: Michael Cerulli Billingsley | April 1, 2010 10:51 PM

None of the 3 i know of the vodaphon, 2 mila - Eyjafjallajökull frá Þórólfsfelli - Útsýni frá Fimmvörðuhálsi

Posted by: Gina | April 1, 2010 10:55 PM

The Vodafone webpage works for me without problems.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 1, 2010 11:05 PM

Jon, all I get on Vodaphone is a blank page. It could be a program problem for some of us.

Posted by: Diane | April 1, 2010 11:16 PM

Fimmvörðuhálsi camera is back now showing nicely lit steam emission and lava fountain at the first fissure's scoria cone.

Posted by: Monika | April 1, 2010 11:46 PM

I was referring to vodaphone; Fimmvörðuhálsi camera working fine.

Posted by: Passerby | April 2, 2010 12:01 AM

Fireman, I don't see any volcano photos in the Facebook album you linked to.

Posted by: Barry Abel | April 2, 2010 12:06 AM

There is some interesting thing going to, besides the steam. There are two dots of light near the new fissure and the old one. They are small, but they appears to be growing in size slowly.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 2, 2010 12:28 AM

If the last few nights are any indication, the vodaphone won't be available transatlantic until 600 Iceland time. Which is approximately 2.5 hours from now.

Passerby, I'm afraid my resolution isn't good enough to see your phenomenon.

Diane, when I said remember 'down" I remember the straight-down, loose rubble sides of Lassen. My legs were rubbery and the drop was scary!!! I'm glad to have done it.

Posted by: parclair | April 2, 2010 12:38 AM

@ Jón regarding the chance of a fissure opening up under the main focus of seismic activity and the 4km lateral branching of the conduit very near the service to the eruption site:

What I imagine is that the main conduit rises up the main EW fault line underneath Eyjafjallajökull until near the surface where there is a sudden discontinuity in the fault line, possibly because it is capped with a "recent" lava flow that hasn't faulted yet. The magma then flows sideways along the fault line and underneath this cap until it reaches the edge where it erupts.
The alignment of the surface fissures still intrigues me though. I can only think this is some kind of surface anomaly.
As for a sub-glacial eruption, we probably won't see one until a weakness develops in the overlying cap for the magma to exploit. This would probably equate with the larger earthquake that you were waiting for. Alternatively, the magma might find some other weakness in the overlying rock but this is a big unknown. I'd love to know what is happening to the west of the diversion!! I assume this avenue is plugged otherwise we would have seen some kind of activity there (melt sinks in the glacier, etc). Do you know if, and how, this is being monitored? This might be an issue, particularly if inflation resumed. (on this note, do you know why the GPS plots a week old? They weren't always like that!)

At the moment though, I would put my money on the activity staying in the region where it is.

@Henrik, thanks for the flowers! But it was just fool's luck, believe me!

Posted by: bruce stout | April 2, 2010 12:53 AM

Jon, thanks for all the data and information you've passed our way. I just realized the time for you! When DO you sleep??????

I also see the "snake eyes' in the screen. During the day, I mentioned them, and someone (can't remember who, sorry) thought they were steam eruptions from lava flow. I'm not sure, because from the distant webcam, I think they'd be uphill from the 2nd outbreak. (Trying to keep things in spatial place is hard with only pictures). I'm watching them too.

Posted by: parclair | April 2, 2010 1:01 AM

@ Jon, ha! another night owl! I also often get by on very little sleep. Far too much happening to waste it in bed!

Re the fissures spreading uphill towards the glacier. If the above reasoning is correct (i.e. a cap sitting on the main fault line, then the fissures are not likely to propagate uphill unless the cap is particularly thin and weak. They might propagate downhill though, at least until the elevation of the main lateral conduit. If this height is anyway where the eruption is, then activity will stay where it is, probably with more fissures opening up near to the existing ones.

Posted by: bruce stout | April 2, 2010 1:27 AM

I am not sure I would want to be on that ridge now:
eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 1:47 AM

Bruce! "Only the true Messiah denies His own divinity!" (Life Of Brian, scene 18)

Randall! I truly am impressed! Shakespeare and Dante forsooth. An education in classical litterature?

