Iceland Volcano Update; Gas is Rising from the Ground, Cracks Tear Through a Town

After large cracks tore through a town in Iceland, gas was subsequently spotted rising from the ground. While the number of recent earthquakes has seemingly decreased in the short term, there is still a fairly high chance that a volcanic eruption will occur. This video will analyze the last 36 hours at the Reykjanes volcano and theorize what exactly is occurring at depth from the perspective of a geologist.

Note: This video's thumbnail image does not display a recently formed crack produced by the Reykjanes volcano and does not picture a crack within the town of Grindavik.

Iceland road closures:

Volcano alert levels:

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Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google & Data Providers

Various licenses used in sections of this video (not the entire video, this video as a whole does not completely fall under one of these licenses) and/or in this video's thumbnail image:

Sources/Citations:

0:00 Very Shallow Magma?
0:23 Cracks in the Ground
0:54 White Gas
1:57 Hypotheses
2:57 Analysis

[GeologyHub]

Everyone is currently being told to under no circumstances attempt to visit the potential eruption site and to not visit anywhere along the 15 km existing dike before or during a potential eruption, and do not go into Grindavuk (it is closed off)! (This policy could theoretically change a few days or weeks into the eruption but for now NO ONE should attempt to visit the site. The potential eruption could theoretically be unexpectedly violent, with strombolian activity and other hazards which the last 3 eruptions of the Fagradalsfjall did not have).

[scpatlnow]

The IMO just stated that they had detected SO2 coming out of the area around Grindavik which is indicative of magma very close to the surface which is why they stopped people from returning to get more of their stuff left behind.

[soly-dp-colo]

There have been new developments since you've recorded your video: sulphur dioxyde is rising from Grindavik, as detected by new equipment the Icelandic Met Office has installed into town. So at 3 PM Icelandic time today people who had come back to Grindavik to get pets and luggage were promptly evacuated. They're obviously monitoring it very closely.
Also the western part of town keeps subsiding, sometimes by 7 cm a day. It has subsided over 1 m so far.

[brasfield]

Your coverage is unmatched for us laymen. Always looking forward to your next video. Keep up the great work!

[kskssxoxskskss]

Holy moly, that is HUGE ground movement! But maybe it was like a big belch that cuts off the risk of puking?

[yvonnetomenga]

I'm always amazed at how much we have learned but how much more we need to know. Excellent report with well-explained options. Thanks! 👍

[marshagail]

Thank you👊 and prayers to those who are going through this enormous disruption, stress & loss.

[kskssxoxskskss]

Sad for the residents to have a longer, more uncertain wait. But happy if the wait preserves most of their personal effects.

[Senrikkk]

This just goes to show how much we as a species still has to learn about the inner workings of our planet and its individual systems, which is exciting as heck! The more we don't know, the more we have to discover and THAT is why I love vulcanology! For as much as we do know, the Earth never fails to remind us how much we still don't understand.

As always, thank you for you dedication and hard work to bring us bite-sized and easily digestible videos. You have a way of explaining things that tickles my inner scholar 😊

[geoffreykail]

I agree with your analysis. Thanks for all your efforts over the last couple years on volcanic activity around the world.

[matthewcook]

Thanks for your unwavering research, knowledge and work, to teach us too.

[kevint]

Im curious, in just the last hour or so they emergently evacuated the town of all safety personnel etc. Due to SO2 emissions just NE of town. Your thoughts?

[divingdave]

Before the first seismic peak, there was a drop in the 0.5-1Hz and 1-2Hz lines. I think, it's plausible that a second peak leading to an eruption could be preceded by a similar drop. On the Vogar seismograph both lines are dropping since midnight, but only slightly. So I'd say that an eruption within the next few hours is unlikely, but if the 0.5-2Hz lines continue to drop over the next 24 hours, a second wafe of strong eathquakes leading to an eruption would seem possible. However, that's just pattern recognition without much understanding of the geology so I'm probably wrong about everything.

[mickeysmiths]

Some great footage interspersed with good descriptions & graphics of the technical data, & other ancillary sequences & information. Thanks for the heads-up 👍

[TheSpaceEnthusiast-vlwx]

Thanks as always. Be careful everyone!

[ThatOpalGuy]

the town is already devastated and likely will never be inhabited again.
Thanks for the update.

[SatanEnjoyer]

I turned on my YouTube notifications JUST for these videos. Thank you!

[anitamitchell]

Wouldn't it be great if it headed back to the north and cut loose there? Fingers crossed. If nothing else, it's a learning experience. Stay safe out there Icelanders. We are praying for you all.

[floffycatto]

What a strange, unpredictable volcano. It seems like we are going to learn a lot more about volcanism just from Reykjanes alone.

[memofromessex]

Thanks for insight and cautious views - no doubt there are currently dozen videos from the uninformed YouTubers exaggerating the risks