Inflating Lava Field Pushes Older Lava Over Wall, Magma Continues Accumulating: Geologist Analysis

Geology professor Shawn Willsey discusses the latest data and developments for the ongoing eruption north of Grindavik, Iceland.
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[@shadowcatcherfox5186]

I never thought I'd ever hear the words "stagnant lava lake". God, imagine the lava mosquitos that'll come out of that!

[@Selah-dl3ef]

😂

[@katnhat7695]

🤣🤣🤣

[@mytube001]

A horror movie waiting to be made! :D

[@WeatherWitch1026]

😂

[@nitawynn9538]

The Creature from the Black Lava Lake

[@bobzilla5472]

I'm 70 and have always had a casual interest in geology and I am so glad I found your KZbin. I'm learning so much. Thanks

[@shawnwillsey]

Wonderful!

[@outlawbillionairez9780]

Only 9:00 am in Oregon. Omg!! Yer speaking to me from the future!😱 The power of geologist!!

[@almac4067]

Ha ha - here in NZ it’s Sunday, every intro Shawn does I have screw my face while I figure out when it was my time that he uploaded…

[@freebirdh604]

We are learning with you Shawn and loads of thank to Mandie Jo 🌟 too

[@Mchelle021]

Thank you for all the time you dedicate to your KZbin geology education forum, Professor. It is pretty special that you are reaching folks all over the world.

[@StarBitt97]

Don’t forget to give Shawn a thumbs up!

[@shanedavis9166]

Thanks again Shawn. I've always had a fascination for volcanos, but your added "education" videos just makes it all the more understandable.

[@raymondheckard234]

Shawn in reading about the eruption 800 years ago that lasted 30 years in Iceland in the area around where the current eruption is located is, historians report several vents at the same time. Iceland can not be compared to Hawaii or any other volcanic eruption because it is on a rift between North America. And European plate that is moving apart. It is possible we are looking at a repeat of the 13 century Icelandic eruption on the Reykjavík peninsula that lasted 30 year.

[@Joe-Skier]

I believe that's what's happening and could far exceed 30 years

[@petyae]

It's not bad to take this into consideration also, but may the topographical picture has been changed tremendously since those 800 years , so the chance that the same indications for ongoing volcanoes eruptions would repeat are reduced to very little probability. Yet, the movement below is accelerating , may be just a phase of an birthgiving process and the lava output will arrive at the propriate for that places, creating more new land, meaning pushing magma to the ocean.Its not a safe situation too, but somewhat better than erasing the current infrastructure onland.

[@raymondheckard234]

@@petyae the mid Atlantic rift has constant volcanic activity on it and the patterns do not change all that much. The USN has document the on going volcanic eruptions along the rift through their network of sensors and hydrophones, that was installed to track Submarine activity in the Atlantic ocean. While the 800 years to us is a long time, in the life of a volcano, it is just a few seconds, and how the behave and the patterns of their eruptions for us it is hard to gauge, unless it is a volcano that erupts constantly or on regular intervals of a very short time, such as the volcanos in the Europe or Indonesia. Mount Etna we know its pattern and it can be predicted how it will be have. Reykjavik peninsula volcanic eruption are centuries apart and humans have occupied the Reykjavik peninsula since 870 CE and there for have not witnessed the eruption history to be able to predict how an eruption will proceed over time . WE know of the history of the Reykjanes Fires, from the Íslendinga saga, in which it talks about the ongoing eruptions of the time. Volcanology is a rather young science dating back to the 18th century, and advances in the science have only moved forward in the 20th century. Plato made observations of volcanic eruptions in his day and documented them, but it was not until James Hutton established Geology as a science did the study of volcanos start. in the 1700's.

[@johnwelbourn3811]

A big thanks to you Prof and also to Amanda Jo

[@shawnwillsey]

Please be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE. You can support my educational videos by clicking on the "Thanks" button just above (right of Like button) or by going here: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=EWUSLG3GBS5W8 Or: www.buymeacoffee.com/shawnwillsey

[@ericm8811]

Hey Shawn Willsey! A large caldera full of thanks and appreciation for cramming even more geologic knowledge into my cranium! You da best! Ride ride ride!

[@CricketsMa]

This is so fascinating to follow. Every day I look for news of changes. As always, Shawn, your updates are eagerly anticipated. Thank you!