Posted by: Henrik | April 2, 2010 2:45 AM

on an unrelated note, I don't know if anyone posted this before, but here is a pretty stunning video of the dome collapse at Montserrat 11 Feb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T1VH-rN8mI

now, that is the kind of eruption I would be running away from ;-)

Henrik, I think I could accept to being related to a Brian lol
"he's not the messiah, he's just a very naughty boy!"

Posted by: bruce stout | April 2, 2010 3:58 AM

Forgot to mention it's a 0.1km depth

Posted by: Frankill | April 2, 2010 7:00 AM

@Diane: Thats exactly what they did, two hills are named as safe places to watch: http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=29314&ew;_0_a_id=360287

Posted by: Chris | April 2, 2010 8:11 AM

ok Jón, thanks for explaining that one.
It was a bit far off.

Posted by: Frankill | April 2, 2010 8:53 AM

There was chunks of what looked like snow/ice and other debris blowing to the right and away from the cam for about 2 min

Posted by: Gina | April 2, 2010 11:36 AM

I think, this is snow. We had quite some snow today here in Reykjavik.

Posted by: Chris | April 2, 2010 11:50 AM

@Randall Nix, it was a normal earthquake. But closer to the surface then normal. It is also located outside all known volcano areas far as I can tell. Even if it was close to Mýrdalsjökull volcano, it appears outside it.

This just the local bedrock stretching it self and adjusting. But for what is the good question, I might not like the answer to that given the clues that I am getting.

The harmonic tremors are on the increase now for some reason.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 2, 2010 12:13 PM

The recent spike in tremors might be due to weather-induced noise (wind, snow, rain, etc) occurring near the seismometer(s).

Posted by: Akira Shirakawa | April 2, 2010 12:20 PM

Henrik I see that too.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 12:34 PM

@Randall (#237). "What is it you would see? If aught of woe and wonder, cease your search." ;)

Posted by: Henrik | April 2, 2010 12:58 PM

Henrik Ahhhhh tis Hamlet;)

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 1:02 PM

@diane the last time i experienced snow like that was in the 70's when i was at KEF air station employed by the us navy as a flight engineer in P-3 aircraft hated the weather then it doesn't snow vertical in Iceland it is a horizontal horror

Posted by: Gina | April 2, 2010 1:06 PM

Henrik so true....I know I will catch some grief for this but I will take The Complete Works over the Bible any day;)
Here is one for Katla;)

"And even the like precurse of fierce events,
As harbingers preceding still the fates
And prologue to the omen coming on"

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 1:16 PM

"The time is out of joint: O cursed spite,That ever I was born to set it right!"

Love Google btw... ;)

Posted by: Henrik | April 2, 2010 1:19 PM

That the snow is sticking on the original scoria cone surprises me. I hadn't thought it would cool so quickly.

Posted by: George | April 2, 2010 1:24 PM

Very nice new youtube video from the 1st of April. Watch it in HD - very moody. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI3HrI-Ep00

Posted by: Thomas Wipf | April 2, 2010 2:22 PM

The dragon is awake;)
eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/

Too bad the other cam is down.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 4:12 PM

Where did that lava flow on the far right come from has the vent grown? If not a lava flow then why no snow?

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 4:15 PM

Jon please post that article if you can.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 4:30 PM

Has anyone found out information on THEY? Are we looking at days delayed information or are the dates an anomaly? The actual data seems to have followed the activity of the eruption.

Posted by: Gordys | April 2, 2010 4:36 PM

When I type and eat ice cream at the same time I screw up;)

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 4:38 PM

Gordys I am not sure about that data being real time....it may be but I don't read Icelandic.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 4:44 PM

I also note that the Þórólfsfelli camera has been "zoomed in" since yesterday's view so the lava field and vent(s) are going to take up more if the field of view.

Posted by: George | April 2, 2010 4:47 PM

Coming staight from the mantle.
would not be a real surprise.
We were talking about it since those "organised spikes"
I think this wil get Peter's attention to.

@Jón did they say how the know it's coming straight from te mantle?

Posted by: Frankill | April 2, 2010 4:52 PM

Well, maybe they didn't zoom that camera in after all. It looks like just the snow cover changing the look of the topology to cover some "landmarks" I was using to judge things and that the lava flow has continued to expand.

