Iceland’s Bardabunga Eruption

PLEASE NOTE:  Since the writing of this blog, the status of the Bárðarbunga eruption has changed.  This is, of course, a natural phenomenon and, as such, unpredictable. It is now generally believed that this eruption, which is now emitting a slow but steady stream of lava, may be active for months or longer.  The main message of this post is still valid, that the location and nature of this eruption will most likely have no impact on flights and tourism. See the most recent update from the Icelandic authorities:

Status report from the National Crisis Coordination Centre in Iceland give on September 1, 2014:

•    A small fissure eruption has started again in Holuhraun lava North of Dyngjujökull glacier in Vatnajökull glacier
•     The eruption site is outside of the glacier, the fissure is estimated 1.5 km long with lava flowing to northeast
•     No volcanic ash has been detected by the radar system
•     Alert Phase continues to be in effect Aviation color-code set by the Icelandic MetOffice was raised over the eruption site from orange to red
•     Highland closures remain in effect
•     All airports, international and domestic, are open

Learn more about this volcano and the recent history of the eruption:

There’s been quite a bit of press about the recent seismic activity which led up to a minor volcanic eruption in Iceland.  All of this news is probably amplified because of the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull which grounded planes for a week and stranded millions of people at airports in parts of Europe and the U.K.. This event will be nothing like that, you can rest easy.

This time around, the volcano is called Bárðarbunga (pronounced: bartha boonga). It’s a stratovolcano (think cone-shaped) located under a glacier, in this case the Vatnajokull glacier; Europe’s largest.  Bárðarbunga is also actually Iceland’s second tallest mountain next to Hvannadalshnjúkur, and rises 6,591 feet above sea level (2009 m). You’ll also see it written as Bardabunga because the English language doesn’t have the Icelandic “ð” which has the “th” sound.  Although not very well known outside of Iceland, Bárðarbunga is being monitored by scientists in Iceland, and has been for years. Being a volcanic island, you can be sure that Iceland takes their volcanology seriously.  

Here’s the scoop:
About two weeks ago, authorities in Iceland started recording a lot of seismic activity in the region so, it was no surprise when an eruption began (around August 29, 2014).  At first, Icelandic Aviation Authorities raised the aviation warning code to red.  But because this was not an explosive eruption and no ash was detected on radar, the red alert was soon rescinded.  It wasn’t long after when Icelandic scientists monitoring the eruption knew this wasn’t going to be a big eruption. In fact, the lava started petering-out within two hours.

A statement from Iceland's National Crisis Coordination Center:
"No volcanic ash has been detected with the radar system at the moment.  Seismic eruption tremor is low indicating effusive eruption without significant explosive activity."

As many of you probably know, as it pertains to aircraft, it’s the ash that’s the problem here as it can damage jet engines. And, it’s the explosive eruptions that send dust and ash high into the atmosphere that become the problem for aviation.

What many don’t know is that Bardarbunga is in a very remote location. Couple this fact with the non-explosive and short-lived nature of the eruption, and what you are left with is a non-threatening event. It should be noted that, seismic and volcanic unrest in Iceland is normal; Icelanders are used to this and have developed very sophisticated monitoring and modeling capabilities to keep people safe.  

That said, this event should serve as a reminder that Iceland is a young country with a very active volcanic past and present.  The evidence of this volcanic reality is all around us, in the form of hot springs, geysers, bubbling mud pools and steam coming out of the ground.  Our volcanic activity is why we have the Blue Lagoon and geothermal power plants that provide clean, renewable energy. It’s why we can have warm, outdoor swimming pools all over the country and open all year round.  

That said, and with memories of Eyjafjallajokull still in the traveling public’s minds, it is understandable that visitors currently in Iceland and those planning a trip, would be distressed by this news.  We at Berjaya Hotels wanted to assure people that, although we can’t say for absolute certain that Bardabunga won’t get more active (this is Mother Nature after all!), the current threat is extremely low: flights and tours will continue as normal and you can rest easy on your fabulous Iceland trip. Cheers!

If you’re interested in seeing a fly over of the eruption, here’s a link to a video of the eruption taken by one of Iceland’s local news station, RUV.