Volcano Blog by Tom Pering
  • Blog
  • About the Blog
  • About Me
  • Publications
  • Slug Calculator
  • Codes
    • Corrplot
    • Image Acquisition and Signal Processing
    • Image Processing
    • Other Matlab Codes
  • Photos
    • Etna 2011
    • Etna 2012
    • Etna 2013
    • Glencoe
    • Iceland 2011
    • Rainier
    • Sakurajima 2013
    • Stromboli 2013
    • Vulcano 2014
    • Yellowstone 2013
  • Videos
    • Dynamics of mild strombolian activity on Mt Etna Elsevier AudioSlides presentation
    • High time resolution fluctuations in volcanic carbon dioxide degassing from Mount Etna AudioSlides Presentation

Is Hekla waking from a slumber?

26/3/2013

 
Picture
The location of Hekla
The Icelandic Meteorological Office has raised its aviation code for Hekla from green to yellow. Why have they done this? Well according to this news article, there has been an increase in seismicity, which is unusual for Hekla, although there has been no marked changes in other eruption precursors such as inflation and they further state that there is no eruption imminent. Recent earthquakes can be viewed here. If you are interested in the decision making process of the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) and how they communicate with the public, I highly recommend skimming (or reading thoroughly!) this presentation which is available on their website. From this (if I understand it correctly) I can determine that the alert level has been raised because of an uncertainty surrounding the change in activity, which doesn't necessarily mean that an eruption will occur at all! However, what does history tell us about eruptions at Hekla? The IMO has a list of volcanic eruptions since 1900 on their website and you can see that Hekla features prominently with eruptions most recently in 2000 and 1991, whilst the Global Volcanism Program also shows regular activity . 

Picture
Photo of Hekla by Bill Rose (1980)
If Hekla were to erupt, we can expect the typical activity which has been seen in the past, typified by the photos on the GVP website, a mixture of explosive activity and lava flows. One of the major dangers from an eruption of Hekla is the emission of Fluorine, which the magmas from Hekla seem to contain more of. Inhalation of Fluorine can cause Skeletal Fluorosis (yes I did link wikipedia) and has caused significant fatalities of humans and livestock in the past from eruptions such as the Lakagigar fissure eruption in 1783.  

You can view webcams of Hekla at these two sites: one is a closer view, and the other is at a distance but arguably of better quality. This activity change could show the very early signs of a future eruption or it could also be an anomaly, it is certainly too early to tell at this stage.

    RSS Feed

    Volcano Blog Logo
    Picture
    Eruptions Blog
    Picture
    Magma Cum Laude
    Donate to the IVM-Fund! Click on the picture to go to the website!
    Share this page

    Archives

    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011

    Author

    I am currently studying volcanology in the UK and want to share this interest with others. 

    Categories

    All
    Adams
    Arthurs Seat
    Australia
    Avachinsky-Koryaksky
    Basalt
    Bbc
    Blog Update
    Cascades
    Castle Rock
    Chile
    Colima
    Column
    Costa Rica
    Decade Volcano
    Decade Volcanoes
    Dolerite
    Dubbi
    Edinburgh
    El Chichón
    El Hierro
    Eritrea
    Etna
    Eyjafjallajökull
    Fumarole
    Further Study
    Galeras
    General
    Geoinformatics
    Glencoe
    Grimsvotn
    Harmonic Tremor
    Hawaii
    Haystacks
    Hidden Journeys
    Hotspot
    Iceland
    Ignimbrite
    Importance Of Gas
    Indonesia
    Information
    Insar
    Jokulhlaup
    Kagoshima
    Katla
    Kilauea
    Lake District
    Langdale
    Lava Flows
    Lava Fountain
    Lava Lake
    Lava Stalactites
    Lava Tube
    Lightning
    Maar
    Mantle
    Mauna Loa
    Media
    Merapi
    Mercury
    Mexico
    Modelling
    Mount Hood
    Myrdalsjokull
    Mythology
    Nabro
    Nyamuragira
    Nyiragongo
    Passive Degassing
    Planetary Volcanism
    Plume
    Popocatepetl
    Popocatépetl
    Puyehue Cordon
    Puyehue-Cordon
    Puyehue-Cordon Caulle
    Puyehue-Cordón Caulle
    Pyroclastic Deposits
    Rainier
    Rift Valley
    Ruapehu
    Sakurajima
    Santa Maria
    Santiaguito
    Skaftafell
    St Helens
    Strokkur
    Stromboli
    Strombolian
    Summary
    Super Eruption
    Svartifoss
    Tag Cloud
    Teaching
    Terminology
    Thrihnukagigur
    Tuff Ring
    Turrialba
    Uk
    United Kindom
    Vei 8
    Vidgelmir
    Volatiles
    Volcanology
    Volcano Puzzle
    Vulcanian
    Xenolith
    Xenoliths
    Yellowstone

An informative blog for anyone interested about all things volcano related!