Maybe it hasn't been zoomed in, I can't be positive either way until some of that snow melts.

Posted by: George | April 2, 2010 4:53 PM

Randall, I don't read Icelandic either, I can get an idea of what is being said in Spanish and French but that is it. Google's web browser "Chrome" does a good job. Sometimes very interesting in Icelandic but it makes a huge difference. I have not yet figured out how to get it to translate .pdf or .jpg files, I don't think that it can yet.

Posted by: Gordys | April 2, 2010 4:59 PM

Gina I think that is a lava flow but you might be right.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 5:11 PM

@Henrik,
That 5 Km long horizontal long conduit to the eruption site..lots of pressure....hmmm. I hate to say it. but I don't think that I would like to be on one of the snowmobiles that I see in the camera.

Posted by: Gordys | April 2, 2010 5:15 PM

@Randall, check comment 168. We may both owe Henrik a bottle of real wine. If it happens I promise that I'll go in on my half...hope it doesn't though. An eruption under the glacier would cause more than just a mess.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Posted by: Gordys | April 2, 2010 5:32 PM

I may need a little metaphysical help to win this bet;)

"Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble."

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 5:56 PM

Randall, that is the way I understand it exactly. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to get that E-beer from you. It is going to be an early night for me so I will not be here for much longer. Lack of sleep, well worth it though. :)

Posted by: Gordys | April 2, 2010 5:59 PM

Gordys I gotta take the girlfriend out to dinner so will be gone for a little while but back on a little later....who knows there might be something to see later;)

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 6:18 PM

Right now, nothing points to the eruption getting bigger or a new vent opening, in fact it seems to be dying down. But if there is a new twist and a new vent does open where Jón and I think, I'll settle for an e-Brand at the moment provided there's an option on a real one to be shared between us at a later date. Hopefully most of us can get together for the little excursion to the Eifel area that was discussed a few weeks back.

To continue your MacBeth Randall (#279): "Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt, and toe of frog." I'll leave the third witch to Gordys, Boris or anyone else who fancies a bit of culture thrown into the Katla.

Posted by: Henrik | April 2, 2010 7:05 PM

On second thought Please remove my post. I find the quote of the witches to repugnant for today's world and taken out of context down right unacceptable.

Posted by: Dasnowskier | April 2, 2010 7:44 PM

@Hendirk82. thanks for pointing out the direction to look at with the Vodafone webcam.
I've been keeping my eye on that one from the moment you told it.
That in combination with Jón's concern about it.
i hope you have your E-brand moment very soon ;-)

Posted by: Frankill | April 2, 2010 8:14 PM

Dansnowskier I understand you meant nothing by it....there are many more by the Bard we could use but for now I am OK with a change of prose...Something more recent....say late 20th century....from Babylon 5 perhaps?

"And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place"

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 8:29 PM

Diane is that yours?

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 8:40 PM

Hail, snow and rain that praise the Lord
I've met them at their work
And wished we had another route
Or they another kirk!

(old Scottish saying)

(hopefully my post with *correct* links to my first images will make it through moderation this time!)

Posted by: Fireman | April 2, 2010 8:44 PM

Thanks, Randall.

Posted by: Diane | April 2, 2010 8:51 PM

The eruption is now visible from all the web cameras that are working.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 2, 2010 9:04 PM

@Gina, it is hard to tell from the Vodafone web camera. But there have been earthquakes SSW of Básar few min, ago. The shallowest one at ~100 meters depth according to automatic system.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 2, 2010 9:46 PM

Jon, that is sort of forboding isn't it? I think more is coming. Not sure, just my gut feelings. I don't do any complicated calculations. :-)

Posted by: Diane | April 2, 2010 9:54 PM

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

Posted by: Anonymous | April 2, 2010 10:29 PM

Jon you don't don't live very close to there do you? I sure hope not:(

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 10:40 PM

parclair it was cooking pretty good earlier....but it's the shallow EQ's and where they are that is troubling me and I think a few others here. That quake earlier in Katla wasn't such a good thing either.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 10:51 PM

Thanks Randall and Jon.

