Volcano Observations

The eruption at Sundhnúkur crater row on Reykjanes peninsula (Iceland) which started on 16 March is still ongoing. One crater remains erupting and the lava flow field now covers 6.15 km2 and the volume is approx 33.2 km3. Learn how lava flow field is monitored https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT5wz532eKc
Learn how volcanic eruptions are monitored: https://www.youtube.com/-iceland/videos

Lava Mapping By Photogrammetry: In the field Birgir Óskarsson from the Icelandic Institute of Natural History explains how he prepares for the photogrammetry.Music: Flutey Sting by Kevin MacLeod is lice...

Increased seismicity in Geldingadalur started yesterday & by now over 1900 earthquakes have been detected, largest one M4.9 occurred 09:23 this morning & was widely felt. The activity is similar to the one in February but no tremor is detected. Aviation code is orange.

LoRaRad mission:
Following an early proof of concept on the use of the IoT LoRaWan technologies applied to volcanic monitoring (Terray et al, 2020, Sensors), a LoRa network has been implemented in Sept. 2021 at Mount Etna, Sicily. This work has been achieved within the framework of the EuroVolc program by a joint team from Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans and Laboratoire de Physique de Clermont (both UCA-CNRS) in association with INGV-OE Catania. By setting a LoRa gateway (Fig. 1) on the roof of the school “ICS Dusmet” in Nicolosi (700 m a.s.l. and 15 km away from Mount Etna summit), we have obtained a full coverage of the south-western flank of Mount Etna (Fig. 2). Only small amounts of data (less than a few tens of kB) are eligible for transmission using a LoRaWan protocol. In this experiment, we thus deployed a weather station (temperature, pressure, humidity, pluviometry) at Sapienza (1900 m a.s.l) and wireless sensors to measure soil temperatures at a depth of half-a-meter along the main southern fracture zone. We targeted study sites where thermal anomalies had been previously recognized (2001 main scoria cone – 2700 m asl; 2002 Barbagallo cone – 2950 m asl; Bocca Nuova rim – 3300 m asl). All sensors deployed in the field have a data recovery rate of nearly 100% after one month of experiment and data transmission to the gateways (one in Nicolosi, one inside the Montagnola’s INGV shelter) is defined by a very clear signal having a RSSI better than -120 dB (Fig.3). Thermal data can be visualized in real-time using a Grafana interface (Fig. 4), which may evolve into a real webobs in order to monitor any magma injection or deep processes occurring within the southern rift zone of Etna.
Figure and more information: Terray et al. (2020) From sensor to cloud: An IoT network of radon outdoor probes to monitor active volcanoes, Sensors, vol. 20-10, p. 2755, doi: 10.3390/s20102755

