Category: Earthquakes

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Earthquake swarm in Katla volcano

Today (15-December-2016) a minor earthquake swarm took place in Katla volcano. Largest earthquake in this swarm had the magnitude of 2,0. Other earthquakes where smaller in magnitude. Due to bad weather in Iceland at the moment the sensitivity of the SIL network is less than on a quiet wind day.


The earthquake swarm in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake started around 12 hours after the magnitude 3,4 earthquake that took place in Katla volcano yesterday. It is difficult to know for sure if those events are connected, that might be, but without some study into this swarm its a question that I don’t have an answer to. This earthquake swarm is located almost directly in Austmannsbunga in Katla volcano caldera (SIL station with the same name is close to this location). This earthquake swarm was not strong in magnitude of earthquakes, but it was considerable in number of earthquakes that happened in Katla volcano today.

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Please remember to support my work with donations and deal with the issue of buying new laptop so I can work while I’m on the move. Details can be found in yesterday article here. Thanks for the support. 🙂

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Magnitude 3,4 earthquake in Katla volcano

Today (14-December-2016) at 14:31 UTC a magnitude 3,4 earthquake took place in Katla volcano. No other earthquakes took place following this earthquake.


The earthquake in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This is just a single earthquake, it is difficult to know why it happened without any other activity also taking place. Far as I know, not much has actually changed since Katla volcano begin to warm up for an eruption in August (this is my view only). This is even if the earthquake activity has slowed down in last few weeks, since that can happen sometimes in a volcano (why that happens is not known far as I know).

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Few weeks ago I got a hardware donation (as always, I’m thankful for the support), a laptop from 2009 that was in used condition. Unfortunately that laptop had faults that made it unusable for me, faults that I’m sure previous owners did not know of, but made it such that I was unable to use it when I travel. So I have now bought a new laptop at the price of 748,83€ (89.950,00 ISK). The problem is that my attempt to get a loan failed, since I’m living in Denmark (new system based on new laws targeted at payday loan companies that appeared in Iceland after the recession in 2008) and the new system does not allow for a loan payments (besides bank) for Icelanders living outside Iceland. My business bank in Iceland helped me buying the computer, since without the computer I cannot work (writing about volcanoes in Iceland and other things). The main problem starts in January-2017 on how to pay for the computer (and buy food and pay all the bills at the same time, I’m working on a solution in the case I can’t pay it all at once [current chance of that is 98%]). If people want to help me with this hardware buying they can do so with donation, since I plan to let as much of donation as I can go up to this payment (debt) until it is paid down. Thanks for the support. 🙂

Note: Currently I’m having money issue (since 2012 actually due to interactions of many issues and problems), since hardware has been failing due to old age in the last few weeks and months. There is not much I can do about but to respond to it best to my abilities and those abilities are limited at the moment. I have a plan to resolve this debt issue by 2018 (majority of it) and the rest in 2019 and 2020 if needed.

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Strong earthquake swarm in Bárðarbunga volcano

During the night of 12-December-2016 a earthquake swarm took place in Bárðarbunga volcano. This earthquake activity happens because the volcano is inflating currently after period of deflation during the eruption from August-2014 to Februar-2015. As before, most of earthquake activity happens in the north-east part of the caldera. Why that is the case is not known to me at the moment.


The earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

The earthquake swarm lasted for about ~1 hour this time around. Slower and smaller earthquake swarm has been going on for the past ~10 days in BárĂ°arbunga volcano. I call those “slow earthquake swarm” [not a scientific term], they are more difficult to detect, but they often happen (but I have not yet seen them mentioned in any science papers yet, so this is just my personal view). Largest magnitudes in this earthquake swarm where 3,9 (04:10), 3,8 (04:24), 4,2 (04:29). Other earthquakes where smaller in this swarm.