[@nitawynn9538]

Thanks, Shawn. I was waiting on your confirmation about what I had heard. You’re my authority.

[@aniwhitgift637]

Thank you Shawn, very informative and helpful, especially for the layman, such as myself.

[@StevenStyczinski-sy8cj]

Thanks Shawn for another balanced discussion. Isn’t the shallow lava tubes flowing, swelling, cooling and hardening similar to the magma conduit’s flowing, swelling, cooling and hardening similar? Lava cooling becomes rock that in thin layers does not behave like water overflowing a dam. A lot of people seem to not realize that time for cooling can make all the difference. Thanks again for not fear mongering. Happy climbing.

[@shonaguthrie848]

Thanks Shawn! I hope everyone stays safe.

[@LizWCraftAdd1ct]

Thank you Amanda-Jo and Shawn for the updates.

[@kateclover874]

good summary. Yes, it will be interesting to see what happens next with the inflation happening along with the on-going eruption. Fun to be leaning side-by-side with you Shawn and other geologists too.

[@AlyCatAly]

I am so excited for you to have Myron Cook on Thursday. I will definitely be watching on the edge of my seat!

[@shawnwillsey]

It’s actually Tuesday. Sorry for the error.

[@AlyCatAly]

@shawnwillsey Tuesday is even better! Thursday is too far away anyway. 😀

[@deedorothypapineau6920]

It’s Sunday evening as I watch this. The lava over the berm has reached the flat ground today. People are more concerned about grass fires. Have a great week.

[@ferreiraslva.gabriel]

Thanks for updating us, professor Willsey. Have a good weekend.

[@maryt2887]

Enjoying this update with my dinner. Nice to have your company!

[@PaulaHicks-hb5sr]

Nice to see the 'Willsey Cone' still active😉 Thanks for the continued updates...much appreciated.

[@delilahboa]

Hi Shawn, thank you so much for your precious time keeping us updated on this event, it’s fascinating and I’ve loved learning from you ……. I really hope people steer clear of the area….. safety seems to be so unimportant to some people these days just so they can look good on social media or get the most followers …… thanks again Shawn xx❤xx

[@joannekellam191]

Thanks for the update! So interesting to watch this situation unfold!

[@robertslugg8361]

I can't spend the entire day at the coffee shop watching a volcano, so I moved down to the library to watch the volcano. ;-)

[@wewillrockyou1986]

I wonder if it would make sense to try to break the outer hard crust of the lava flow at it's southern end to try to help it flow southwards towards the ocean rather than pooling up where it is now. Notwithstanding another large eruption, I would think once the lava flow reaches a critical height where the molten part of it can no longer be contained by the hardened parts, we will have an situation of the lava flow quickly running out in an unpredictable direction and manner. Letting more mass pile up on the surface like that might also make it more likely that a future eruption is directed to another area where it doesn't have to push through the pressure created by the overlying lava field.

[@robbirobin9657]

Thank you for this update x

[@ericfielding2540]

The magma chamber at Kilauea is different from the one below Svartsengi in one important way. Due to the elevation of the Kilauea cone, the magma chamber is above or close to sea level even though it is below the surface of the volcano. This means that the magma from Kilauea can flow down into the Lower East Rift Zone, as it did in 2018. Svartsengi surface is not far above sea level so the magma is not above any land.

[@allenra530]

I am reminded of the flow at Pahala on Hawaii, where the flow would slow or stop and inflation would occur until a tongue would break out upstream and flow parallel to the existing flow. Some of those breakouts went in entirely different directions. The folks there were very much on edge for months while they waited to see if the heat loss in the flow would stop it before it rolled over their community.

[@rikspector]

Shawn, Another knowledgeably, concise report . Cheers, Rik Spector

[@uppergorple]

Most lucid and helpful. Thanks.

[@smuet6828]

Great update Professor! Thank you😊

[@TheRealOtakuJoe]

There are two options. First, pressure from this current inflationary period overrides the constriction and we see a spectacular fountain from the current spatter cone. Or two we see an equally spectacular opening of a new fissure. Either option, in my opinion, should lead to an impressive new phase to this eruption.

[@suziejones7962]

Loving it Shawn - you always have the different options of what may happen. So interesting. Thank you :)

[@WeatherWitch1026]

Thanks Professor Willsey!