Jon, the vodaphone turned on at 0600 your time last night. I think it shuts down between sundown and sunrise for us. Do you have a week's worth of supplies laid in, just in case?

Posted by: parclair | April 2, 2010 11:02 PM

Cams have all been useless for me in the USA (yes, arrived home earlier this evening!) for the last hour or two at least. Vodaphone shows archives from earlier today. but nothing recent or live. Hekla is 'buffering' but never manages to display anything, Þórólfsfelli worked earlier, is now black, Fimmvörðuhálsi is 'disconnected', the simnet Eyjafjallajökull cam is showing (apparently live) darkness with nothing visible.

Posted by: Fireman | April 2, 2010 11:06 PM

Well now, things could get interesting. We've got a large coronal hole sliding into view, beaming a strong solar wind stream that will cause geomagnetic effects at high latitudes over the next several days.

Looking at the USGS 7-day Global EQ Map, the number has moved smartly upward, with several interesting ones, including the only hotspot north of Iceland, Jan Mayen Island that also sits on the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR). At it's height of recent activity in March just before our Eyjaf erupted, we saw an average of 260 on the map; it's dropped down as low as 155 in the past week, but its now up at 191, including an EQ in central Turkey and Poland.

Posted by: Passerby | April 2, 2010 11:47 PM

Passerby....no one got fried, it's the weather. Out of respect for people living close by please lets not talk about people getting fried.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 2, 2010 11:58 PM

The Vodaphone webcam works for me. If you can't get fresh images try setting your system time zone to GMT. For some reason images don't get updated if your system clock is different than what the page expects, or at least this was what occurred to me with Mozilla Firefox 3.6 and Windows 7.

Posted by: Akira Shirakawa | April 3, 2010 12:00 AM

@Passerby, the Vodafone web cam loses focus in the dark. I don't know why. But it has something to do with the software that they are using.

It has focus too much it seems. It will get better when the daylight starts.

It is now just 1.5 month until there is 24 hour daylight in Iceland.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 3, 2010 12:40 AM

Dasnowskier #286 :-)! To your #287, I do understand what you mean but, should we really give up our cultural heritage because it offends some simpleton who cannot place it in the correct context? Isn't it fair to say that when we encounter something we do not understand, we should not destroy the evidence of our ignorance but rather make an effort to understand it? If the former, it will not be long before we have returned to pig-ignorance and witches will yet again be burnt which is the last thing we want. This is what history teaches us and, as was pointed out a few weeks ago, if we ignore the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat it...

Diane, your #292 is pretty good! I take it it's the first in a series of twinned couplets dedicated to the world's volcanoes?

Posted by: Henrik | April 3, 2010 3:16 AM

I certainly hope they don't go back to burning witches....if they did....then I would have to stop giving away 4 leaf clovers to the people who need them the most;)

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 3, 2010 3:59 AM

Randall, me neither. The only way to combat ignorance and the intolerance it breeds is through education. When ignorance rears its ugly head and claims education and knowledge are offensive, I draw the line. When good people such as Dasnowskier feel they have to retract perfectly legitimate statements and quotes out of fear that some ignorant fool somewhere might find it "offensive", the line has been well and truly crossed.

Posted by: Henrik | April 3, 2010 4:18 AM

Thank you Jón, that is a very interesting result, not only for vulcanologists but also for rock hounds such as the sapphirophile Randall and my garnetophile self!

Randall, IF there are pockets of pegmatite on that mountain where gems might have formed, the amount of Ti in relation to Fe (in a different environment, we might get the required Ti2O3 and Fe2O3) tells me that there is a goodly chance of grayish blue sapphire, possibly of the star variety given the prevalence of titanium (rutile needles, ie the TiO2 reported). Katla would thus be a better bet for decent-to-good blue. ;) When it comes to garnets, the most likely ones would be almandite, pyrope and grossularite with their intermediaries. But there would also be a chance to find the very rare titanium andradites. No chrome or vanadium, so I expect no bright colours in the garnets.

IF, a big IF the right conditions exist/have existed. Again, thanks Jón for the link!

Posted by: Henrik | April 3, 2010 4:41 AM

Forgot to add - the floride indicates that there may be nice druses of topaz hidden somewhere up there as well.

