Posts

Posted on

Strong earthquakes in Reykjanes volcano

Around 17:00 UTC today (01-April 2025) an earthquake with magnitude of Mw5,3 took place in Reykjanes volcano. This might not be earthquakes because of tension changes in the crust in this area. It is a possibility, but at the moment what is going on is unclear.

A lot of green stars showing large earthquakes in Reykjanes volcano along with all earthquake activity in Svartengi volcano.
Earthquake activity in Reykjanes volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

If the earthquake activity in the Reykjanes volcano are not tension earthquakes an eruption might stat out in the ocean. That would be explosive eruption. It is too early to know if that is the case. But next few hours should show if that is the case or not. Earthquake activity is ongoing and the this situation can change quickly and without warning.

Posted on

Eruption in Svartsengi volcano, Sundhnúkagígar crater row

This morning around 06:30 a dyke intrusion started in Svartsengi volcano with a strong earthquake swarm. An eruption started at around 09:50 UTC. This eruption is happening only in the area south of the area that erupted on 21. November 2024. A dyke formed in this even and is around 11 km long. This dyke might get longer and is possibly getting longer at the writing of this article.

A lot of red dots on Reykjanes peninsula because of the eruption in Svartsengi volcano, in Sundhnúkagígar crater row.
Earthquake swarm because of dyke intrusion and eruption in Svartsengi volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
A view of the earthquake swarm. Showing the sharp increase of the earthquake around 06:30 UTC.
How the earthquake progressed today in Svartsengi volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
Picture showing the eruption south of the defense barrier. Abandoned greenhouse next to the defense barrier. Picture from Rúv web camera.
The lava flow from Rúv web camera on YouTube. Screenshot from Rúv web camera.

This situation is still developing and can change quickly. I’ll post update as needed if anything major happens.

Posted on

Deep earthquakes in Eyjafjallajökull volcano

During the last few weeks there has been slow increase in deep earthquakes in Eyjafjallajökull volcano. This is unusual because it erupted in the year 2010 and in general only erupts every 290 to 700 years, based on current data into the eruption history of Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

Two dots in Eyjafjallajökull volcano. One blue, as its an earthquake from last 48 hours and one red since that's an earthquake from today (31. March 2025).
Earthquake activity in Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Depth of the earthquakes that have so far happened is around 24 to 26 km of those have been reviewed by Icelandic Met Office. Before the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano in the year 2010 it took around 10 years from start of deep earthquakes until an eruption took place. This might just be deep earthquake activity that might not result in a eruption in next few decades. At the moment this earthquake activity is too small and too few earthquakes to know for sure what is going on.

Posted on

Earthquake in Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcano east of Keilir mountain

Today (26-Mars 2025) at 15:06 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,2 took place in Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcano, just east of Keilir mountain. There has not been a lot of aftershock activity following this earthquake.

Green star just north of lake Kleifarvatn and east of mount Keilir. The map has a lot of smaller dots showing earthquake activity in other areas of Reykjanes peninsula.
The earthquake activity on Reykjanes peninsula. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake activity is possibly because of inflation in Svartsengi volcano. Since that results in stress changes along the Reykjanes peninsula, but mostly in the area closest to it. More earthquake activity can happen without warning in this part of Reykjanes peninsula.

Posted on

Earthquake swarm in Reykjanes volcano

Today (12-March 2025) at 14:29 UTC an earthquake swarm started in Reykjanes volcano. The largest earthquake had a magnitude of Mw3,8. At the writing of this article. This earthquake swarm seems to be ongoing.

Red dots and green stars on Reykjanes peninsula at the edge where it goes out into the ocean. Dots all over Reykjanes showing other earthquake activity.
Earthquake swarm on Reykjanes peninsula in Reykjanes volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This doesn’t look like an magma related earthquake swarm. This seems to be a fracture earthquake and might be connected to stress changes in the crust because of the high inflation in Svartsengi volcano, that is not far away from this location. The earthquake swarm is at a low now, but might increase again with stronger earthquakes without warning. If needed, I’ll post an update on what is happening.

