Alert phase for flight over Askja raised to yellow

The alert phase for flight over Askja has been raised to yellow. This suggests that the Askja caldera is showing signs of activity beyond the norm. The alert phase for flight across Bárðarbunga remains at orange. These decisions were made following a meeting of the scientific council at Civil Protection earlier today.

No further changes have been noticed in the Vatnajökull glacier since cracks were spotted last night in the southeastern part of Bárðarbunga. The rock channel under the Dyngjujökull glacier has stretched 1.5 kilometers further north since yesterday, which is considerably less than in the days before. It has now reached the Askja fault lines and GPS readings suggest that this is affecting the area.

Recon flights were made over Bárðarbunga and the surrounding area earlier this morning, where the glacier's surface was examined. No changes were noticed beyond the aforementioned cracks. It is believed they formed because of ice melting deep below.

The changed areas of the Vatnajökull glacier are three indentations with circular crack formations, totalling about 5 kilometers in length and probably within the water fields that run into the Jökulsá river. The glacier is believed to be 400-600 meters thick in this area.

A check was made of the water level in the Grímsvatn lake, which has risen 5-10 meters in the past few days, equalling about 10-30 million cubic liters of water having been added to the lake. A minor water addition was also noticed in Köldukvísl, with no known cause. Hágöngulón, Jökulsá and Skjálfandafljót remain unchanged. It is believed that water from beneath the indentations has run into Grímsvatn or Jökulsá.

Seismicity is similar to what it has been in recent days. Around midnight 3 earthquakes were detected that measured over 4 points and one over 5 points this morning, all of them in Bárðarbunga.

Around 8:00 AM seismicity increased slightly around Askja. It is believed to be due to changes in pressure due to the proximity of the magma channel.