Icelandic Fishing Town Found To Be Fissured, Unstable Due To Volcanic Eruption

(Photo : Getty Images/HALLDOR KOLBEINS)

An Icelandik fishing town was found to be fissured and unstable due to volcanic eruption.

The Icelandic MET Office said that the ground beneath Grindavík, a small fishing town on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, was so fissured following a volcanic eruption last January 14.

Fissures Sending Lava Flow

The phenomenon could result in the collapse in the area. The fissures that opened to the north of Grindavík had sent lava flows coursing through the town during the eruption.

The Icelandic MET Office has issued an updated hazard assessment map. The main changes include reducing the overall hazard level for Grindavík to orange or significant hazard.

Experts said that it should be noted that, although the overall hazard level for Grindavík has been reduced by one level, the hazard associated with fissures remains very high.

The current hazard is presently referred to as "subsidence into a fissure," describing the danger that may be present where fissures are hidden beneath unstable surfaces that could collapse and develop sinkholes.

The hazard assessment related to fissure development within Grindavík has already decreased.

Officials said that evaluations are underway to determine if there is a danger of existing fissures expanding or new fissures forming.

The GPS data have exhibited very little movement within Grindavík the past few days, reducing the assessed hazard compared to before. Authorities said that the hazard due to sinkholes overlying fissures has been considered significant.

Scientists said there is still danger within Grindavík related to fissures and the potential for ground collapse into them.

They disclosed that significant deformation has occurred in connection with the graben in the eastern part of the town. These movements were mostly along the fissures that formed on November 10 and had already been mapped.

Meanwhile, gas pollution was also measured during work on wells connected to the utility system within Grindavík.

The Icelandic MET Office does not monitor localized gas pollution within Grindavík. They pointed out that it needs to be further examined whether or not the gas pollution is related to the magma lying very shallow in the area.

Further, it should be noted that dangerous gas pollution is among the issues mentioned in the current hazard assessment for Grindavík.

Low Levels Of Seismic Activity

Meanwhile, inflation has continued at Svartsengi. Over the past few days, the land has been rising at a rate of approximately 8 mm per day, slightly exceeding the recorded rate of uplift before the eruption on January 14th.

At this point, it is challenging to determine exactly how much magma has accumulated beneath Svartsengi since the eruption ended on January 16th.

Most likely, the timeframe required to reach the same volume of magma as before the last eruption will be on the order of weeks and not days. Computational models are being refined to obtain a clearer assessment of the status of magma accumulation.

Further low levels of seismic activity persist and are mostly concentrated around Hagafell.

The current seismic activity aligns with that observed in the area following the previous eruption.