[@maxiculture]

The pool cannot be stagnant. It has a constant inflow, appears stable, so must have constant equivalent outflow. The result is a building lava field down slope. Apparently much of this is now above embankment height. Any increase in vent output may be of concern.

[@juliaperry2812]

thanks for the update

[@wpherigo1]

Did you see Gylfi’s (Just Icelandic) thermal drone pictures of the conduits? Fantastic!

[@glenharmon4280]

That was cool

[@kevindorland738]

Thank you Professor.

[@holly50575]

Thank you for this update! Fascinating!

[@mj2745]

Thanks Shawn, very interesting and informative

[@susiesue3141]

Thank you for sharing😊.

[@LadyTwilightMacLeod]

Another channel has a zoom in view of the breach of that area. There's some glow but the camera is very bad as the person controlling was moving it around rather fast.

[@davidpetersen1]

Just watching the live "berm overflow" cam.. it's moving very slowly with little accumulation on the inside of the wall.

[@donnablue4794]

Thank you for continuing your updates!

[@VixxxTrix]

Fascinating. Thanks for the update Shawn!

[@rweems5796]

Can you please take a look at the Campi Flegrei volcano activity? I’m interested in your take on its status. Lots of little quakes occurring, some of which are under the seabed. All I can think of is that amazing Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano explosion in the Pacific. Thera and Vesuvius are indicators that big eruptions can happen.

[@sheilatruax6172]

I second that request. I have a pretty big interest in Vesuvius and the Fields. Since my mom told me about the eruption of 79, I was less than 10.

[@valoriel4464]

Thx Prof & Amanda Jo✌🏻

[@robertslugg8361]

I just ordered a sandwhich at the coffee shop. I am getting NOTHING done today. Retirement at its finest. ;-) The lava will not override the berms. It will plow through it like it wasn't there. If lava could talk it would be saying "hold my beer."

[@jfmezei]

Sentinel L2R infrared image from Apri 26 shows a "dramatic" change in heat with red appearing to the right of the corner of the bern, on the NW to SE side of berm just south of the corner. This indicates that lava from the fissure is reaching this area and its heat there has reached the surface so satellites now see a big patch of heat being emitted from there. The previous image of April 21 does show a little bit of heat there, but nothing like the APri 26 image. And going back to april 13, there is a red blob halfway between the fissure and that corner of berm and that area has no red. So clerly a change that has been happening in the last week or so. (cloudy days are a bith for satelite imagery). It seems to me like lave has slealthily been making its way south , hidden under crusted up former laval flow and now heating up that top of laval such that satel;lites see that heat. Accumulating at berm and if unable to flow further south means it will overflow it.

[@user-pn8it7xm2w]

Thank you for your time Shawn, very interesting as usual. Di…Cumbria

[@carolinepotts5448]

Thank you again for a very interesting update

[@sheilagraham8543]

A fascinating situation Shawn: looking forward to seeing what eventually occurs. Thanks.

[@gladysdecelles9951]

Thanks again. This is amazing.

[@xwiick]

Thanks for all of your hard work man!

[@RebeccaRea]

To me, it doesn't make sense that the new inflation will be handled through the currently erupting vent, because it would already be doing so. It doesn't make sense that the magma would just cause inflation and sit there, if it already had a wide open pathway to the surface. I feel like we have no understanding at all about what is going on here. I worry that people are leaning too much into the former trends and not considering strongly enough that there may be a new or different potential eruption pending.

[@lisadyck9503]

Fascinating. Thank you.

[@Selah-dl3ef]

I am watching.Thanks 🐕

[@scottmackenzie3761]

and I am first :) Will be going to Iceland in June

[@gonemadinnz]

Getting tense and exciting. Wonder what will happen next!

[@lindaarchinal9008]

Thank you, always appreciated!

[@CherrysJubileeJoyfully]

I'm of the opinion that a second vent is going to open 16:55 yeah but we have only have had a sliver of time to observe volcanos so it's rare to us but maybe not rare to volcanoes over all 18:56 yeah if it comes out of the same tube it may explode the plug out in a big burst then go back to a flow. Like a clogged squeeze bottle, a big tall spurt up then " ok were cool ..." Not if your around for the dislodge, you will not be cool...

[@poppawolf26]

I'd love to see a thermal image of the lava field near the berm that is over flowing......

