The Meteorological Office of reported today about a thousand new earthquakes since last midnight near the city of in the southwest of the island, and although the tremors did not exceed a magnitude of 3, the danger of a volcanic eruption in the coming days is increasing.

“Since the morning of November 11, seismic activity in the magma intrusion has remained fairly constant. Since midnight on November 12, around a thousand earthquakes were recorded within the limits of the dam, all of them with a magnitude less than 3.0″, according to the statement updated at 12.30 GMT today.

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A volcanic dam are intrusions of volcanic material, in a liquid state, that solidifies in a slow process.

It specifies that “The greatest seismic activity occurred from the center of the corridor towards the north and south, under Grindavik”, in the southwest of this island in the North Atlanticand “most earthquakes occur at a depth of between three and five kilometers at the bottom of the magma intrusion”.

“GPS measurements from the last 24 hours show that the deformation associated with the magma tunnel that formed on Friday, November 10 has slowed down“, which “suggests magma is moving closer to the surface”, he adds.

The Iceland Meteorological Officethe University of Iceland and the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management They concluded at a meeting on Saturday, from the latest measurements of seismicity and ground deformation in the Grindavík region and the latest geophysical models and risk assessments, that the ongoing intrusion represents a serious volcanic hazard.

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According to geophysical models, the intrusion is estimated to be spreading slowly upwards and the magma is believed to be 800 meters below the surface.

“The exact location of a possible eruption site is unknown, but the 15-kilometer length and orientation of the dam offer a good indication of possible sources.“, adds the statement.

The Icelandic authorities declared an emergency situation on Friday after a series of earthquakes near Gindavík and warned of a possible volcanic eruption, ordering a preventive evacuation of this city 50 kilometers from the capital. Reykjavik.

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