Photo: Ragnar Axelsson
Three planes from destinations in the US are still in America. These include Orlando, Boston and Seattle. About 500 passengers are on these planes. All flight within a 120 mile radius of the eruption has been stopped.
עקב ההתפרצות בוצע פינוי של תושבים מאזור הרעש, שהושלם בתוך 5 שעות.
The volcano Katla hides underneath the Mýrdalsjökull icecap. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
Farmers who live in the area have now been allowed to return to their farms to feed their animals and the road has been reopened.
Eyjafjallajökull towers over the farm Thorvaldseyri. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The photo is not directly related to the story. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
“What I have asked farmers to do today is to make their own observations,” Runólfsson told visir.is.
Otherwise, Runólfsson is not concerned about the situation, considering that not much ash has fallen. Also, this is a good time for an eruption, he reasoned, as livestock is usually kept inside at this time of year.
חוואי הסביבה הסכימו לנטר אחר העפר הוולקני, היות והוא יכול לגרום להרעלת המזון והמים של המקנה, ע"י הנחת צלחות לבנות בסמוך למקומות המזון והמים.
An eyewitness described the scene to ruv.is as if a black tinge is hanging over Fimmvörduháls and Eyjafjallajökull.
Geologist Hjörleifur Sveinbjörnsson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office is following the development of the eruption.
He said the activity which increased about an hour ago is decreasing again. Instead of a large cumulus there are now small puffs, yet they release a large amount of volcanic debris into the atmosphere.
The jet from the eruption zone reaches a height of approximately eight kilometers and is light in color. It is likely that it is mixed with water, which indicates that a steam explosion with an increased volume of water has entered the system.
Seismic activity hasn’t increased at all, Sveinbjörnsson said.
Thorgils Torfi Jónsson, chairman of the rural council of Rangárthing ytra, is located at Hella and has a good view of Fimmvörduháls. He said it is evident that the fissure has extended to the northeast.
Geophysicist Steinunn Jakobsdóttir at the Icelandic Meteorological Office said the activity in the Fimmvörduháls volcanic eruption in south Iceland is slowly increasing and it is likely that the fissure is growing towards the northeast.
The flow of Krossá river increased suddenly this morning and the water temperature rose be a few degrees, ruv.is reports.
Jakobsdóttir said a longer fissure doesn’t necessarily produce more ash and it should not be assumed that the neighboring volcano Katla will erupt in direct continuation of the current eruption, although there is a certain connection between eruptions in the two volcanoes.
Björn Gunnarsson of the Air Ground Rescue Team of Reykjavík (FBSR) told mbl.is that lava is now flowing down the Hvannárgil canyon. He and his team flew around the eruption zone at noon.
The FBSR team was the first observe the eruption from air today. They were taking pictures and estimating the situation for the coordination center of the Civil Protection Department in Skógarhlíd in Reykjavík.
Gunnarsson warned others against flying around the eruption zone—conditions are stormy.
ישנם סימנים להתגברות הפעילות הגעשית, בלינק שמתחת תוכלו לראות סרטון שצולם ממקום ההתפרצות.
Click here to watch a slideshow taken east of Hella this morning.
Photo by Hallgrímur Egilsson. Taken at 2 am last night by the river Markarfljót.
Visibility was limited to begin with but then the weather cleared up and the scientists could see the eruption clearly; the lava is flowing down a canyon south of the craters on the pass and clouds of steam rise up from where the lava melts ice and snow.
Seismologist Kristín Waagfjörd, who was onboard the plane, said that while the eruption is still small, disturbances are growing and there is nothing to indicate that the volcanic activity is declining.
Waagfjörd said the flight had confirmed what their sensors indicate. “The eruption appears to have been increasing since 9 am this morning. We are probably looking at signs of increased lava flow.”
A group of scientists, along with the Hella Air Rescue Team, had to turn around on their way to the source of the eruption earlier today due to stormy weather conditions and poor visibility. They were hoping to collect samples, mbl.is reports.
