VATNAJOKULL GLACIER VOLCANO ERUPTS
In October an eruption started in the Vatnajökull Glacier ten km away from the Grímsvötn Lake Volcano. The eruption was followed in November with a remarkable glacier burst flooding onto the sands in the south. Foreigners did not flock here in the thousands to witness the disaster. The event was widely reported in the foreign media and apparently gave the impression that Iceland was sinking. This caused a lot of cancellations. For details see The Glacier Eruption Filming Diary on this website.
posted by Arnold at Friday, March 15, 2002 -

ERUPTION UNDER GLACIER
Sunday August 11th, 1996 scientists were working on the Vatnajökull glacier near the Grímsvötn Lake Volcano where an eruption had occurred in 1983. Suddenly they heard thunderous rumblings from underneath the ice to the west of the lake. Continuous earthquakes and explosions bore witness to a dramatic happening, a new eruption. Although nothing was seen with bare eyes, however there were more cracks than normally seen in the western of the two cave-ins in the ice formations.
Underneath these two cave-ins there was geothermal activity and collection of water. The thickness of the ice there is usually about 500 meters. The new eruption caused a flooding into the Skaftá River. Flooding from these two cave-ins are almost annual events, but are not normally associated with eruptions. There was no danger to settlements in area, but some roads were affected. The earthquakes continued for a few days but the scientists think it was a very small and brief eruption, lasting only a few hours.
In July 1995 there was an eruption and flooding from the eastern of the two cave-ins into the Skaftá River. The volume of water reached a maximum of 1400 cubic meters per second, ten times the river´s normal volume.
In 1994 there was a smaller flooding from the western cave-in. This time the flow of water was only 600 cubic meters per second. Some roads washed out but no towns were threatened.
Scientists estimate that in the floodings from these two cave-ins since 1955, 100 million tons of mud have oozed from underneath the glacier. That is enough to cover a 70 square kilometer area with a one meter thick layer of mud. Most of this mud collects in the the old lavaflows below the glacier a distance of 100 km away from the two cave-ins. It normally takes the water 24 hours to travel this distance.
posted by Arnold at Friday, March 15, 2002 -

MAGNA ON THE MOVE
In August, 1996 scientists detected an underground flow of magna into the eastern of the two known magmachambers in the Hengill Central volcano by Lake Thingvellir near the capital. The last eruption from this eastern magmachamber, located 6 km underground, was ten thousand years ago. The last eruption from the western magmachamber was two thousand years ago.
There have been unusual increases in earthquakes in this area since 1994 with an epicenter 5 km to the north of the town of Hveragerði, at a depth of only 400 meters. The ground on top has lifted 5 cm since 1992. The main ground rising is on top of the epicenter. Some scientists have raised concern about the safety of the geothermal power plant there. From this plant the hot water is pumped through a 27 km long steel pipeline to the capital Reykjavík and it is a vital source for heating. It takes the water an average of 7 hours to travel this distance. The pipeline is designed for temperatures up to 100 degrees Celsius.
The ground rising is small compared with other volcanic sites however it does not rule out careful monitoring.
posted by Arnold at Friday, March 15, 2002 -