Iceland's Meteorological Office (IMO) has issued a warning that a volcanic eruption could occur with as little as 30 minutes notice.
Stormy weather conditions are potentially affecting monitoring systems.
The anticipated eruption is of the Fagradalsfjall volcano, with the town of Grindavik most at risk.
The IMO has detected magmatic gas at a borehole in Svartsengi, signalling an imminent eruption.
The town of Grindavik has already been evacuated.
Iceland's Meteorological Office (IMO) has issued a warning that a volcanic eruption could occur with as little as 30 minutes notice, as magma is detected very close to the Earth's surface. The anticipated eruption is of the Fagradalsfjall volcano, with the town of Grindavik most at risk. The IMO has detected magmatic gas at a borehole in Svartsengi, signalling an imminent eruption. The town has already been evacuated.
The IMO has updated its hazard assessment map for the area of Grindavik and Svartsengi based on satellite images, expanding the danger zone to include three broad categories. The highest risk zone in the centre of the 15km-long rift is marked with a dashed red line. Stormy weather conditions are potentially affecting monitoring systems, adding to the complexity of the situation.
The decreasing earthquake activity over the last 24 hours could be a sign that magma has reached very close to the earth's surface. The area near the Svartsengi power plant has entered a 'new eruption phase', with the land near the power plant swelling as a chamber some 4.5 kilometres below the surface fills with magma at a rate of around 50 cubic metres per second. Residents of Grindavik have described the situation as 'apocalyptic'. Journalists have criticized authorities for restricting media access to the area.
The IMO has updated its hazard assessment map for the area of Grindavik and Svartsengi based on satellite images, expanding the danger zone to include three broad categories.
The highest risk zone in the centre of the 15km-long rift is marked with a dashed red line.
The decreasing earthquake activity over the last 24 hours could be a sign that magma has reached very close to the earth's surface.
The area near the Svartsengi power plant has entered a 'new eruption phase', with the land near the power plant swelling as a chamber some 4.5 kilometres below the surface fills with magma at a rate of around 50 cubic metres per second.