“When there are snowdrifts on the firn it is pointless to keep going; we couldn’t see anything anymore,” said volcanologist Ármann Höskuldsson. The weather forecast is not promising for the remainder of the day but the team will consider another trip tomorrow.
Today’s trip wasn’t completely fruitless, though, Höskuldsson said they were able to collect some samples where ash had fallen east of Fimmvörduháls.
Click here to watch a video of the eruption shot by RÚV.
The volcanic eruption on Fimmvörduháls between the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull in south Iceland remained even and stable last night, according to geophysicist Gunnar B. Gudmundsson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
The force has not increased gradually as it did yesterday but continued evenly throughout the night, although there have been some fluctuations, Gudmundsson described to ruv.is.
Around 8:30 pm last night there was a steam explosion at the eruption zone when magma touched ice. A column of steam rose seven kilometers into the air. Last night ten smaller earthquakes were measured underneath the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.
“It was spectacular and magnificent as is usually the case with volcanic eruptions, especially in this environment. The interplay of nature doesn’t become more magnificent than this—eruption between two glaciers above Thórsmörk [a green highland valley surrounded by glaciers],” Thór Kjartansson, a member of the Air Ground Rescue Team of Reykjavík (FBSR), told Morgunbladid.
Kjartansson and three of his team members managed to drive very close to the eruption site on ski-doos yesterday before the road was closed due to stormy weather. They took samples of the ash for scientists who were close by in a snowmobile with the Hella Air Rescue Team but had to move back because of the storm.
“Lava spurted from the fissure and there is now a large lava field extending towards Thórsmörk. The volcanic jets seemed mighty powerful and a beautiful volcanic rim was starting to form,” Kjartansson described.
He said the eruption is located directly on the popular hiking path which leads across the Fimmvörduháls pass—the sticks marking the path go straight into the crater. So the path must be marked again next summer, provided the eruption will have stopped by then.
There are no signs indicating that eruption is calming down. Yesterday it seemed as if the fissure had extended to the northeast, but that turned out not to be the case.
Ágúst Gunnar Gylfason of the Civil Protection Department was on shift in the coordination center in Skógarhlíd in Reykjavík last night. He told ruv.is that the night had been quiet near the eruption.
Yesterday, evacuation was not deemed necessary anymore and the residents of the 14 farms who had not been allowed to return home on Sunday could sleep in their own beds last night.
Police officers were on shift during most of the night in Fljótsdalur valley by the old bridge over Markarfljót to ensure that the road to Thórsmörk remained closed.
Due to stormy weather it was not safe to drive below the Eyjafjöll mountain range last nights. Truckers sought shelter at Heimaland and Skógar where they waited for the storm to calm.
Click here to watch a slideshow taken from the Westman Islands yesterday morning on behalf of RÚV.
Vídir Reynisson, divisional manager of the Civil Protection Department, said their goal is to allow tourists to travel to the area near the volcanic eruption zone on Fimmvörduháls in south Iceland so they can view the spectacle up close.
“We are looking at accessibility for tourists to the area and how it can be improved,” Reynisson told visir.is. If their safety can be guaranteed, the area can be opened up for tourists, he said.
The weather in south Iceland was stormy yesterday and the visibility poor so the eruption could not be seen. However, its development is still under constant observation and Reynisson said the eruption is not losing force.
The Civil Protection Department released a statement for the attention of travelers keen on observing the eruption yesterday morning, which reads as follows:
“Volcanic eruptions are dangerous by definition and must be treated with respect. People who enter areas that have been declared danger zones are there at their own risk.
They cannot expect immediate rescue because rescue services have a predefined responsibility towards the region’s inhabitants and must help out with evacuation if the situation changes.
Thórsmörk, Fimmvörduháls and Eyjafjallajökull are defined as closed areas.
A special danger zone has also been defined—a 15 kilometer radius from the crater.
