On Thursday, the “Blue Lagoon”, a tourist site near Grindavik famous for its geothermal spas, had already been closed as a precaution.
In total, more than 23,000 tremors have been recorded since October 25, including more than 1,400 in the last 24 hours, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Institute (IMO).
Known for its turquoise water pools and luxury hotels, the Blue Lagoon site “has made the proactive decision to temporarily cease its activities for a week”. A series of earthquakes have shaken the Reykjanes Peninsula, where the “Blue Lagoon” is located, in recent weeks.
Rising magma
A swelling of the ground, caused by an accumulation of magma at a depth of 5 kilometers, was detected on October 27 by the IMO.
The phenomenon has accelerated in the last 24 hours, and a movement of magma towards the surface was detected this Friday. Real-time data from the Norwegian Meteorological Agency indicates that magma is currently intruding at Sundhnúka crater, about 3 kilometers northeast of Grindavík, the town where Blue Lagoon is located.
Roads around the site, bent by landslides, were cut off to traffic. A fire reportedly broke out in the power plant installed in the town.
These phenomena are common in this volcanic region, geologists recalled: the peninsula is located on the mid-Atlantic ridge, one of the most important on the planet, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates move apart from each other. the other.
This is the fifth ground swelling observed in the region since the reawakening of seismic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula in December 2019, after some 800 years of dormancy.