Uncertainty level declared for the ongoing uplift at Askja volcano
Next week IMO and the Faculty of Earth Sciences (UÍ) will start potentiating the monitoring level of the volcanic area
The National commissioner in agreement with the Police Department of the North-East Iceland declared the uncertainty level because of the ongoing uplift at Askja volcano. In the last weeks fast deformation changes have been measured in Askja, both from GPS stations and processed satellite images. The uplift has reached about 7 centimeter and that is a significant change over this temporal period.
The most likely interpretation for this uplift is inflow of magma at a depth between 2-3 km. Next week IMO and the Institute of Earth Sciences (UÍ) will potentiate the monitoring network around Askja to allow a better coverage and surveillance of the volcano.
In light of the latest data IMO has changed the aviation color code for Askja from green to yellow. This is done as the volcano is currently showing a level of activity beyond the known background.
For the Civil Protection the level of uncertainty means that there is the need for increased monitoring to follow those events that, eventually, might lead to a threat for health and safety of people, the environment and infrastructure. Declaring a level of uncertainty is part of the Civil Protection planning procedures to ensure formal communication and exchange of information between different response parties.
More information about Askja volcano is available at icelandicvolcanos.is
These graphs show GPS measurement from the station OLAC in north, east and up from 27th of July till the 9th of September 2021. The stations is close to the center of the uplift (shown in InSAR picture) and it shows that in July/September the uplift started to show.