The visibility of the eruption depends on the weather. The weather forecast for the next 24 hours remains poor.
The crater can be seen in many locations in south Iceland, for example in Hvolsvöllur and Hella. There is a good view from the innermost part of Fljótshlíd but the area cannot handle much traffic.
The condition of roads must be taken into consideration. The environment is particularly sensitive at this time of year, when the ground is beginning to thaw, and therefore there is reason to emphasize that off-road driving is prohibited.
All trails are sensitive towards traffic at this time of year.
Drivers are encouraged to drive in accordance with road conditions and make sure their vehicles are well-equipped.
There will be continued policing in the area and tourists are asked to follow the police’s requests as well as the requests of rescue team members who assist with traffic control.
Geophysicists expect that the volcanic eruption on Fimmvörduháls in south Iceland might last for weeks, even months. A meeting will be held today with inhabitants of the region to review the situation and safety measures.
Scientists managed to get close to the eruption this morning to take samples. There was more force in the eruption last night than yesterday. There were three high points last night when steam explosions occurred, visir.is reports.
Research indicates that magma is still flowing into the volcano in Eyjafjallajökull glacier, which is causing the current eruption. This means that the eruption will probably not be over any time soon, Stöd 2 reports.
Haraldur Sigurdsson, one of Iceland’s most acclaimed volcanologists, visited the scene yesterday. He believes that the lava currently spurting from the crater on Fimmvörduháls is related to the lava flow of the 1973 volcanic eruption in the Westman Islands.
“The source of the magma underneath this area is similar. It is located at a significant depth and is then carried up to the crust,” Sigurdsson said. “This magma has risen to a depth of ten kilometers in the past weeks and remained there and then a small leak has spurted to the surface.”
Sigurdsson does not believe that the eruption will grow in volume or that other fissures will open up. “I believe what we see now is the way it’s going to be, little lava, which will flow for a few weeks, maybe months, and then it will be over. But, who knows? We just have to keep following it.”
“It is fortunate that it is in an area where there is little danger so it will probably just be a tourist eruption,” Sigurdsson added.
The weather conditions in south Iceland have now improved considerably, the storm has calmed and visibility increased so the eruption can be seen from many locations again. The area has been opened for tourists who can view the spectacle from a safe distance.
However, people are warned against going too close to the eruption. Not only is a volcanic eruption dangerous by definition, but the surrounding area is known for unpredictable weather—people have died of exposure on Fimmvörduháls.
Telecom Míla has established two webcams in the vicinity of the eruption zone on Fimmvörduháls and is offering live broadcasts through its website, mila.is/eldgos.
המומחים שבדקו את ההתפרצות טוענים כי המשך יציאת הלבה תימשך שבועות ואף חודשים. בלינק הבא תוכלו לראות תמונות מיוחדות שצולמו במקום ההתפרצות. Click here to watch unique pictures taken close to the eruption zone from Mýrdalsjökull glacier yesterday.
Volcanologist Haraldur Sigurdsson witnessed the creation of a 200-meter-high lava fall at the scene of the Fimmvörduháls volcanic eruption today, when lava flowed down the Hrunagil canyon. There were massive steam explosions when the lava hit the snow.
“There haven’t been many changes to the eruption except the number of craters is decreasing. The crater rim has sort of become a solid mountain or a hill, brand new. There are four or five active craters,” Sigurdsson described to mbl.is.
Sigurdsson explained that when the crater rim rises, there is less space for the craters and their number drops, but the craters that remain grow more powerful.
Sigurdsson said lava will continue to flow down Hrunagil and probably all the way down to the valley of Thórsmörk. In a few days the lava flow might reach the sandbanks below the canyon and subsequently have an impact on the Krossá river channel.
The volcanologist described the eruption as a lava eruption, where slag and lava spurts out of the crater and a large slag crater mounts up, similar to the eruption in the Askja volcano in 1961 and the eruption in the Westman Islands in 1973.