The final meeting of EUROVOLC was held on the 16th-18th of November 2021.
The project, which overarching aim was to harmonize and facilitate communication and integration within the volcanological community, started on the 1st of February 2018 and its duration was originally 3 years. However, as in so many cases, the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted most of the activities. Therefore, the project management sought permission from the EU to extend its duration by 10 months so that all planned activities could be carried out, either as originally foreseen or with alterations. The approval for a 10 month extension came through in December 2020 and it is safe to say that all participants have made a good use of that time, completing work that got impacted by the travel restrictions due to COVID-19. The extension was especially important for the Trans-national accesses of the 2nd Call, out of the 39 approved research projects only 3 were cancelled.
The final meeting was held according to new standards imposed by the pandemic, both in person and on ZOOM. Participants able to travel met in Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik for 2 days of a very dense agenda. Árni Snorrason, General Director of the Icelandic Meteorological Office opened the meeting and underlined the importance of projects and international collaborations such as EUROVOLC and other joint effort such as EPOS (European Plate Observing System). This synergy has resulted in new software developments and reinforcement of Research Infrastructures, an invaluable improvement when volcanic crisis occur. The joint effort has not gone unnoticed by stakeholders since the evolution of scientific methods has had a positive effect on the whole value chain, resulting in increased funding for monitoring natural hazards.
This time around, the focus of the meeting was on the four themes upon which EUROVOLC focuses, rather than individual Work Packages. A coordinated summary of results of the themes: (1) Community building, (2) Volcano-atmosphere interaction, (3) Sub-surface processes and (4) Volcanic crisis preparedness and risk management was presented and future prospects discussed. Since this was the last EUROVOLC meeting, it was both a harvest of 46 months of work, as well as platform for speculations of the future of the volcanological community.
In addition to the thematic overview of the work, lectures on the recent ongoings in Fagradalsfjall (Iceland), Etna and Vulcano (Italy) and La Palma (The Canary Islands) were given.
The formal agenda concluded with discussions about the next logical steps for the volcanological community, where it was unanimously agreed that the products developed in EUROVOLC should be sustained within EPOS VO-TCS (European Plate Observatory System Volcano Observations - Thematic Core Services).
The final words of the meeting were given by Giuseppe Publisi (INGV), Patrick Allard, President of IAVCEI (International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior), and lastly by the Coordinator of EUROVOLC, Kristín S. Vogfjörd (IMO).
The group celebrated the end of the meeting with a joint dinner in Reykjavík and a field trip to the eruption site on Reykjanes peninsula where Freysteinn Sigmundsson (UI), Ármann Höskuldsson (UI), Sara Barsotti (IMO) guided the group and provided interesting information on the geological aspects of the area and the eruption in Geldingadalir, with inputs from Hanna Blanck (IMO), Bergrún Óladóttir (IMO) and Björn Oddsson (NCIP).
Congratulations team EUROVOLC!!!

Luca Caricchi has worked on her TNA project, CO2-FLUX, in the Volcano Dynamics Computational Centre at INGV Pisa with assistance from Chiara Montagna. Caricchi and her team study the evolution of fluid chemistry as the Stromboli magma column is flushed by CO2-rich fluids coming from deep, cooling reservoirs. They model the continuous injection and percolation of CO2-rich fluids through equilibrium steps at decreasing pressures (thus depths) within the system. Silicate melt-water-CO2 thermodynamic equilibrium is computed using SOLWCAD
(Papale et al., 2006); at each pressure step, the fluid phase
percolates upwards reaching a new equilibrium at a shallower depth. The initial condition consists of a fluid-saturated LP
magma column, emplaced after a large explosion. Flushing
induces an initial large release of water-rich fluids from the
saturated magma, while with time and continued injection,
CO2 becomes the dominant specie in the excess fluid as water is
completely released from the system

In the framework of , Researchers of Faculty of Science - UNIGE (C. Bonadonna and V. Freret-Lorgeril), in association with , investigated the application of optical disdrometers (pictures) to determine the tephra Grain-Size Distribution and Sedimentation Rate in real time.

Researchers from LMV (Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans) and OPGC (Observatoire de Physique du Globe de Clermont-Ferrand) swing into action to study the Cumbre Vieja eruption at La Palma (Canary Islands), in association with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Lava and tephra have been sampled for geochemical (major and trace elements, radioactive disequilibrium) and textural analyses (porosity, density, X-ray tomography). In the framework of the EUROVOLC project, disdrometers have been installed to measure the ash fallouts from the volcano. In addition, the team has performed sampling of ash in urban areas to study their health impact. Further studies will also focus on numerical simulations to model the propagation of lava flows.

The in had a 7 day break from making a scene, returning to the surface on the 12 Sept. Today we have a nice show of fast advancing . Images: Björn Oddsson-WP7 participant, NCIP and Ásta R. Hjartardóttir, UI.

The TA project HERSK took place earlier in September on . Martin Möllhoff & Daniel Craig from Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies - DIAS used their time in Iceland to work on peninsula as well.
Teams from Dias Geophysics have visited Iceland on a regularly since March, starting of by installing two on peninsula. In September, a seismic node profile was placed across the **e and recorded for a few days.

A new 3D model of Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption, created through yesterdays 16 o'clock flight.

Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption 09.09.2021 - Download Free 3D model by Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands [1852077] - Sketchfab English below: Þrívíddarlíkön af Gossvæðinu í Geldingadölum unnin af myndmælingateymi Náttúrufræðistofnunar Íslands. Myndirnar eru teknar úr flugvél og myndmælt í Agisoft Metashape. Verkefnið er unnið í samstarfi við Almannavarnir, Landmælingar Íslands og Háskóla Ísland. ...

The National commissioner in agreement with the Police Department of the North-East Iceland declared evel of uncertainty for Askja volcano due to an uplift detected at Öskjuvatn lake. The uplift has been noted by GPS monitoring and processed satellite imges and is now measuring 7cm since 1 August, which is considerable for this time period. The uplift marks a change in the volcano's behavior since a deflation has been its signature move since 1983. Thus, the color code has been set to yellow, since the volcano shows level of activity beyond the known background. The Icelandic Meteorological Office and Earth Science Institute at University of Iceland will potentiate the monitoring network around Askja for a better coverage and surveillance of the area.

The most likely interpretation for this uplift is inflow of magma at a depth between 2-3 km.
For Civil Protection, the level of uncertainty means that there is the need for increased monitoring to follow those events that, eventually, might lead to a threat for health and safety of people, the environment and infrastructure. Declaring a level of uncertainty is part of the Civil Protection planning procedures to ensure formal communication and exchange of information between different response parties.

More information about Askja volcano is available at the European Catalogue of Volcanoes:
https://volcanoes.eurovolc.eu/?volcano=ASK #

Further information: https://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/headline-for-askja-item

EUROVOLC citizen science tool for observations of volcanic events
We are pleased to announce the launch of the EUROVOLC citizen science tool for volcanic events https://eurovolc.bgs.ac.uk/
This is a platform for collating observations from people witnessing volcanic phenomena at European and other volcanoes. The tool allows you to contribute your own observations, as well as to access observations collected through other citizen science tools available across Europe, including myVolcano (British Geological Survey); sulphur dioxide reporting (Iceland Met Office); and Osservatorio Vesuviano web questionnaire & Tefranet (INGV-Catania). The EUROVOLC tool harvests the data from the other citizen science tools on a monthly basis.
Users are able to view and download the data and filter by, for example, date, geographical location, type of observation, or a specific citizen science tool.
The tool was developed as part of The European Network of Observatories and Research Infrastructures for Volcanology (EUROVOLC) project with the objective of raising awareness and sharing data on volcanic hazards. This has been a huge collaborative effort by researchers across Europe (full list of collaborators on the About page on https://eurovolc.bgs.ac.uk/)

Drop everything and check this out this summer gift! We are offering Ph.D students and Postdocs a chance to participate in a virtual summer school, completely free of charge! The work involved in taking part will be equivalent to 4 ECTS. Please visit https://eurovolc.eu/?page_id=905 to read more and sign up.

The eruption in Reykjanes has gone on for 82 days, during which time scientist have had the opportunity to study and enjoy its progress and developments.

The event has not brought a research opportunity for geoscientists only. On the 13th of May, workers in collaboration with Civil Protection and Verkís Consulting Engineers started building two 8 m high barriers in Syðri Merardalur with the aim to slow down the progress of the lava and to protect infrastructures such as the Suðurstrandavegur road, at least for some time. The barriers were built from close-by material and took only a few days to complete.

The progressing lava however found its way past the eastern barrier on the 22nd of May and it managed to flow over the western barrier on June 5th. Lava now flows into the valley of Nátthagi and towards the south coast.

Since the beginning of the event, lava has erupted from six vents, most of which were short-lived and the activity is now within one vent which has produced lava fountains and erupts with episodic activity.

The eruption shows no signs of ceasing, quite the opposite, the lava discharge has increased for the past weeks and the average discharge rate from 18th of May – 2nd of June was 12.4 m3/s according to information published by the Institute of Earth Science at the University of Iceland: http://jardvis.hi.is/eldgos_i_fagradalsfjalli
Lava from Fagradalsfjall now covers an area of 2.67 m2 and its volume is 54.3 million m3 according to photogrammetry from an aircraft.

The site has been extremely popular with scientists and public alike and visiting the eruption has become what best can be described as a pilgrimage for many. Recently, the lava closed the walking path to the most popular hill to witness the scene.

