Hamarinn Volcano - Burns Night

Image by Global Volcanism Program. Stunning view of the enormous craters of Hamarinn.

Hamarinn Volcano might hold the title as Icelands most over rated volcano. Why do I say that? Well, basically we are talking about the magic volcano that almost never have erupted. Actually, it probably never even erupted in 1910, but I will come back to that only known real eruption.

At best Hamarinn had a small eruption back in 1910, a weak VEI-2. But regarding the location it could equally well have been a Gjálp eruption, or a flanking fissure eruption of Bardarbunga, or for that matter Grimsvötn. Otherwise no real eruption since deglaciation. The location was set well after, and the opening was rather in between Lokis east Cauldron and the adjacent fissures of Grimsvötn and Bardabunga.

Technically Hamarinn is counted as a part of the Bardarbunga system. It is believed that Hamarinn is involved in the veidivötn eruptions. There is also a theory that it works as some sort of of connective reservoir between Bardarbunga and Grimsvötn. And judging from the imagery plotted by Lurking during the run up to Grimsvötn 2011 there might be a connection between Hamarinn and Grimsvötn. Actually there is more evidence of that connection than Hamarinn to Bardarbunga. Be that as it may.

Due to Hamarinn probably not having erupted since de glaciation the top over Hamarinn has probably solidified to much for any eruption being possible without something extraordinary happening. In a way it has become an inverted cryptodome, instead of being magma on the way up forming a new magma chamber, this is an encapsulated old chamber.

Through the volcano runs the most famous of Icelands volcanic fissure swarms, the Veidivötn, responsible for one of the two largest eruptions in Iceland since deglaciation.

So far so good, but why do I get annoyed with Hamarinn as a volcano, eruptions or not? Because now and then hydrothermal activity causes a Jökulhlaup associated with Hamarinn. And all of those get into the Global Volcanism Eruption list of eruptions. Sofar there are eleven eruptions listed that has never broken the ice, only caused a jökulhlaup, and rather small ones to boot. And yes… The harmonic tremor spikes during the Jökulhlaup. Well, duh, Jökulhlaup cause that all of their own. And to be honest, to give those small swings the eruption would have to be VEIminus1. 

Nowadays we read reports of Hamarinn erupting every other month. It is silly, we are talking about a volcano that has not provenly erupted since well before the last woolly mammoth died out. Thankfully the two new SIL-stations will put an end to this nonsense.

Jökulheimar and Dyngjufjöll has proved that the last tremoring was indeed Bardarbungas fissure swarms responsible for, and that it was in the northern swarm. Still we get reports blaming Hamarinn for it.

And one other thing that ticks me about Hamarinn. Loki-Fögrufjöll? Isn’t that a too pompously grandiose second name for a glorified inverted cryptodome?

Burns Night

Just taste how volcanically correct a name Robert Burns is. On demand I am shamelessly going to plug that it is Burns night tonight. You are supposed to drink copious amounts of whiskey, chop up enormous haggis’s with swords and listen to bagpipes. To me and any snake that is far better then painting myself green and drink beer on St Patricks Day. Since I like snakes, after all they save far more lives than they take due to killing rats. I am rather against St Patrick the Snakewhacker.

So for all snakes and poets out there. Sing Auld Lang Syne, drink up and listen to your neighbour strangling the pipes.

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