Area on alert for volcanic eruption on Reykjanes Peninsula The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa — one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions — closed temporarily as a swarm of earthquakes put the island nation’s most populated region on alert for a possible volcanic eruption. Guests rushed to leave the spa’s hotels in the early hours of Thursday, after they were rattled awake shortly before 1 a.m. by a magnitude 4.8 quake, the strongest to hit the region since the recent wave of seismic activity began on Oct. 25. Bjarni Stefansson, a local taxi driver, described a scene of confusion when he arrived at the Retreat Hotel, where lava rocks had fallen on the roadway and the parking lot was jammed with 20 to 30 cabs. FILE PHOTO: Bathers enjoy the warm waters of Blue Lagoon on Iceland. ...
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Filled with uncertainty, experts are scrambling for answers to explain unusual seismic activity that has rattled the mid-Atlantic volcanic island of Sao Jorge, in Portugal's Azores archipelago, for over two weeks. The island has been hit by nearly 27,000 small tremors as of Tuesday and there are fears the activity could herald a volcanic eruption for the first time since 1808, or a powerful earthquake. "It's an enigma, a mystery," said seismologist Joao Fontiela, explaining multiple tremors were common on other Azorean islands but not in Sao Jorge. "I still haven't found a clear answer." FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the city of Velas in Sao Jorge island, where small earthquakes have been recorded, Azores, Portugal, March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes "Going from a very sma...
Read MoreFatima Viveiros was a little girl when she decided to become a volcanologist. It was a dream come true. Now aged 44, she is putting her skills to use to protect her home. The lush mid-Atlantic volcanic island of Sao Jorge, where she grew up, has been rattled by more than 14,000 small earthquakes for seven days. Viveiros and other experts fear the tremors, which have had magnitudes of up to 3.3, could trigger a volcanic eruption for the first time since 1808, or a powerful earthquake. Fatima Viveiros brings her soil gas monitoring equipment in Rosais near Velas as small earthquakes have been recorded in Sao Jorge island, Azores, Portugal, March 27, 2022. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes "My home is located on an active volcanic system," said Viveiros, who works for the region's CIVISA seism...
Read MoreA series of multiple small earthquakes that have been rattling the mid-Atlantic Portuguese island of Sao Jorge for three days could trigger a stronger tremor or a volcanic eruption, experts said on Tuesday. The number of earthquakes recorded on the volcanic island in the Azores archipelago since Saturday afternoon have increased to around 1,800 from an earlier figure of 1,329, said Rui Marques, head of the region's CIVISA seismo-volcanic surveillance centre. Satellite map shows seismic activity at Sao Jorge island after around 1,100 small earthquakes have rattled one of Portugal's mid-Atlantic volcanic islands in less than 48 hours in Azores islands, Portugal. March 21, 2022. CIVISA (Azore's Seismovolcanic Surveillance and Information Center) / Handout via REUTERS Only 94 of the ...
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