Posted on

Strong earthquake swarm in Bárðarbunga volcano

This evening on 22-February 2025 at 21:04 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw5,2 took place in Bárðarbunga volcano. This has been followed by several smaller earthquakes and this earthquake swarm seems to be ongoing.

Green stars and red dots in Bárðarbunga volcano that is located to the west part of this image, not far from the center in Vatnajökull glacier. Other parts of this image show other volcanoes with limited earthquake activity.
Earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake activity is possibly magma trying to find a path to the surface. If it is going to be successful now is another story. It is possible for the magma to fail this. It is difficult to know how this is going to evolve and progress in Bárðarbunga volcano. However, it is clear that for now, no eruption is imminent.

Posted on

Small earthquake swarm in Brennisteinsfjöll volcano

Today (24-January 2025) at 06:06 UTC an earthquake with the magnitude of Mw3,0 took place in Brennisteinsfjöll volcano. This doesn’t seem to have connected to magma movement in this area or volcano. This looks like more like a tension related earthquake. It was probably not related to inflation in Svartsengi volcano.

Green star in Brennisteinsfjöll volcano, that is located on the south and eastern side of Reykjanes peninsula. Few dots next to the green star showing the largest earthquake.
Green star in Brennisteinsfjöll volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

There is a risk of stronger earthquakes in this area. Currently there are no signs that this connected to magma movement in this area.

Posted on

Earthquake swarm east of Keilir mountain in Krýsuvík volcano

Today (18-January 2025) at 13:45 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,2 took place in Krýsuvík volcano, this was just east of Keilir mountain. This earthquake was felt according to news reports. This resulted in a small earthquake swarm at this location.

Green star and orange dots east of Keilir mountain, that is west of Kleifarvatn lake.
Earthquake activity east of Keilir mountain. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake is not connected to magma movement in this area. This seems to be a tension release in the crust from the inflation of Svartsengi volcano. More earthquakes might happen in this area in next few days and until next eruption starts in Svartsengi volcano in Sundhnúkagígaröðin crater row.

Posted on

Earthquake swarm in Ljósufjöll volcano

Yesterday (16. January 2025) an earthquake swarm started in Ljósufjöll volcano. This is an area that has had an earthquake swarm since 2020 or 2021. Largest earthquake in this swarm had a magnitude of Mw3,2.

Green star and a lot of small dots showing the earthquake in the Ljósufjöll volcano.
Earthquake activity in Ljósufjöll volcano system. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake swarm aligned it self with fault lines in the area. That is a change from earlier earthquake activity. Depth of the earthquake has also been decreasing. Its now around 14 km, from 17 to 23 km as it was before. Based on the earthquake activity, the amount of magma remains low and when the amount of magma is low. Its less likely to erupt. It rather is just stuck in the crust. However, if the amount of magma increases, that is going to increase the chance of an eruption in this area. This might take years, if not decades to happen as it stands now. Quick change seems unlikely at the writing of this article.

Posted on

Dyke intrusion into Bárðarbunga volcano

Today (14-January 2025) at 06:08 UTC an dyke intrusion started in Bárðarbunga volcano. This dyke intrusion lasted until around 09:00 UTC and might still not be over, even if the activity has stopped at the writing of this article. Largest earthquakes had the magnitude of Mw5,2 (USGS, EMSC). More than a dozen earthquakes with magnitude from Mw3,0 to Mw5,0 took place in this earthquake swarm.

Row of green stars in Bárðarbunga volcano caldera. Few small earthquakes are in Grímfjall volcano, an activity unrelated to this activity in Bárðarbunga volcano.
The earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

The main activity was in the western part of the caldera. According to the experts, this earthquake swarm looks close to what happened in Bárðarbunga volcano before it erupted in Gjálp (Wikipedia, Icelandic) in the year 1996. Then a earthquake swarm started like this, slowed down for few days before it increased again and the eruption happened. It is unclear what direction the dyke might move to, but most likely is south-west in the direction of Torfajökull volcano and Katla volcano. If that happens, such dyke activity might get those volcanoes upset or start and eruption in them.

I am going to post update as needed for Bárðarbunga volcano as this activity continues.