Iceland - possible eruption due near the Blue Lagoon

[KenAdams]

Is anyone following this?

https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/2023/11/03/coming_close_to_an_eruption/

The main concern is the power plant next to the lagoon.

There are constant mini eruptions happening too - https://vafri.is/quake/

Mini tremors, not eruptions!

I will now. It's interesting.

There's talk of the blue lagoon evaporating if it happens close enough!

Oh god Noooooo! Thank you. I’m on it (something new to add to the list of Stuff to Worry About)

My son is going to Iceland and supposed to be visiting the Blue Lagoon in 3 weeks. We'll watch this with interest.

Also interested in this. You seem to be good at spotting updates OP so do share any further ones you find!

I think the main concern is Grindavík. If the power plant was damaged it would be a huge problem but if lava flows into Grindavík it will be a disaster.

Of course this is pretty much guaranteed to happen some time in the next century so I can't imagine the town doing great either way. A lot of half built houses for sale there I noticed.

If the 'Blue Lagoon' is destroyed I will laugh though. They should close it but they are too greedy. Ridiculous tourist trap, charging an absolute fortune to people for the chance to swim about in the run off from the power plant.

To be clear, I don't think human life is at risk. Everyone will get away fine, I'm sure. But if a town is destroyed of course a lot of people will be suddenly homeless. I'd hate to be living with that over my head!

So far I've only felt one earthquake in the capital area but the big ones have mostly been at night and it doesn't seem to have been so strong here as previous earthquake swarms. I know they are having quite the time of it in Grindavík and other Reykjanes towns, though.

This one seems more concerning as it seems it may come closer to the sea where all the stuff is rather than safely out of the way up in the mountains.

If anyone wants to keep an eye on the area and potentially spot an eruption, Vísir set up a webcam. Grindavík has an evacuation plan in place as does the Blue Lagoon. I wouldn't go there at the moment but lots are!

https://www.visir.is/g/20232484665d/bein-ut-sending-vef-mynda-vel-i-beinni-fra-thor-birni

It did happen in the 70s that a town needed to be evacuated due to a sudden eruption right on the edge and very luckily all the fishing vessels were in the harbour due to a storm (this was the island of Heimaey off the south coast). I recommend reading about it - it's fascinating. Must have been terrifying!

The latest on this that I've heard is in the worst case scenario, lava could reach the Blue Lagoon and Svartsengi power plant about 3 minutes after breaking the surface. That depends on the location, the force of the eruption and the viscosity of the lava. So although there may be better warning signs before it happens, I am stunned that the BL remains open, considering their evacuation plan assumes 1 hour. If you are going to Iceland in the near future I urge you not to go to the BL unless all this has settled down!

There was no particular warning right before the last 3 eruptions. Although they were expected, nobody knew with any certainty exactly where or when or if they would come until the first lava was spotted. It may still peter out without any eruption but I wouldn't want to risk this.

But in good news, if it comes in the most likely spot, the town of Grindavík should be safe, though possibly without water and power temporarily.

Scary but fascinating they can see the land rising.

Yeah 7 cm! It does seem very dramatic 😮

I'm really nervous about the BL just because there are so many people there every day. One tour company has cancelled tours there but it's still open!! And the journos are interviewing tourists outside and they've got no clue what's going on or the risk they are taking.

@Puffinshop

If the 'Blue Lagoon' is destroyed I will laugh though. They should close it but they are too greedy. Ridiculous tourist trap, charging an absolute fortune to people for the chance to swim about in the run off from the power plant.

Couldn't agree more. When I went to Iceland a few years ago it was insanely expensive, something like £80! Absolute tourist trap as it's so close to Keflavik airport. Man made as well. So it was a no from me. Went to the secret lagoon, much better and a quarter of the cost.

The blue lagoon is just waste water from the power plant. So if it evaporates, more water will fill it up.

Obviously I won't laugh if anyone gets hurt 😬 Hopefully it's obvious that's not what I meant.

Nah, if it evaporates it's going to be destroyed along with the power plant. Because why would it evaporate unless the lava was almost upon it.

Meh.

I bloody loved the blue lagoon

Sorry to be dim, but the view from the camera, where is the volcano in comparison to the lights (which I assume is a town?)

Well the whole peninsula is covered in lava fields and it's all volcanic really. The most likely spot the scientists think for the lava that's currently moving to break the surface (if it does) is on the Illahraun lava field between the mountain Þorbjörn and the Blue Lagoon. The closer cluster of lights you see are the power plant / BL and the further lights are Grindavík I think, so sort of in between that.

Edit: The camera is on Þorbjörn so maybe the town is Njarðvík I guess, not Grindavík. Can't quite work it out.

I've been keeping an eye on things for the last week or so as well - rather a lot of earthquakes yesterday, but it has calmed right down again now.

There was something I read about a sill intrusion of magma about 4km down, but I had no idea what that was so had to look it up. Every day is a school day. Actually I'm none the wiser!

The last eruption started when we were on holiday, so if there is one, I don't want to miss it this time.

Blue Lagoon is now closed for the next week at least after another night of big earthquakes. Understandably the nerves of people in Grindavík and nearby too are a bit strained from worry and broken sleep.

Checking Icelandic earthquake activity has replaced checking my emails as the first thing I do when I get in from work at lunchtime now. Things are getting tense.

Fingers crossed for all in the area. It's fun when you're anticipating an eruption in the middle of nowhere - not so much when it might happen in a populated region.

Gosh, I'd not heard anything about this until this thread.

Is this the same sort of Volcano that caused the airplane groundings back in 2009 or whenever it was, or is this not ash in the same way? Those seemed to last for ages.

I always liked the look of the Blue Lagoon and thought it would be nice to visit someday if I ever got to Iceland, didn't realise it wasn't natural springs feeding it though.

No, if it happens it'll be another effusive eruption. Just lava and gases, not an explosive eruption with ash like Eyjafjallajökull.

They are talking about building a wall around the power plant or the town which honestly strikes me as very silly as I'm not sure how it is possible to build any wall that can withstand thousands of cubic metres of molten lava.

But I'm not an expert so maybe it is somehow possible.

@MapleSyrupWaffles No, this is in a different area. The one that caused the flight issues was underneath a glacier and when that erupted it was considerably more explosive due to the lava coming into contact with ice. It turned into what was basically abrasive dust. That is not what you want inside your aircraft engine.