Magma intrusion and land keeps rising
The latest sattelite image since last night (October 31) shows 5-6 a rise of 5-6 centimeters over a 12-day period at the northwest point of Þorbjörn mountain. Map/The Icelandic Met Office
The land rise at Þorbjörn mountain on the Reykjanes peninsula is moving at the same speed. The newest satellite image taken last night shows a rise of 5-6 centimeters over a 12-day period at the northwest point of Þorbjörn mountain.
This is stated in an announcement on the website of the Icelandic Met Office.
The same deplacement signal is seen on many GPS measurements in the area and the latest GPS measurements from this morning show that the speed of the ground displacements is similar to the last few days.
Things can change quickly
The magma is located at a depth of about four kilometres northwest of Þorbjörn mountain and the location of the magma is unchanged since yesterday when magma movements were observed in the area.
A rapid land rise has been detected near the Svartsengi and the Blue Lagoon in recent days. mbl.is/Hákon Pálsson
Then, this morning, a rapid seismic activity began, which was a sign of a volcanic intrusion, and it lasted for about two hours. The latest data do not indicate that magma is breaking its way deeper in the crust, but the situation can change rapidly.
Triggered earthquake activity in the coming days
About 500 earthquakes have been detected on the Reykjanes peninsula since midnight. The activity has shifted to the west, at Eldvörp. It is about 3 kilometers to the west of Þorbjörn mountain.
The Meteorological Office’s announcement states that it can be assumed that seismic activity will continue northwest of Þorbjörn mountain and that earthquakes of magnitude greater than 4 could be felt in the region.
It is also possible to assume triggered earthquake activity in the coming days due to stress increases caused by the intrusion. This is a likely explanation for the earthquake activity near Eldvörp today.