This earthquake activity is due to the fact that magma is flowing into BárĂ°arbunga volcano magma chamber at depth (~10 km) and inflating the volcano after it collapsed during the eruption 2014 – 2015. This inflation is faster then anyone expected I suspect, since after the eruption ended in February-2015 it was expected that BárĂ°arbunga volcano would be quiet for a long time after such large eruption. That has not happened, even if no new eruption has happened so far.

It is not possible to know when next eruption happens or where it is going to happen. Deep earthquakes have been happening under Trölladyngja, suggesting magma movements under that area. Last two eruptions in Trölladyngja took place in the year 5000 BCE and 7100 BCE (GVP information), that means eruption can happen again in this shield volcano (inside BárĂ°arbunga volcano fissure swarm). There are many other locations that eruptions can happened, at the moment it is expected that possible next eruptions continue to happen north east of BárĂ°arbunga volcano, close to Holuhraun lava field or in that direction. It is good to remember that if the magma cannot go to the sides, its either going to stay in its place or if the pressure is high enough, it is going to go straight up along the caldera fault line. Hydrothermal activity on the rims of BárĂ°arbunga volcano caldera suggests that this has already happened and magma now sits at ~1 km depth already. It just didn’t erupt during the last eruption sequence in 2014 – 2015 (it at least has not yet been confirmed).

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Overview of the earthquake activity in Iceland of the last few days

Over the past few days it has been quiet in Iceland. There hasn’t been overall lot happening. Biggest earthquake activity that is currently taking place is happening around 340 km north of Kolbeinsey Island (it’s a tiny Island, with nothing on it, not even birds make use of it).


The earthquake activity north of Kolbeinsey Island. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Largest earthquake have had the magnitude around 3,3.

Bárðarbunga volcano

Currently there isn’t much happening earthquake wise in BárĂ°arbunga volcano. Current earthquake activity has however exposed the ring fault in the caldera, suggesting that its moving upward at decent speed (few mm/month). This also means that BárĂ°arbunga volcano is inflating as is.


The earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Deep earthquake activity is also around Trölladyngja (shield volcano). This deep earthquake under Trölladyngja is unusual and that is my view eruption might happen there soon. It is impossible to know when such a event happens.

Katla volcano

Earthquake activity in Katla volcano has been quiet. It is normal that earthquake activity drops in Katla volcano this time of the year. I’m expecting quiet few weeks in Katla volcano.


There is little earthquake activity in Katla volcano at the moment. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Hekla volcano

Two earthquakes appeared in Hekla volcano on 8-December-2016. No other activity happened after that.

Reykjanes ridge

A minor earthquake swarm took place on the Reykjanes ridge on 8-December-2016. Largest earthquake in this swarm had the magnitude of 2,9.


Earthquake activity on the Reykjanes ridge. The earthquake swarm is where the blue dots are. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

I think this is most of the earthquake activity that has happened in and around Iceland during the last few days. Due to software problems on my server and on my desktop computer I was unable to write an update about what was happening in earthquake activity for the past few days.

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Magnitude 3,2 earthquake in Katla volcano

Today (29-November-2016) at 19:55 UTC a magnitude 3,2 earthquake took place in Katla volcano. The strongest aftershock so far had the magnitude of 2,7. No other activity has appeared in Katla volcano following this earthquake at the moment.

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The green star shows where the magnitude 3,2 earthquake took place in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Earthquakes in Katla volcano happen due to magma changes, mostly pressure changes in the magma chambers that have inflated the volcano over a long period of time. Recent increase in earthquake activity suggests that new magma is flowing into the magma chambers at shallow depth inside the caldera. That is increasing the pressure levels and the earthquake activity at the same time.

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Deep earthquakes in Bárðarbunga volcano

Over the past few hours a sequence of deep earthquakes has been taking place in Bárðarbunga volcano. The depth of those earthquakes is from 19 km and up to 11 km, how they spread out suggesting a dyke intrusion in Bárðarbunga volcano fissure swarm or on the edge of the volcano.

