Iceland volcano struck by biggest earthquake yet, still no eruption

[Buster's Uncle]

Iceland volcano struck by biggest earthquake yet, still no eruption
Reuters
17 minutes ago



A warning sign blocks the road to Bardarbunga volcano, some 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) away, in the north-west region of the Vatnajokull glacier August 19, 2014. REUTERS/Sigtryggur Johannsson



STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano overnight, the biggest since tremors began 10 days ago, but there is still no sign of an eruption, the country's Meteorological Office said on Tuesday.

Intense seismic activity at Iceland's largest volcano system has raised worries that an eruption could cause another ash cloud like that from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010 that shut down much of Europe's airspace for six days.

"There was one event during the night ... it was a magnitude 5.7 (quake), the largest in this series," Palmi Erlendsson, a geologist at the Met Office said.

"Activity is still deep and we see no signs of anything close to the surface."

On Sunday, Iceland lowered its warning code for possible volcanic disruption to the aviation industry to orange from red, the highest level on the country's five-point alert system, after concluding that seismic activity had not led to a volcanic eruption under the glacier. [ID:L5N0QU0KB]

Red alert indicates an eruption is imminent or underway with a significant emission of ash likely.

Met Office scientists believe the earthquakes are a result of magma flowing out from under the crater of the volcano, causing a change in pressure.

The migration of magma -- estimated at around 300 million cubic metres (10.6 billion cubic feet) along a 35 kilometre (21 miles) dyke by Icelandic scientists on Monday -- could stop. That should lead to a gradual reduction in seismic activity.

But the magma could also reach the surface away from the glacier. This would probably lead to an eruption, but with limited explosive, ash-producing activity, scientists said.

If the magma reaches the surface under the glacier, that would lead to flooding and possibly an explosive eruption and ash production, they added. An eruption inside the Bardarbunga caldera is also possible, but scientists say less likely than the other scenarios.

"We still can't say whether it will cease, continue like this for a while or erupt. It's impossible to say," Erlendsson said.

There have been thousands of smaller quakes over the past week at Bardarbunga. Areas around the volcano, in the centre of the North Atlantic island nation, have been evacuated.

Bardarbunga is in a different range to Eyjafjallajokull.

(Corrects spelling of geologist's name in third paragraph)

(Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Crispian Balmer)


http://news.yahoo.com/iceland-volcano-struck-biggest-earthquake-yet-still-no-070523718.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Iceland prepares for "volcano from hell"
CBS News
15 hours ago



A volcano buried under one of Europe's largest glaciers is coming to life with more than 2,600 earthquakes since August 16



Iceland continues to prepare for a possible volcanic eruption.

Bardarbunga volcano, buried under one of Europe's largest glaciers, is rumbling to life. Tuesday morning, it was hit by a 5.7-magnitude quake.

"This could be the volcano from hell," said CBS News contributor and City University of New York physics professor Michio Kaku. "To quote Yogi Berra, 'It's deja vu all over again.' Remember the paralysis from four years ago? Millions of passengers being stranded with the threat of airplanes falling from the sky?"

In 2010, a volcanic eruption in Iceland created an ash cloud nine miles high. The plume spread across Europe, grounding 100,000 flights, affecting 8 million travelers and costing airlines $1.7 billion.

Kaku says this eruption could happen within the next few days, especially considering the latest earthquake.


"We have a new threat, and just this morning, a 5.7 earthquake rumbled across the glacier, so scientists are very concerned that a volcanic eruption could soon be happening. Maybe in the next few days, they're not sure."



Bardarbunga volcano was hit by a 5.7-magnitude earthquake Tuesday as scientists eye potential eruption


Because the volcano is located under a glacier, Kaku says the resulting ash would be more hazardous to air travelers.

"This is not an ordinary volcanic eruption," he said. "You have fine magmatic dust in the air. It could potentially cut through a glacier--freezing--causing a gasifie,d rocky, pebbly cloud to arise, and that gets in to an engine and chews up the gears, chews up the blades. So this ash coming out is not typical ash. That's why ice volcanoes are more dangerous than typical volcanoes."

While the aviation alert issued for the eruption was downgraded from red to orange, Kaku says the threat is still prominent.

"Over the weekend they had 3,000 small earthquakes, tremors all the time. So it went to red alert; eruption is eminent," Kaku said. "But scientists finally tracked the motion of magma. Magma is building up under the ice, but it hasn't reached the surface yet. That's why we're back down from a red to an orange. But remember, sometimes it can be a dud. Sometimes the magma never does reach the surface, but were not taking that chance this time."


http://news.yahoo.com/iceland-prepares-volcano-hell-085341881.html