[@freebirdh604]

Thanks Shawn, just catching up on the latest in the month old + Iceland eruption and to hear what your interpretation of current situation actually is. Which as it turns out to be pretty much the educated guesstimating from both ameuters and professionals. Who knows, post your predicted lottery numbers here 🙃😉🤪. Seriously Shawn, thank you for trying to make some sense out of all this 💞

[@BurnsFallow]

Keep up the great work

[@roberthughes6240]

thank you Shawn

[@gailgreen5012]

Thank you. Very much.😊

[@MountainFisher]

Reminds me of the Carrizozo Lava Field that erupted out of Little Black Peak, a small cinder cone about 25 meters high. It erupted for an estimated 30 years and went 70 km down the Tularosa Basin about 5,000 years ago. Imagine if that happened in Iceland, not unprecedented.

[@tombakewell2007]

Thanks!

[@alextracksetti]

Dr. Willsey, can you chat about Italy. I have a vacation coming up in Italy and apperantly there is a supervolcano there and people in Italy are beginning to get nervous.

[@2fathomsdeeper]

One thing about that inflated flow at Grindavik, it can move quite quickly and without warning. At Gelding, the whole north part of the valley began to move toward the berm, and covered the area in just a few minutes. I've been worried about it for the past 2 weeks. A big flow could easily jump that berm.

[@bluemist4326]

This is somewhat thicker slower flowing lava. But if the eruption continues then it could flow over, unless they raise the berm again.

[@2fathomsdeeper]

@@bluemist4326 But it will still lubricate the older flows and get them moving.

[@RichardKBarrett]

Always appreciate your videos. I was following your geology field trips in the US before Iceland kicked off, so, as a long-time volcano nerd, this is the perfect channel. Question: Can the behaviour of the Reykjanes eruption be better explained by the existence of multiple magma chambers/sills that are essentially separate and fed from depth? Certainly, the current vent seems disconnected from the inflation under Svartsengi (if there's an open connection feeding the erupting vent, how can the eruption rate not increase with the inflation, until an equilibrium is reached?). This would also explain the strange delay in the onset of the latest eruption. What it wouldn't explain is why the magma always runs to the east, but maybe that's just the geology.

[@JanetClancey]

Thanks Shawn.. such a crazy situation in earths laboratory. Watching and learning 😊

[@poppawolf26]

Aloha from Makaha......

[@jackg9484]

It would be interesting to see a comparison picture of the area prior to the cone forming

[@AudriannaB-World-Peace]

Spattercone.......lol. Is that what you called Mt. St. Helens too when it blew?

[@sheilatruax6172]

St. Helen's is not a spatter cone. It's a stratovolcano, composite cone, and so forth. Spatter cones usually form at vents in basaltic flows.

[@John_Weiss]

18:40 I recently said this about the -idiots- tourists trying to take selfies at the ongoing eruption: The Icelandic government should allow it, but require them to (1) Sign a waiver of liability stating that they understand that _there will be _*_NO RESCUE_*_ coming for them_ if they have *_ANY_* problems; (2) Require them to *_swallow_* a piece of tungsten engraved with their name so we can identify their charred remains if they fall through the lava crust or get caught by a lava-breakout flood. My coworker was like, "Whoa! That's _harsh!"_ and started laughing. That's when I reminded him that, here in the US, during some recent hurricaines, the authorities told people who wouldn't evacuate, "Here's a Sharpie. Write your name on your forearm, so that we can identify your body. Nobody's coming to save you. We're not risking any of our people's lives on the consequences of your actions." Doing that got a large number of those people to then evacuate, because it hit home just how bad the risks were. It's long-overdue for the Icelandic government to make it clear that this is _a volcano,_ not Disneyland, and that you're going to suffer the consequences of your actions.

[@petyae]

Hello, Team! ❤🇧🇬

[@robmez]

Volcanoes are amazing, we think we know but were all giving it our best guess which Makes it very exciting , probably been acting this way for millions of years as the plate keep moving apart

[@krissnoe500]

What happens if the magma hollows out a very wide area underground? Will there be an inward land collapse

[@Dragrath1]

If you get the situation where magma leaves a previously filled cavity fairly abruptly you get a caldera formation. For an effusive eruption the further expansion due to the collapse of the walls of Kilauea's Summit caldera then lava lake in 2018 is probably the best example we have on record of this process in action.