Open Access to Repository of bulk-rock major and trace element compositions of Etna (1995-2012).

A repository has been developed in the framework of EPOS-IP and EUROVOLC projects and contains about 200 analyses of bulk rock compositions (major and trace elements) of Mt. Etna products erupted from 1995 to 2012. Moreover, following the standard format adopted by the EPOS community, a machine readable version of the repository is already present into the coming soon EPOS Data Portal.

The analyses are accompanied by information on the type of sample analysed, the date of eruption, the type of volcanic activity, the summit crater and/or eruptive fissure that produced the sample, as well as a link to the scientific paper where analyses are published. Furthermore, a search engine (time interval selection) is available, and graph tools allow to create element vs. element or time vs. element graphs. Data can be exported in .csv format.

Rosa Anna Corsaro and Lucia Miraglia at INGV lead the development of the database.

Available at: https://doi.org/10.13127/etna/bkrockcatalog_1995_2012

Il 20 marzo alle 4:40 utc, allertata l'European Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC - https://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) nell'ambito del servizio ARISTOTLE-eENHSP riguardo l'eruzione del Krýsuvík in Islanda. L'unrest del vulcano islandese era gia stata attenzionata dal Hazard team Vulcani (INGV, BGS e KNMI) sin dall'inizio del mese di marzo, nel corso delle consuete attività di monitoraggio dell'attività vulcanica a scala mondiale. Il 19 marzo in seguito all'intensificarsi delle anomalie nei parametri monitorati, le procedure operative sono state passate a livello di emergenza, interagendo in maniera diretta con la Sala Operativa e l'analytical team dell'ERCC, e fornendo due situational report sullo stato ed il potenziale impatto dell'attività eruttiva. Il servizio ARISTOTLE-ENHSP è un partenariato europeo cui scopo è di fornire un servizio di monitoraggio e early-warning multi-hazard a scala globale 24/7 per ERCC (DG ECHO).

On 20th of March at 4:40 UTC, the European Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC - https://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) was alerted in the framework of the ARISTOTLE-eENHSP concerning the Krýsuvík eruption in Iceland. The unrest of the icelandic volcano was already highlighted by the Volcano hazard team (INGV, BGS and KNMI), over the routine volcano monitoring activity at global scale since early March. On 19th of March due to the escalation of anomalies in the monitored parameters, operational procedures were raised to emergency, establishing a direct communication with the operational team of ERRC and issuing two situational reports on the eruptive stage and its potential impact. ARISTOTLE-ENHSP is european partnership which aims to deliver a multi-hazard advice service at global level and on 24/7 operational basis for ERCC (DG ECHO).

Home European Emergency Response Coordination Centre - ERCC Portal

A volcanic eruption has started in Fagradalsfjall mountain on Reykjanes peninsula. Aviation color code is red. Little tremor is detected on seismometers. A helicopter from Civil Protection Authorities is flying towards the area.

pulse was detected at 14:20 S of Keilir mountain close to Litli Hrútur. Such pulses are detected in prior to an but it has NOT been confirmed to have started Further analysis is being made.

The European Commission Joint Research Centre joins national, regional and global efforts to acquire better risk governance structure through evidences, science and knowledge management. This report is the second in the series of reports “Recommendations for National Risk Assessment for Disaster Risk Management”. The aim of this series of reports is to build-up a network of experts involved in the different aspects of the national risk assessment process. A EUROVOLC team involving the University of Geneva, the British Geological Survey and the Italian Civil Protection has contributed to the chapter on Volcanic Risk Assessment. You can find the report here: https://eurovolc.eu/?p=2983

Since December 2020, has been very active, with four episodes of weak lava fountaining and emission of lava flows on 13-14, 21 and 22 December, and again on 18 January 2021 (image 1). Besides these more intense episodes, activity has been continuous at all four of Etna's summit craters, and in particular at the Southeast Crater, where two main vents - the "eastern" and "saddle" vents - produced mild Strombolian explosions (image 2).

