VONA message

Krýsuvík

Time: 19. May 2021, 14:53 GMT

Color code:  Orange 

Volcano id: 371030

Activity summary:
The eruption in Fagradalsfjall continues at one main vent (the fifth opening that opened in the area). The activity last week is still characterized by lava fountains similar to previous weeks. The pulsating behaviour has been rather stable over the last days with normally 7-8 pulses of lava fountains per hour. Fountains can get up to 500 m above sea level and lava spatters and clasts are thrown far away from the crater. Few-cm sized tephra have been found at around 1 km from the vent. Some fires are triggered by the falling pyroclasts that are still hot when they hit the ground. This occurs up to hundreds of meters around the eruption site. Opening of new eruptive fractures, lava flows, gas pollution, flying hot rocks, minor tephra fallout, burning grass are the hazards currently affecting the eruption site. The last estimate on effusion rate was provided today, 19th of May, and it indicated an average extrusion rate of 10.8 m3/s during the time period between 11th and 18th of May(data from University of Iceland and Icelandic Institute of Natural History). That is slightly lower extrusion rate compared the week before when it was estimated 12.9 m3/s. Due to uncertainty in measurements this difference is not considered significant. Total volume of the lava flow is now 38 million m3 and covers an area of 2.06 km2.

Cloud height:
Due to low visibility in the area today, the plume is detectable from webcameras only occasionally. Therefore it is not possible to provide an estimate of the plume height today. Yesterday the base of the plume was assessed to be at 1500 m.a.s.l.

Other cloud information:
The gas plume was well detected by satellite in the last few days and occasionally it is possible to see its puffing structure, but today no good retrievals are available.

Remarks:
Today and tomorrow the wind is forecast to be variable 3-8 m/s, therefore gas pollution could be expected widely on the Reykjanes Peninsula and near the eruption site.