Satellite images show that the uplift of the Earth’s crust due to the accumulation of magma at depth is increasing, threatening infrastructure and cities.
The ground beneath the Svartsengi geothermal power plant is rising faster and faster. “The magma flow in this storage chamber, located at a depth of 4.5 kilometers, is 8 to 10 times higher than on November 10th. It went from 7 cubic meters per second to about 50,” he explained Thorvaldur Thordarson, Professor of Volcanology at the University of Iceland. “The land is now growing faster and magma is raising the earth’s surface,” he adds: “What will happen is hard to say.” There could be an eruption, there could be a repeat of the activity of November 10 or just now something completely new.”
Svartsengi is a geothermal power plant about 4 km north of Grindavík. 4,000 people had to leave the city after authorities declared a state of emergency. Built in 1976 by HS Orka, it was the world’s first combined geothermal power plant to produce electricity and hot water for district heating. Since 2008, it has been supplying hot water to the district heating system of the entire Reykjanes Peninsula 21,000 families. Based on radar images from November 18th and 19th, 2023, current Interferogram The magma intrusion shows significant crustal uplift near Svartsengi.
According to Thordarson, it’s important to take this into account Precautions. “We are in an unprecedented situation and have entered a new phase of the outbreak. Therefore, it is important to understand what we can do before an outbreak occurs.” reduce its effect on society and infrastructure”
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Which areas are at risk?
The interferogram was examined by expertsIcelandic Meteorological OfficeofUniversity of Iceland he was born Emergency Management Department and emergency management. Geodetic models derived from satellite images show that the Svartsengi area is rising at an accelerating rate. The crust needs to be lifted off to the magma that accumulates in the depths.
The Reykjanes Peninsula has been experiencing intense seismic activity for years. As of 2021, three eruptions have already been recorded near the volcano Fagradalsfjall volcano: one in March 2021, one in August 2022 and the last in July 2023. Always far from population centers and infrastructure, now the seismic activity has instead hit the city of Grindavik and other small towns that could be completely destroyed by lava. The latest images also show the Svartsengi power plant in the risk areas.
The magma tunnel
On November 11, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said that a “magma tunnel” had formed about 15 km from Sundhnúk to Grindavík. Second Freysteinn Sigmundssona geophysicist at the University of Iceland, the uplift in the region is precisely due to the current. “What will happen depends on the speed at which the magma is moving,” the most likely scenario, he explains Sigmundssonmeans that an eruption occurs above the magma tunnel.
In my opinion, the risk of an eruption is high and the magma would be scarce in certain areas 800 meters below the surface. Fumaroles are also emerging from some cracks formed by seismic activity, a sign that gases and fluids from volcanic activity are beginning to find vents to the surface, and IMO estimates that magma venting could occur north of Grindavik.