The activity changed in a rather abrupt manner on the afternoon of 16 February, when the eruptive activity at the Southeast Crater increased rapidly with the onset of lava emission and lava fountaining. The small scoria cone that had grown around the "eastern" vent during the previous days collapsed, forming a small pyroclastic flow (image 3). A large eruption column rose several kilometers above the volcano before drifting south (image 4), causing ash and lapilli fallout over populated areas including Catania; fine ash even reached the Siracusa area, 60-80 km to the south. Lava flows extended about 4 km downslope into the vast, uninhabited Valle del Bove (image 4). This was the first large paroxysmal eruptive episode at Etna since the grand Voragine paroxysms on 3-5 December 2015.

Since 17 February, six further paroxysms have occurred at the Southeast Crater, some of which have been rather violently explosive: during the night of 17-18 February, on the morning of the 19th, during the nights of 20-21 and 22-23 February, on the evening of the 24th, and finally on the morning of 28 February (image 5). They generated eruption columns 10-12 km tall, lava fountains that rose in some cases higher than 1000 m (exceeding more than 1500 m during the 22-23 February paroxysm), and lava flows, mostly toward the Valle del Bove, and minor flows toward southwest.

During all of the paroxysmal episodes since the second, on 17-18 February, multiple vents have been active at the Southeast Crater, from the "eastern" to the "saddle" vent, often producing spectacular "lava fountain fans" (as in the 22-23 February photo in image 5). There have also been frequent explosive interactions between lava flows and accumulations of snow on the ground, which even produced small flows of mud, steam and ash, resembling pyroclastic flows. True pyroclastic flows a few hundred meters long formed on the flanks of the Southeast Crater cone on 24 and 28 February.

Tephra falls have twice affected population centers on the western flank (Bronte, Maletto), and three times the southeast flank, including the towns of Zafferana Etnea, Milo, Santa Venerina, and Acireale. The 28 February tephra fall was particularly heavy and damaged car windows in Zafferana and surroundings, and probably also caused wildfires on the northern rim of the Valle del Bove, near Monte Rinatu.

The image displays a Sentinel-1 interferogram spanning the period 19-25th February. This shows ground deformation associated with the recent earthquake activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula and indicates this was related to a combination of movement on north-south trending faults and left-lateral movement over a large section of the plate boundary (~25 km segment - from Svartsengi to Kleifarvatn).
Images created by Dr Michelle Maree Parks.

The color fringes show ground deformation, represented as a phase change wrapped between -pi and pi.

continue in Reykjanes peninsula. A Mw4.53 was detected 12:06 local time.

Results from the real-time from station SENG 12km SW of the epicenter of the Mw5.65 this morning at 10:05 local time showing 3cm southward motion.

A seismic swarm is shaking the Reykjanes peninsula, a reminder that the volcano-tectonic episode close to Grindavík is still ongoing. Several earthquakes of ~M5 have taken place for the past hour. A shakemap has been created for the 10:05 earthquake, which has been calculated to the size of Mw5.65. The team of IMO is working on further calculations.
https://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes

The European Catalogue of Volcanoes (https://volcanoes.eurovolc.eu) has been updated! We proudly present this interactive web-page, which serves as a reliable source of volcanological information.
Volcano Observatories and research institutions in Europe have worked together in collecting data and material with the goal to create an easy-to-use portal designend for a wide audience. The catalogue is one of the main outcomes of EUROVOLC (https://eurovolc.eu) and gives access to detailed information on 47 selected key volcanoes (accessible through the menu on the left) within the monitoring territories of France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and UK as well as the location of 72 European active volcanoes.
Functionalities such as eruption search, links to tephra databases, links to Smithsonian database and event trees for selected volcanoes have been improved in this fully updated version of the catalogue. Not to mention full translation in all native languages!
European Catalogue of Volcanoes is intended to be a portfolio of information for the volcanological community and it is expected to be improved in the future with the addition of more volcanoes fully described! Give us your feedback!

has been putting up a Christmas show! The scientists at INGV-Etna observatory in Catania have been keeping a close eye. Read up on the latest developments at https://eurovolc.eu/?p=2921.