Iceland experiences another 800 earthquakes overnight as researchers find signs volcanic eruption is near
After experiencing 700 earthquakes on Tuesday, Iceland meteorologists said on Wednesday morning the country has experienced another 800 since midnight. The quakes came after researchers detected sulfur dioxide, a gas that indicates magma is near the ground surface.
Most of the earthquakes that struck early Wednesday were in the middle of a magma dyke at a depth between roughly two to three miles, the country's meteorological office said in a 6:30 a.m. ET update. They also said that there are clear indications of deformation in the area and that magma is "still flowing," although part of the dyke into which it's going "seems to be solidifying."
The office has also detected measurements of sulfur dioxide, which according to the U.S. Geological Survey is a "colorless gas with a pungent odor" that can irritate peoples' eyes, noses and throats. This gas is released when "magma is relatively near the surface," the USGS says, and if it's detected when a volcano isn't erupting, it could indicate that it will "soon."
The update comes a day after Iceland's meteorological office warned that the likelihood of a volcanic eruption "remains high" after more than 700 earthquakes were recorded between midnight and 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday. The largest of Tuesday's earthquakes was an M 3.1, a level at which earthquakes are "often felt, but only causes minor damage," according to Michigan Technological University. Officials said most of the earthquakes recorded Tuesday were "micro-earthquakes."
"The likelihood of an eruption remains high," officials from the Icelandic Met Office said in their Tuesday update. "If an eruption occurs, the most likely location will be on the magma intrusion. Our latest hazard assessment does not indicate any other potential eruption sites."
This sentiment was repeated on Wednesday, with the meteorological office saying "the situation seems to be unchanged since yesterday."
"The probability of an eruption is still considered high," they said. "In the event of an eruption, the most likely location is at the magma dyke."
Matthew James Roberts, the director of the Service and Research Division at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told Reuters that the situation, which started on Oct. 25 but "took a sudden turn" on Friday, "is worrying."
That intrusion, which he described as a "thin sliver of magma" that started to make its way to the surface, was more than 9 miles long and was beneath the town of Grindavik.
"The seismic activity is close to a populated area. It's close to infrastructure," he said, including the Blue Lagoon, a popular tourist destination a short distance from the international airport on the country's southern peninsula.
The magma building up under the Earth's surface in the area is causing the ground "to deform, effectively balloon, as the pressure of the magma and the volume of the magma increases," Roberts said.
Images from the area show massive cracks separating roads, as well as gaping holes.
The biggest concern of the situation is that magma will eventually make its way to the surface, Roberts said, and create a "Hawaiian-style, lava-producing volcanic eruption" that could create fissures over a long distance.
"We have this tremendous uncertainty now," he said. "Will there be an eruption? And if so, what sort of damage will occur?"
Chris Livesay, a CBS News foreign correspondent, spoke with Hans Wierer, an Iceland resident who said that they are "desperate" and "paralyzed" as his family is among thousands around the earthquake-ridden area who have been forced to evacuate.
The country is now under a state of emergency, declared by the Icelandic Civil Protection, who, along with the meteorological office, warned an eruption could come any day. The Reykjanes Peninsula, where the seismic activity is occurring, is under an emergency and distress phase, meaning there's an event that "could lead, or already has led to, harm to people, communities, properties or the environment."