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/

Looks awful. Feeling sorry for those that might loose their houses

Omg there is lava swamping a house and a house on fire on the bbc news website.

The first house is ablaze. Horrifying to see but I can't look away.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P1e_MWJ1nQc&pp=ygUPw75vcmJqw7ZybiBsaXZl

Feel awful for the residents but it's fascinating watching the flow

That's it. Pretty certain at this point that the residents are indeed former residents and they won't be able to return. The pattern looks most like the following:

1151-1188 Krýsuvík fires (is: Krýsuvíkureldar). Volcanic activity in a fissure swarm known as Krýsuvík on the Reykjanes peninsula

So this could go on for several decades. Just uncertainty and constant new fissures.

Defensive walls kept most lava away from town
Right at the beginning of the eruption, the defensive walls began to control the lava flow, despite not having reached their full height, according to Benedikt Halldórsson, specialist in earthquake hazards at the Met Office.

After the eruption at 8am, most of the lava flow indeed went along the side of the wall towards Grindavíkurvegur, and away from the town.

"I think this is a splendid example," says Benedikt.

I just can't watch those houses burning. Too tragic.

Awfully sad news.

screenshot from the live. It’s very dramatic but a whole community has been destroyed.

Tragic.

https://dankxip1iu8u9.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiAicnV2LXByb2QtcnV2aXMtcHVibGljIiwgImtleSI6ICJtZWRpYS9wdWJsaWMvb3JpZ2luYWxfaW1hZ2VzL0lNR183Njc4LmpwZWciLCAiZWRpdHMiOiB7InJlc2l6ZSI6IHsid2lkdGgiOiAiMTIwMCIsICJmaXQiOiAiaW5zaWRlIiwgImhlaWdodCI6ICI5MDAifX19

Photo of lava going in town. Gives a very good idea of the size of the town and where the lava actually is.

Awful. Nature is so powerful and we are so small

It looks like the fissure is heading for the sea…..isn’t that when issues may occur with ash clouds, etc if there is an explosion under the sea?

I think that only happens if the eruption actually is underwater, due to the gases released. The lava can flow into the water, it gets cooled and starts to solidify.

The lava flowing into the sea, not so much. The eruption itself actually under water causes more problems, but the big issue with some of the volcanoes in Iceland is that they are under a glacier. Molten lava and a large quantity of solid ice on the top of it - well they don't mix well.

I guess it’ll depend then if it’s just lava flow or if the fissure/seam expands whether it erupts? There seemed to be little eruptions right on the outskirts of the village this afternoon, there was definitely some “erupting” fountains of lava just in front of the burning building which were going a few feet in the air. But probably an eruption needs to be bigger to cause an issue?

Is the Þorbjörn 2 webcam out of action? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VIs83vmfZCk&t=0s It had the best view of the fissure last night.

Do they maybe turn it off overnight?

Looking back through the live feed maybe it’s slowed down or stopped as it seems to calm down to nothing?

The southern fissure has stopped erupting, for now at least, so it may be that there is just nothing to see if the camera is zoomed in.

No cameras don't go off overnight but you can get problems sometimes. I just keep camera-surfing if that happens.

Looking at the cams this morning I've lost my orientation as it's dark! However it does look like the fissure near town hasn't gotten worse and maybe has even stopped erupting lava? Or not as much. That is at least a small blessing. Can't see much else till it gets light.

Thanks @CrunchyCarrot , I didn't think they would but you never know.

Is there a list of the different feeds to watch or is this the only one?

The Morgunblaðið webcams are listed here:

https://www.mbl.is/promos/gosid-i-beinni/

Only the first fissure is still active.

Watching one of the webcams just now and saw a van or minibus driving through Grindavik, so this should mean the sheep can be rescued and also hopefully the pets which were thought to be stranded there.