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A volcanic outbreak in or near the Ithiel Town of Grindavík in Iceland is now in all likelihood imminent , with experts warning that magma is moving nigher to the open .
" An eruption could be potential on a timescale of just day , " harmonize toa translated statement from the Icelandic Met Office ( IMO ) .
Iceland is preparing for a volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula following weeks of increasing seismic activity.
Grindavík is a small sportfishing town on Iceland ’s southerly peninsula with a population of around 2,800 people . It is 3 miles ( 5 kilometers ) from the Blue Lagoon geothermic spa , which pull about 700,000 visitors every class .
Thorvaldur Thordarson , professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland , told the Iceland Monitorthat a sink measure 3.2 feet ( 1 meter ) deep recently appear in Grindavík , and subsidence in the town had persist in : " So it is quite clear that magma has reached a very shallow astuteness under the township , " he said , according to the translated article .
He said the swallow hole appear under some houses , so it is potential an outbreak could take place inside the townsfolk .
The town of Grindavik on the Reykjanes peninsula.
Thordarson say it is unmanageable to estimate just how close to the surface the magma is , but it could be just dozens of foot deep . If there was an bam in the township , the lava would probably move west and into the sea , but " something always goes the other way , " he enjoin .
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Seismic activity began increasing in Reykjanes Peninsula on Oct. 25 , when more than 1,000 earthquakes north of Grindavík occurred in the place of just 60 minutes . Two potent seism , measuring magnitude 3.9 and 4.5 , hit at a profoundness of around 3 miles ( 5 kilometer ) . Over the following two weeks , seismic activity extend , with century of earthquakes and pick up recorded each day , indicating that magma is accumulating beneath the ground .
Map showing the magma tunnel that runs past the town of Grindavík.
On Nov. 10 , a " impenetrable swarm of earthquake began , " harmonize to the IMO program line . Later that sidereal day , authorities declare thatthe risk of infection posed by the volcanic natural action was growingand began evacuating Grindavík . In the statement , IMO representative said it could be just days before magma reaches the open .
" There are indications that a considerable amount of magma is go in an area that runs from [ Sundhnjúkagígur ] in the north towards Grindavík , " the program line enunciate . " The amount of magma involved is significantly capital than what has been seen in the largest magma intrusions that occurred in connexion with the volcaniceruptions at Fagradalsfjall . "
On Nov. 11 , IMO data evince there was a " magma burrow " about 9.3 mile ( 15 km ) from the north down to Grindavík and into the ocean . An eruption could take place anywhere along this burrow . The magma was at a depth of 2,600 feet ( 800 mebibyte ) from the Earth’s surface at its shallow percentage point — although the IMO pointed out this data was 12 hours old , so the magma had in all probability moved nearer to the surface since the measurements were acquire .
The seismal natural action likely free stress in the region , enabling magma to move to the surface more easily . " Models also designate that magma may come out at the southern end of the magma tunnel just outside Grindavík , " according to the statement .
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Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson , a geophysicist at the University of Iceland , told state spreader RUVthat while seismal activity has now slowed down , " that does not tell us anything about what happens next . " He said the most probable scenario was an eruption near Grindavík .