ההתפרצות הגעשית יוצרת מפלי לבה בגובה 200 מטר, והלבה יוצאת בטמפרטורה של 1150-1200 מעלות צלציוס.
Here you can see the erption live on three different cameras.
http://mila.is/um-milu/vefmyndavelar/eyjafjallajokull-fra-hvolsvelli/
http://www.mila.is/um-milu/vefmyndavelar/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/
Pupils and staff of the Mýrdalshreppur municipality elementary school practiced evacuation on Wednesday in case of an eruption in the volcano Katla, which is located underneath the Mýrdalsjökull icecap.
Scientists have pointed out a connection between the volcanoes in Eyjafjallajökull, which is causing the current eruption, and Katla. The volcano erupts every 40 to 80 years. The last major eruption was in 1918, which caused extensive flooding. The village of Vík might be in danger if Katla were to erupt.
Almost 400 people attended a public meeting in Hvolsvöllur yesterday where the situation of the volcanic eruption on Fimmvörduháls was discussed, Morgunbladid reports.
Representatives of the Civil Protection Department, the local municipality, the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority and the Public Health Authority informed attendees of possible consequences of the current eruption and discussed the evacuation on Saturday night.
Inhabitants had many questions.
Among the topics discussed was a possible eruption in the summit crater of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano—the current eruption on Fimmvörduháls is not underneath the icecap. Scientists said a relocation of the eruption is not impossible, but rather unlikely.
Possible flooding in Skógaá river was also mentioned. The river has not flooded before and such a scenario is considered unlikely, although it could happen if the eruption moves to a certain fissure.
Meanwhile, dv.is reports that Fox News seems determined to scare its viewers out of their wits with a highly dramatic story about a potential eruption in Katla.
“A situation is unfolding in Iceland—that is not a place we normally cover but there is a good reason for doing it today—that some scientists say could pose a danger to the entire planet. That’s all. Just the planet,” exclaimed news anchor Megyn Kelly.
“A volcano erupting near a glacier is spouting lava and ash high in the air. The big worry right now is that it could be a sign that an even bigger eruption at another volcano could be on the way. This happened more than three hundred years ago and when it did, researchers say it changed the weather pattern for the entire planet,” Kelly went on.
מחשש להתפרצות של הר געש נוסף קטלה, בוצע תרגול פינוי בבתי הספר באזור. בלינקים למטה תוכלו לראות שידור ישיר הכולל תמונות ממקום ההתפרצות. Click here to watch the broadcast (scroll down to the end of the article on dv.is)
A new mountain is rising on Fimmvörduháls where the current volcanic eruption is taking place and the mountain requires a name. Fimmvördufjall (“Five Cairn Mountain”) after the mountain pass is one suggestion.
The mountain could also be named after Hrunagil canyon, into which the lava from the crater flows (the literal translation of Hrunagil is something like “Collapsing Canyon”), as toponymist Svavar Sigmundsson told Morgunbladid.
It used to be the role of the Icelandic Toponymy Committee to find names for new natural phenomena, such as Surtsey island, which was created in an underwater eruption in 1963, and Eldfell, the mountain which rose from the ashes of the 1973 Westman Islands eruption.
Now members of the public are often allowed to make suggestions. Then the National Land Survey of Iceland and toponymists review the suggestions and make sure they hold up to demands on grammar and other linguistic conditions so that they can be registered and placed on maps.
The lava flow seen from air. Taken yesterday by Bjarni Brynjólfsson.
“There is a continuous flow of lava,” geophysicist Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson told Morgunbladid. The lava has now flowed one kilometer.
Snow and ice in Hrunagil has melted away to a large extent so not as much steam is created as in the first days of the eruption; which means a clearer view.
A large number of native and foreign tourists is expected in the region today and in the coming weekend as the weather forecast is good.
