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/

Hope you are all OK @Puffinshop .

Likewise Puffinshop hope you are ok. Amazing photos from afar, nearby not so

I was very worried about the amount of ash - I've just realised there might be a lot of snow in Iceland in December...

Gosh I just woke up to this. Nature is so humbling. Any news on where it’s spread ? Will they know soon if the town is safe? I just read yesterday about the Blue Lagoon reopening, how did they get that wrong? I wonder how much pressure the site was putting on as they must be losing ££ - presumably insurance doesn’t cover this .

I saw this which suggests the lava may not be heading towards Grindavík after all - which is good news, if true.

Mother Nature is amazing. Devastating, yet strangely beautiful to watch. I hope everyone in the local area is safe.

News this morning looks promising. Not only is it not going towards Grindavik, it's also not going towards the power plant and the blue lagoon ATM.

There's volcanologists suggesting the eruption could be shorter than initially feared too.

It depends on whether the fissure opens up more. But presently it's good news.

Fingers crossed for the best outcome.

nature is awesome.

Nobody's in any physical danger from this eruption (especially not me far away across the bay). The risk is 'only' destruction of property and infrastructure. Obviously that's a very big deal but I just say this because of all the kind wishes for our safety. Everybody in Iceland is safe, thankyou ❤️

That’s great to hear puffin.

They are saying that the power of the eruption has reduced significantly since it began and the southern end of the fissure is dying out. So it's looking really good and we'll probably get away with this one if it continues on that trend. 🤞

I would still have major problems returning to Grindavík personally. Earthquakes that split the town like that and a volcanic fissure less than 3 km away. I'd be terrified that the luck wouldn't hold.

@crikeycrumbsblimey it's unlikely to produce ash. It's not an explosive type volcano and hasn't erupted underwater.
A bit of snow on the ground won't make much/any difference as there wouldn't be anywhere near the volume of water necessary to cause ash. Particularly as it's likely the ground temps were pretty high in that area in the hours leading up to the eruption so there probably wasn't much or any snow about.

I loved a distance away from Christchurch when they had the awful earthquake. I realised I loved NZ but I needed old land, I totally lost my nerve, sold up and came home. I like living where the volcanoes have been eroded to stumps of granite, it’s comforting.

@dontbuyadell
I was just pointing out I was being gormless

How are you doing today @Puffinshop? How are people feeling?

Livestream with drone pilot Isak Finnbogason:

Made the bbc headline news. Footage looked incredible. Prime minister said it was heading in the best possible direction.

I think the mood is fairly positive. It started off strong but quickly died down and the lava flow predictions look like it's not going to cause too much trouble. There is always the risk of new fissures and other developments though.

I couldn't see any glow today, the clouds have closed in too much. I was going to show my children (who think volcanoes are soo mundane) but there was nothing to see in the morning.

I'm flying to the UK for Christmas soon so hoping to get a good view from the aeroplane.

Can't imagine volcanoes ever being 'mundane' 😂

I expect you will get a great view!

I know, it's so weird. I think if something happens a lot in your early childhood you somehow categorise it as completely normal. They were 5 and 3 when Fagradalsfjall started, 8 and 6 now, and volcanoes are old hat apparently.

This is probably a stupid question but what is the name of this volcano? I only seem to see it reference by area, not name.

So pleased everyone is safe. The power of nature.

@Puffinshop so interesting to hear the differing perspective of your young ones.

If I have understood correctly it doesn't have a name because it's not like a mountain type volcano that erupts with a crater. It's more like a fissure that split across a region.

BBC says gas pollution could reach Reykjavik by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Grindavik, the power plant, or the Blue Lagoon spa may still be affected depending on lava flow in the coming weeks. There are so many unknowns or uncertainties, I think. The inhabitants of Grindavík were due to return to their homes this week, just days before this thing erupted.

https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2023/12/19/hraunflaedilikan_hraun_mun_flaeda_ad_grindavikurveg/

See the video on this page for a lava flow model for the period until the evening of Christmas Day. It is based on the assumption that the flow will continue at a rate of 30 m3 per second.

According to this model, Grindurvíkurvegur, one of the roads into Grindavík, is likely to be in most imminent danger.

Models are fallible of course.