Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Watching Mt. Hekla

 

 

# 5676

 


Billed as one of Iceland’s most feared and active volcanoes, Mt. Hekla (which is fortunately easier to pronounce than last year’s eruptive Eyjafjallajökull volcano) is showing signs once more of coming to life.

 

The 1,491 meter (4,892 ft) stratovolcano is located in the south of Iceland, and has seen at least 20 eruptions since the year 874, some of them massive and going on for months. 

 

The 1947 eruption started March 29, 1947 and ran until April 1948.

 

Mt. Hekla is located in close proximity to last year’s Eyjafjallajökull, whose eruptions in April and May of 2010 closed down air traffic over parts of Europe and caused considerable economic impact.

 

Media reports over the past 12 hours have noted unusual GPS reading from the region, and while an eruption may not necessarily be imminent, geologists have warned Iceland’s Civil Protection Authority.

 

A couple of representative media reports, and then a link to a webcam which is trained on Mt. Hekla, that you can view online.

 

Iceland's Hekla volcano 'ready to erupt'

By Robert Robertsson (AFP) – 6 hours ago

REYKJAVIK — One of Iceland's most feared volcanoes looks ready to erupt, with measurements indicating magma movement, Icelandic experts said Wednesday, raising fears of a new ash cloud halting flights over Europe.

(Continue . . . )

Iceland volcano may erupt soon, scientists say

July 6th, 2011

10:55 AM ET

An eruption of Hekla, one of Iceland's most famous volcanoes, may be imminent, scientists in the island nation say.

Pall Einarsson, a geophysics professor at the University of Iceland, told Iceland Review that sensors around the volcano have shown unusual movements in the past few days.

(Continue . . . )

 

 

image

This link will take you to a live webcam of the Hekla volcano.  Refresh your browser to see the latest picture.

 

Another camera has been placed near Mt. Hekla, and can be viewed at this link.