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The deep earthquakes taking place almost south of the main caldera in Bárðarbunga volcano (few blue/yellow dots). Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Deep earthquake activity suggests that fresh magma is pushing into the volcano at more pressure than in past few days. The clues about this happening have been the stronger earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano over the past few weeks. New dykes can also form without warning and start an eruption if the pressure is enough in them, such eruption might not last long, not even a whole day in some cases.

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Increase in earthquakes in Katla volcano

During the past few days there has been a slight increase in earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Largest earthquakes in the past few days have reached magnitude 2,8. At the moment larger earthquakes have not happened in Katla volcano.

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The earthquake activity in Katla volcano over the past few days. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Interestingly there seems to be a concentration of earthquakes on the east side of the caldera, close to the area that erupted in the year 1918. This might be a clue to where in the caldera next eruption is going to happen, since magma seems to “bore” its way trough the crust and in many occasions that leads to a swarm of small earthquakes [note: This is not confirmed in any scientific way or by a study, this is just my observation of this phenomena]. Currently the earthquake activity in Katla volcano is small, compared to how much activity was taken place between end of August and mid-October. I suspect that current level of earthquake activity is going to continue until next spring.

Conductivity in few glacier rivers around Mýrdalsjökull glacier continue to be high, suggesting that new hydrothermal vents have opened up under the glacier inside the caldera. This type of warm-up in a volcano is not a good sign and is a clear sign that magma is now shallow in the caldera. For magma to warm ground water up to this levels, it needs to be less than 1 km up in the crust. This is a shallow depth for magma in a volcano.

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New swarm of earthquakes in Bárðarbunga volcano

During the night (26-November-2016) a swarm of earthquake took place in Bárðarbunga volcano. Largest earthquake had the magnitude of 3,8 other earthquakes where smaller in magnitude.

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The magnitude 3,8 earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano (green star). Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

On 22-November-2016 a magnitude 3,6 earthquake took place in Bárðarbunga volcano. That earthquake took place in the south-west part of the caldera, close to the place where the dyke broke out in 2014.

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The magnitude Mw3,6 earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano on 22-November-2016. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This type of earthquake activity is now so common in BárĂ°arbunga volcano that I can’t write about them all. If I did write about them all, there would be nothing but articles about BárĂ°arbunga volcano on this website.

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Strong earthquake swarm in Bárðarbunga volcano

During the early hours of 19-November-2016 a strong earthquake swarm took place in Bárðarbunga volcano. This is the strongest earthquake swarm in Bárðarbunga volcano for a long time now. Strongest earthquake had the magnitude of 4,0, other magnitudes where 3,5 and 3,1. All other magnitudes where smaller.

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The earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake activity suggests that pressure is increasing fast inside the volcano. I don’t know how much BárĂ°arbunga volcano has inflated since September-2015 but that must be considerable amount since a earthquake of magnitude 4,0 means a slip of few millimetres (I don’t have the information of much movement happens when a earthquake happen. I didn’t find the data about it). Over the past one year there has been a lot of earthquakes taken place in the BárĂ°arbunga volcano caldera, suggesting a rapid inflation of the volcano. It is not known if this is going to result in a eruption soon or sometimes later, all that is known is that magma is flowing into shallow magma chamber from deep within the volcano.

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Article updated at 22:42 UTC. Added a missing part.

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Earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano

The regular earthquake activity in BárĂ°arbunga volcano continued on 18-November-2016. This activity has now been going on for 1 year plus few more weeks, at the moment it has slowed down a bit from when it was most active. I don’t know why that is, but the earthquakes are because magma is flowing into shallow magma chambers in BárĂ°arbunga volcano.

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Earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Largest earthquake in yesterdays (18-November-2016) earthquake swarm had the magnitude of 3,0. Other earthquakes so far have been smaller in magnitude. The activity appears to be mostly over by now, but it might resume at any moment since magma inflow and changes connected to it cannot be predicted.

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