[@sheilaathay2034]

Thanks bud. Cheerio👋

[@darwinboor1300]

Shawn, Have you heard anything more from Bruce? Did he ever complete the 3D mapping of the current magma system earthquakes. The first 3D map suggested a sill chamber under the plant at 5k with a narrow exit to the east into a vertical fissure system between 1k and 2k leading to the surface in a north to south orientation. The cap is off the pressure cooker and it is venting but not as fast as pressure is building in the kettle. The unpenetrable lid of the kettle is rising again. Soon the east side vertical fault will provide a slit into penetratable material and the current eruptiion will increase or a new series of vents will open and may rob the current vent of its flow.

[@justinanovak8040]

Hi you probably got this news from Amanda but lava overtopped berm L12….

[@timpointing]

Although the slope of the current SENG uplift appears to be a _lot_ less than prior to the beginning of the current eruptive phase, a quick check on the slope shows that it is roughly 85% of the prior inflation rate. Significant, but not drastically less.

[@100amps]

Great update, Shawn. Thanks! Question. How big is that cone? The opening. I can't get a grasp of the scale.

[@AlyCatAly]

The cone was measured to be 25 - 30 meters high by a local drone operator.

[@100amps]

@@AlyCatAly thanks! Much bigger than I thought.

[@niaka519]

Lava nears the service road behind berm now

[@chadiesUtube]

With the cab continued layering of lava, won’t it eventually flow off the sides, as opposed to flowing over the berms?

[@katebatt7538]

Little clusters of low mag earthquakes, north of current vent and SW near Grindavik, today 29/04/24. Probably just tectonic adjustments, but looked interesting.

[@PirateofAE2]

If i were to haphazardly guess, tracing the line thats its made over the past 10-15 days and transposing it back to the yellow, blue and green lines, i would say were probably with in 5 days of something happening. That trend were were seeing then was all following a rather similar pattern. If we chop off the sort of inflating but not really (as of course it is still feeding the surface alot at that time) its stabilized out into a similar trend again. (alal Day 13-14 of the current line) Edit: Doing with paper trace on screen, its on a near identical path, though shallower to yellow and L blue. and that could be chocked up to it still feeding the surface.

[@SkyFoxStudios]

Hey,I actually wanted to go to Iceland next week for 3 days because of the volcano. Do you think it's still worth it? It looks a bit dormant in the livestream. Btw I always watch you on KZbin. Many greetings

[@richardlawton1023]

Shawn, after you did this the lava wall was breached by Grindivik

[@davidcranstone9044]

Not strictly breached but overtopped, at this stage by a very small tongue of lava. So still concerning, but not as worrying as a full-scale breach would be.

[@gordondryden6266]

Perhaps you can answer my question - how is the sulfur often found near volcanoes formed ? As a chemist I know that sulfur dioxide reacts with hydrogen sulfide ( in the presence of water) to form sulfur - is this how it forms ?

[@bartjes2509]

My guess is it needs to fill more as the inflation is much slower so the rocks around the sil has more time to heat up and become somewhat elastic. My guess would be a new eruption close to the currrent but from a different fault / fissure

[@michaeldance6879]

Have you got any comments about what is going on at Campi Flegri?

[@nissetuta]

How large is the cone?

[@lukedawg2787]

I mean what’s the chances that we are actually wrong and the current eruption is being fed by a different magma body. This looks closer like the 2021 eruptions than the ones recently. Hard to imagine that if it’s being fed from the same source uplift has been as consistent yet the current eruption is stable. Makes me think we have a 2nd source of magma that has now been able to make its way into the current eruption. Has anyone ran any simulations as to what would happen if the 2021 chamber merged or was able to supply magma to the current eruption? It would seem we would have deformation in 1 area, earthquakes that support magma movement, and uplift and earthquakes in another area.

[@trombektango6604]

now this tongue is over berm glowing red and stuff soon (17:12 local time) it should be crossing the road

[@The_Travelling_Jonoberries]

Shawn, Just Icelandic Gylfi has just uploaded some great slow motion videos the current crater

[@ZENmud]

Are the locals "scared" or used to it? 19:25 = answered my question ~ the town is evacuated. 😮 ... thus maybe scared they can't know when they might return.