Posted by: Henrik | April 3, 2010 4:49 AM

Henrik They occur in several different environments but the ones I find are in high grade metamorphic rock, usually on the margins of ultrabasic or ultramafic rocks....low in silica and high in aluminum.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 3, 2010 5:04 AM

Look into my newly created Picasa Web Album
http://picasaweb.google.at/Rudolf.Po/VolcanoEruptionFimmvorUhalsIsland with a selection of 18 good snapshots from the Mila and Vodafone webcam.
Sorry that I put a photo link into a science blog, but here are many comments over the webcams and I do not know a better fitting blog!

Posted by: Rudolf Posch | April 3, 2010 5:39 AM

#302, Randall Nix:

"Jon how about Fáfnir as the name for this volcano? A powerful dwarf dragon;)"

No way. Fáfnir is the name of an Icelandic motorcycle club, a Hells Angels associate that's only a few steps away from becoming a fully qualified member.

As for a name for the new volcano there have been several suggestions. The one I like the best is "Kettlingur" (Kitten).

:)

Posted by: Anna | April 3, 2010 6:54 AM

Right Pyromancer76, well said.
This really has been an amazing performance so far that has been presented to us. It's been like sitting first row at a major media event which allows you to watch all in such detail. I have enjoyed every moment of it.
Great posters and a great accumulation of knowledge, gut feeling and spirit.

Thanks to all of you.

Posted by: R. de Haan | April 3, 2010 9:07 AM

@R. de Haan, yes it is.

http://reykjavik.mydestinationinfo.com/en/hekla-volcano-webcam

Posted by: Gordys | April 3, 2010 9:41 AM

@R. de Haan, It is nice to be able to see it again, that was actually the site I was at before coming back to this blog. Do you know about the caldera cam?

http://www2.sernageomin.cl/ovdas/ovdas7/webcam_chaiten.html

Posted by: Gordys | April 3, 2010 11:40 AM

@ Gordys:
Yes but it's not real time, a few shots every day:
http://www2.sernageomin.cl/ovdas/ovdas7/webcam_chaiten.html

I guess Sernageomin does not have the budget to do more.
Especially after the recent quake that will take a lot of budget from any Government institution.

Posted by: R. de Haan | April 3, 2010 12:34 PM

i need a link to a camera on the Icelandic volcano.
None of the ones i turn to are working.
Help..............
haveing withdrawls... ;)
(tremor.tremor............having tremors.)
Best!motsfo

Posted by: motsfo | April 3, 2010 1:20 PM

This webcam has worked for me all day:
http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/

Posted by: angela rawlings | April 3, 2010 1:24 PM

This one's off-topic as well, but it might be a forerunner for a new thread here at "Eruptions".

Our volcano here, Etna, seems to be a bit jealous of the massive interest in the Eyjafjallajökull-Fimmvörðuháls show. Following a cluster of small seismic swarms during the past week, a more serious seismic sequence was recorded on Etna's northeast flank last night, starting with a M4.2 eartquake at 20.04 GMT. That event occurred at the Pernicana Fault, which is an old acquaintance for us - it's the most active fault of a dozen on Etna, and it plays a fundamental role in its dynamics.

The hypocenter of that earthquake was very shallow - about 1 km. That is typical of Pernicana earthquakes, because this fault shows mostly horizontal movement, and it cuts to a depth of maybe 6-8 km below the surface, it's a fault that borders a mobile portion of Etna's flank, which shows conspicuous movement eastward, toward the Ionian Sea. Each time this sector moves, we see displacement and often ground rupturing at the Pernicana fault. Ground fracturing was last seen in June 2004, and now again, during the night of 2-3 April 2010.

I've posted a series of photos taken today during a field survey in the area affected by ground fracturing at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/etnaboris/sets/72157623637273651/

We know that the displacement of Etna's east flank, of which the earthquakes at the Pernicana are usually a first indicator, is often followed by flank eruptions. So it was in 1981, in 1984-1985, in 1986, in 2002, and in 2004. The interval between Pernicana ruptures and flank eruptions has varied from a few hours to several months. So chances are that Etna will erupt again in the near future - not tomorrow it seems, but within a few weeks to months.