Local police in Hvolsvöllur have therefore been given reinforcement from the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police and the Selfoss police department—six police cars will be patrolling the area, guarding people’s safety.
Thurídur Aradóttir, marketing and promotion director of the Rangárthing ytra municipality said a base camp is being set up by the farm Fljótsdalur, the innermost farm in the Fljótshlíd countryside, in collaboration with the Icelandic Road Administration.
הלבה ממקום ההתפרצות זורמת לאורך קניון Hrunagil לכיוון אתר התיירות Thórsmörk והשובל הוא כרגע באורך של ק"מ.
Photo: Páll Stefánsson/Iceland Review
In spite of the strong wind and cold weather the conditions were generally very favorable for watching the eruption, now in its eighth day. The sky was clear and the eruption was rather peaceful during most of the day. Late in the day the wind started blowing ash and poisonous gases in the direction of people, but by then the number of onlookers had dwindled down.
בשבת זו אלפים פסעו בשביל המוליך להתפרצות הגעשית וחלקם הגיעו לשם במטוס או במסוק, כאשר הטמפרטורה על הקרחון הייתה 18- מעלות
Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
Shortly after 6 pm last night a series of earthquakes measuring 2-2.5 on the Richter scale shook the region.
Geophysicist Gunnar B. Gudmundsson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office told Morgunbladid that the seismic activity is an indication of the force of the eruption, which is gradually decreasing.
He added that GPS monitors that measure tectonics show that the lithosphere has ceased expanding and even contracted a little. However, that is no certain indication that the eruption is about to finish.
Roughly estimated, 15-20 million cubic meters of solid volcanic debris might have spurted to the surface from inside the earth since the eruption began on March 21, said geophysicist Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson. The lava now covers approximately one square kilometer, he told Fréttabladid.
According to ruv.is, the road to the highland valley of Thórsmörk will be opened today in the afternoon. However, chief constable at Hvolsvöllur Sveinn K. Rúnarsson said there are certain conditions for admission.
Rúnarsson stressed that the road is not passable for ordinary cars and only experienced drivers should enter it. Guidelines (in Icelandic) for driving to Thórsmörk will be published on the website of the Civil Protection Department later in the day.
עשרה ימים אחרי ההתפרצות ישנה שוב עלייה של הפעילות הגעשית וביום זה הורגשו מספר רעידות אדמה בדרגה 2-2.5 בסולם, ולפי הערכת המומחים הלבה כיסתה שטח של 1 קמ"ר.
The eruption zone from air. Photo by Bjarni Brynjólfsson.
Vídir Reynisson at the Icelandic Civil Protection Department told ruv.is that the situation is now under control.
אזורים מסביב למקום התפרצות פונו שוב עקב חשש להתפרצות חדשה וזאת עקב בקע חדש שנפתח באזור בלילה הקודם.
About 50 people were saved by three heilcopters, one from the Icelandic Coast Guard and two from Nordurflug, a private company. The people were moved the eruption site after a new rift opened at the site of the eruption. Helicopters are waiting at this moment at Hótel Rangá, a hotel between Hella and Hvolsvöllur, two southern villages.
According to mbl.the situation at the site of the eruption is now under control. Tourists have been turned back to Skógar and to Thórsmörk. Snowmobiles at Mýrdalsjökull glacier have been turned back as well.
At the moment the inhabitants near the Eyjafjallajökull area are not thought to be in danger because of the new rift that opened late this afternoon.
50 איש פונו מאזור ההתפרצות הגעשית עקב הבקע החדש שנוצר באמצעות מסוקים ומטיילים אחרים חזרו על עקבותיהם.
The eruption site has been cleared after a new rift appeared verry suddenly late on Wednesday. According to ruv.is the rift is growing little by little. A reporter was at the eruption site at seven P.M. along with a group of geologists.
הבקע החדש מתרחב ולכן פונה כל האזור.
את המשך ההתפתחויות הגעשיות באיסלנד בכתבה חדשה .
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