Rumblings from another Icelandic volcano

[GloriaSmud]

and it's a big 'un!
This time at Bárðarbunga, with over 200 earthquakes recorded so far and last night, the Icelandic Met Office raised the aviation colour code to yellow to reflect the unrest that's going on.

We went whale watching with elding, they provide blankets and oil skins and it was fine, a little chilly but not really, really cold.

the vent is active again if you look on mila cam

Newbie ~ Lava is right in that the fissure is like a pressure release at the moment. If it's slowing down and stops, the pressure has to be released elsewhere. The worry is that the new place of release will be under where the glacier is in another fissure type eruption. But added to this is the caldera which is still dropping. JonFr thinks once it's dropped 45 metres (and it's dropped half that at the moment), there will be nothing stopping it from erupting. This is an unknown as to what this could be like as Bárðarbunga's last big eruption was in 1477.

For something that's slowing down, the eruption is looking very bright and productive tonight!

It had really calmed down earlier this evening but has definitely picked up again in the last couple of hours.

Thanks both.

My simple head can't understand why f there is great pressure under the fissure, why it's slowing down and going looking for another outlet. Is something else going on that making it do this?

I,ve just found why I think is a live youtube feed and it is very active right now. The red line to the left of the big mass of red, is that a fissure or just the lave oozing out from the big red bit? Does that even make sense?

Sorry for all my stupid questions by the way. I'm in a state of frustrated fascination as I wish I understood more. Thanks so much for all your help by the way.

As the fissure erupts the lava cools and solidifies and as it does so forms solid rock which is strong so it plugs the weakness in the rock that allowed the magma to erupt in the first place. So it has to find a new weakness in the rock.

Oh, that makes sense. I feel so relieved to finally understand. Sorry to have not got that before. I incorrectly assumed the hot lava took much longer to do that. Thanks.

Lava cools at different rates - some cools quickly, some cools slowly. Different rocks can be created by different cooling speeds.

Thanks so much Red. I do feel stupid, but happily so.

Different rocks are made according to how it cools as well, I forget which now but the holes in pieces of pumice tell you now quickly it cooled; you can tell the difference between pumice cooled quickly in water and pumice cooled slower on land. Smaller holes means it cooled quickly I think; less air in it.

www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2014/09/16/nyr_goshver_vid_gunnuhver/

not a good translation, sorry!

The photographer Olgeir Andrésson says new geyser formed by Gunnuhver in Rekjanes has reported the increased activity shrinks Every last days Olgeir , who has called himself útigangsljósmyndara fun , made a trip to the Reykjanes to study the situation .

"When I finished viewing and photographing Gunnuhver I decided to go to other areas around the lake. When I arrived at one of the favorite my area , I saw that it's clay around somebody who has not been in recent years, " says Olgeir and admits he has understood what the clay was where all the activity seemed of any normal gutlar somewhat .

" I walk about ten meters away and start photographing other and then I hear this gorgeous panic behind me. Then started the hot spring to erupt , reaching up like seven to ten meters . "

Olgeir believes that the press has since started to gush out basis, where the clay around each was only where the prevailing wind had blown it. He says the eruptions that he witnessed being Misha but has erupted every ten minutes .

Both Bardarbunga webcams are working but both show dense grey fog -bad weather presumably as twitter is quiet.

It's now a month since the seismic activity started in the area. There's a report here ( at the 20,000 EQs there have been) and one here about what might happen next.

hi Gloriasmud. I notice that its been a month this morning when I followed my ritual, once I'd got the kids to school, of checking on Bardarbunga. It's also the last thing I check at night. Today I have suffered from mila cam withdrawal as the video has been so foggy.

I am well and truly hooked on this and Iceland, so just wanted to say thanks again to you and all the other knowledgeable poetsers on here like OYBBK, Red, nannynick and Lavadragonflies and the many others.

I still don't understand everything, but what I do, is completely down to you all.

Newbie ~ I'm doing a first thing in the morning and last thing at night check of all things Bárðarbunga as well! Looks like it's another yucky day on the webcams again so unless the wind changes, nothing to see there!

Some new blog entries on JonFr's blog and volcano cafe. And there's another mbl report here.

The number and strength of earthquakes around/in Bárðarbunga has been increasing the last few days. JonFr thinks there's been a worryingly high number today.

.

Ragnarok?

Theres masses I dont understand too Newbie :)
Been out of touch today with volcanic stuff. Must catch up. Thanks for the heads up Gloria.

Thats a rather epic tale RTB!

I'm doing a first thing in the morning and last thing at night check of all things Bárðarbunga as well!

So am I. iPad recharges within reach of my bed, so perfect for a quick check on current status. Better than staying up most of the night watching the cameras - though have been known to do that on occasion (if not working the following day).

6 weeks ago I would have never imagined I would have a bookmarks folder called Volcano with various bookmarks in it for sites to do with volcanic eruptions including live-video feed and seismic plots of volcanic activity.

Judging by the comments on JonFr's site, there seems to have been another big quake. I've noticed that the last few evenings and was wondering if there's a reason for the big quakes later in the day? Is bardarbunga a night owl? Or is it simply that there are more people posting in the evenings?

It also sounds like this could rumble on for a long time yet, or it might blow or it might just stop. It's fascinating stuff!