Enough space and material for speculation, bets, and discussion here! And if Etna erupts before, say, June 2010, one E-beer (plus a number of real ones) is certainly for me.

Posted by: Boris Behncke | April 3, 2010 1:32 PM

Boris, I've a pile of webcam links to watch Etna. Which link would be the best to keep an eye on the envious and jealous Etna?

I agree a watch thread would be useful. Although, if that happens, I don't know when I'll get to my chores! ;-) (Whohoo, any excuse to avoid chores) I;m already a bore to my friends about Eyjafjallajokull.

Liked your pictures. They remind me of the roads that pass over the San Andreas fault.

Have an e-beer for the heads up.

Posted by: parclair | April 3, 2010 1:52 PM

@Henrik #354, I agree with you whole heartedly! I have know Boris for quite some time and he defininely is a teacher in the best sense. I don't think his time as a field volcanologist is wasted at all. I think sometimes the field geologists/volcanologists actually know more about it than the ones who just study the subject without actually seeing what they are studying. I think all geologists and volcanologists need to get out in the field at least once in a while.

@Boris, seems like that road always gets cracks when there is even a mild (by our standards here in CA) quake. I guess it was the series that kept the cracks coming.

Thanks for the heads up on Etna. I just want to let you know something. Your site where you posted updates and such was the first one I found and I have appreciated all the info you were so willing to share with me since before you got your PhD! I hope you are not embarrassed because you don't need to be. We are greatful for your input. I know I am. So many ebeers to you.

Mots #348, you ain't the only one who is having withdrawls! LOL I can hardly wait for the cam to be back. Oh well, I suppose they will get it fixed evenutally.

Radiant streams a canyon receives
Steaming vents that willingly deceive
For a blast that rends the rock assunder
Stabs the heart with the sound of thunder

Posted by: Diane | April 3, 2010 2:17 PM

Etna shares interesting tectonic and magmetic similarities to EVZ volcanoes. Grimsvotn also erupted in 2004 and coincided with heightened seismic activity at Katla.

Boris, it's possible that Etna will erupt, maybe for the same reasons as we are seeing rare eruption of Eyjaf.

Etna also has a magnetic personality.

Posted by: Passerby | April 3, 2010 2:44 PM

May I turn your attention north, to the Tjörnes Fracture Zone, ~15 km WSW/SSW Kopasker where there's been sustained EQ activity at a location offshore? It's just had two M 2.1 and one 1.7 at 22.4, 9.8 and 5.9 km in a manner reminiscent of the ones that have heralded increases in the Eyjafjöll eruption and also the new fissure opening.

Posted by: Henrik | April 3, 2010 4:10 PM

"How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't!"

When I first found the science blogosphere I rather naively thought there would be lots of discussion about the latest discoveries. Certainly there is some of that, but there's also tons of politics. I don't object to the politics, it's just not what I was hoping to find. This discussion is exactly what I imagined and hoped to find. Theories discussed in a civil manner; wonder, amazement and beauty shared; and even poetry!

So from me e- beverage-of-your-choice (since Jon does not drink alcohol) whether your predictions come true or not. Your thinking out loud is a treat for me.

Posted by: JSB | April 3, 2010 4:15 PM

The Fimmvörðuhálsi cam is definitely moved, but I think it is much closer than Þórólfsfelli. It appears to be looking up from one of the canyons which has been catching the lava flows. If the lava ouput is picking up, which it appears to be doing right now, then we may be in for a treat.

Posted by: Andrew | April 3, 2010 4:27 PM

Sorry, spoke a bit too soon - it's back up again. Guess it's being fickle today. Wonder why they decided to move that cam farther away?

Posted by: Mike K | April 3, 2010 4:40 PM

Could it have something to do with the fact that it gave a very good view, not only of the eruption, but also of the extent to which entrepreneurs circumvent the prohibitions laid down in order to reap the full reward of this windfall? In other words, the camera was "removed" or "made inoperable" in order to keep the revenue coming in?

Posted by: Henrik | April 3, 2010 4:51 PM

Í think they moved it because of a risk from the lava in the area.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 3, 2010 5:00 PM

Something odd happened. A spot of red just appeared near the original crater. It was not there before. It is located east of it.

