New eruptive fissure opens 1 km northeast of the current eruption site / VolcanoDiscovery

The new eruptive fissure that opened today in Iceland (image: Almannavarnir / facebook)

ONE new eruptive fissure open today About. 1 km northeast of the active site of the eruption so far. The seismic network detected at 11h37 local time an acute peak of tremor 1 km deep, which announced its formation shortly after the magma broke the surface along a new section rising up the slope above the intrusion of active magma below.
According to the Icelandic Met Office (IMO), the new eruptive fissure is about 500 m long. In fact, it appears to consist of two nearby fractures, one major and one minor, both erupting small lava sources and feeding a new lava flow towards the east.
Some splash cones have already formed in the lava source along the crack. Fortunately the main webcam of RÚV zoomed in at the beginning of the event at the right time as can be seen in the video below.
According to the University of Iceland, the new lava flow continues at an extremely high discharge rate, as the flow viscosity is about 10 ^ 2 Pa. The lava flow has traveled east and continues to fill the Meradalir valley, adjacent to the Geldingadalir valley (the site of the previous activity phase) and is about to form a new lava flow field.

What caused the opening of the new fissure?
There are two possibilities:
a) The increasing flow of magma that continues to fuel the ongoing eruption was about to be blocked and probably found a new weakness.
b) The dike was closing slowly while the magma inside cooled and it squeezed the remaining liquid.

The immediate area was evacuated. There was no imminent danger to life due to the distance from the location of the known trails.
The aviation color code remains orange.
The ongoing eruption in Geldingadalir shows no signs of weakening and activity has been building a cone that grows slowly around the two active openings in the center.

The beginning of the new eruptive fissure:

Previous news

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