Maybe a new fissure opening up ?

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 3, 2010 5:13 PM

It has kept us all enthralled has it not. Thank you all for the discussion and the links..and for helping to teach me patience and humility. This is a wonderful place. It is still deflating, at least at the location of THEY.

http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/gps/predorb/theypred.html

Posted by: Gordys | April 3, 2010 5:25 PM

@Jon, I think something is happening, but I don't see a red dot, but that might have been where it is fountaining more to the left of the main (largest) fountain I see. I can barely make out some steaming and a bit of glow (very hard to see) to the left and futher down the pike. I think it is what is going into the canyon. Keep us up on what you think. You seem to have a way of "volcano whispering". ;-D

Posted by: Diane | April 3, 2010 5:27 PM

I think a new fissure did just open up a bit lower then the newest one. There was a massive steam explosion there few moments ago.

Can this be confirmed by anyone other then me that is viewing the web cams ?

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 3, 2010 5:30 PM

Jón, I also saw what I think you're referring to, but I read it as a lava flow encountering water or snow. It seems to have died down now, I didn't see it as a new fissure.

Posted by: Fireman | April 3, 2010 5:39 PM

Jon, I have seen a lot of lights go on and off and I think some of the dots of light are tourists out there getting to places they maybe shouldn't be. I saw a very bright light to the left and up rather high so that maybe was a copter.

Posted by: Diane | April 3, 2010 5:43 PM

I had seen the same thing 380 jon saw.

Posted by: Erik W. | April 3, 2010 5:49 PM

Fireman, to the matter at hand: Since you have been up there, do the live feeds convey anything of the grandeur and experience? Please tell us your impressions and thoughts!

Posted by: Henrik | April 3, 2010 5:52 PM

Although I cannot see what you describe, the view right now reminds me of the most beautiful photo of a volcano I have ever seen:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1203028/Will-Krakatoa-rock-world-Last-time-killed-thousands-changed-weather-years-deadlier.html

Posted by: Henrik | April 3, 2010 5:57 PM

In general, i don't like the Vodafone webcam style, but fortunately it captured what i saw through the Fimm cam.

http://extras.vodafone.is/trailers/fimmvorduhals/mx10-4-235-80/2010/04/03/21/24.jpg
http://extras.vodafone.is/trailers/fimmvorduhals/mx10-4-235-80/2010/04/03/21/25.jpg

Posted by: Viktor | April 3, 2010 6:13 PM

It is hard to see what is going on there at the moment. But there is something interesting happening east of the new fissure. The light I did see before is apparently west of the old crater. I got bit confused with the direction before.

It might just be lava flow. Hard to know at this moment.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 3, 2010 6:54 PM

@Firema, that would be correct. I think.

I must point out that the harmonic tremors indicate that the pressure is increasing again in the eruption, and that it looks like that the two vents we currently are watching can't handle the flow properly it seems.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 3, 2010 7:06 PM

@ Viktor Sorry Viktor, but I think it is just an optical effect mirrowing the real eruption on that webcam, because the shape of the light and the light spot are totally the same. So no new fissure!

Posted by: Thomas Wipf | April 3, 2010 7:45 PM

Henrik I think you would be more likely to find Topaz in that environment....or maybe Red Beryl. I know they do find Corundum in Australia and Montana in basalt. I have also heard of Corundum being found in pegmatites in Alabama and North Carolina. I usually look around the margins of Dunites or what used to be Dunites which have undergone retrograde metamorphism to Soapstone or Serpentinite.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunite

There is a really cool place in North Carolina called Chunky Gal Mountain you would love.....here are a few links to pages with pics on them. I will try to dig up some pics we took there a few years back. These links will give you an idea of the place.... oh and there are lots of really nice rhodolite garnets there;)

mcrocks.com/ftr07-2/BrantleyOctober2007.html
gamineral.org/chunky-gal-specimens.htm

If you want I will also try to dig up some pics of the place where I find corundum in Alabama....usually I am way too busy looking for stuff to take very many pictures:)

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 3, 2010 8:31 PM

Jon the more I think about it...the more I think you could use a 4 leaf clover too...you really have kept us informed. It never hurts to have a 4 leaf clover in your back pocket when you go out on a job interview....or if you have an active volcano in your back yard;) If you go to my website nixcomp.com and you will see my email address...email me the address you want it sent to and I will send you one in the mail next week:)

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 3, 2010 9:05 PM

I am thinking that we really do need to revisit the subject of Etna here. More than half of the eruptions of the past 600 years have occurred in the 20th and early 21st century.

Curiously, we note that the eruption duration of each cent event has progressively increased since 2000. This volcano is worthy of close study.

This is a volcano with a serious case of ultra-cool.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/696953.stm

Posted by: Passerby | April 3, 2010 9:45 PM

I am seeing that on tremor plots that the harmonic tremors are increasing from what they where previously. I think that signals stronger eruption in Eyjafjallajökull.

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 3, 2010 10:07 PM

@Jon #403 somehow that does not surprise me. Thanks for the heads up. Man, watching this is getting addictive! LOL

Posted by: Diane | April 3, 2010 10:28 PM

@Randall Nix, thanks for the clover offer. :-)

The dot at the west side of the old fissure has returned. It does not look like a lava. But it well might be. It is hard to tell at the moment in the darkness.

I now fear that we might see a new fissure opening nearby the current two fissures. But this fissure that I think might open is most likely to open near the cliffs end and even split them open. Something that has not been seen before. But I might be wrong about the seeing part. The rest is just a big question. But there are clues to this already. As it appears that the pressure in the current went appears to keep increasing for some reason, while at the same time something is blocking the opening of the fissure under the glacier (the glacier it self?).

Posted by: Jón Frímann | April 3, 2010 11:07 PM

Diane yes I am very good at finding them here in our yard. I found 40 last year and 27 this year, I also found a 6 leaf last year. We give most of them away to people who need them....these have proven to be VERY special 4 leaf clovers;)

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 3, 2010 11:45 PM

Diane no I haven't ever seen any Aussie gold. I have only found it in Alabama, New Mexico, Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona.

Posted by: Randall Nix | April 4, 2010 12:07 AM

@Holger (#408) - yes, they did fill some of the larger cracks quite fast. But that's extremely untypical of Italian (especially Sicilian) road maintenance, you won't imagine the state of most of our roads and highways here.

@Passerby (#406) - Etna does indeed erupt very frequently, so generally you can hit it at any given moment (unless it is in eruption already) if you say it will probably erupt within one or two years. But when it comes to the details, it gets tricky. Will it be a summit eruption (not too dangerous but totally spectacular, as Diane here will confirm), or a flank eruption (potentially devastating)? Will it produce little ash or a lot (problems for air traffic)? Will it occur on sparsely populated western flank or on the densely populated southeast flank? How high will the lava emission rate be (a fundamental factor in determining whether the lava will reach populated areas or not)? Will it build itself lava tubes (which permit more efficient transport to greater distance)? All these questions are to be asked, and currently there's no means to answer them. So, we have to wait for further signs from the volcano.

What we do know is that she's swelling; the swelling started even before the last flank eruption ended. So that's a remarkable difference with Mauna Loa, which for the moment has stopped inflating. Etna inflates virtually always when she's not erupting, because she is constantly fed with magma.

We would certainly love to see again what Diane has described, the incredibly awesome lava fountains (that's quite more than Strombolian activity) rising up to 1000 m or more above the vent. We had 66 such lava fountains in the year 2000. In 2007-2007 we saw 7 of them. I think in its whole life, which is now 39 years long, the Southeast Crater (youngest and most active of Etna's four summit craters) has made around 300 of these lava fountains. Yes, Passerby (#401), Etna is a serious case of ultra-cool. Also because in spite of all the studies and all the monitoring (which is now at the same standards as in Hawaii) Etna retains quite a lot of mystery.

Posted by: Boris Behncke | April 4, 2010 1:07 AM

I'm looking at the fimmvorduhalsi cam. Is it part of the second rift, or is there a new little flaming section just to the left of the 2nd eruption, with it's own little stream of dark smoke? It's between the 2nd eruption and the stream of lava going downhill.

Posted by: parclair | April 4, 2010 2:12 AM