Category: Volcano

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Deep earthquake swarm south-east of Bárðarbunga volcano

Yesterday (19-June-2019) an earthquake swarm took place south-east of Bárðarbunga volcano. This area of Bárðarbunga volcano has been active since end of the eruption in February 2015 and possibly earlier than that. Last eruption in this area took place in with a start in February 1726 (+- 30 days) and ended in May 1726 (+- 30 days). More eruptions might have taken place at this location without being known or detected by people in the past.


The earthquake swarm south-east of Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

The depth of this earthquake swarm is considerable. Deepest earthquake recorded had a depth of 30,4 km and it is a possible that might be an error or poor location, other earthquakes recorded had a shallower depth. The crust in this location is up to 45 km thick according to measurements. It is not possible to know if this earthquake activity is going to result in a eruption. If an eruption happens it might happen without any warning and not of lot of earthquake activity before it happens.

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Earthquake with magnitude of 3,4 in Bárðarbunga volcano

After a long period of quiet an earthquake has happened in Bárðarbunga volcano. This earthquake had a magnitude of 3,4 and was in the usual place of central caldera of Bárðarbunga volcano. This earthquake had a smaller earthquake swarm activity happen few hours before it happened.


The earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano is marked by the green star. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

It is not possible to know if this means there is going to be any more earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. Normally since everything started to quiet down, just one earthquake happens that is over magnitude 3,0 and then everything goes quiet again for several weeks to months. I do suspect that is going to be the pattern this time.

Due to how tired I am since I am working full workday (08:00 – 16:00) now my English grammar is all over the place in this article.

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Activity in Torfajökull volcano

Sometimes nature does something unexpected. This applies now to Torfajökull volcano. It seems that this earthquake activity started on 27-January-2019 without any warning. The article about that earthquake swarm can be found here.


The earthquake activity on 29-April-2019. A clear line of earthquake has appeared. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.


Second earthquake swarm on 3-May-2019. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.


The earthquake swarm on 4-June-2019. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

After Bárðarbunga volcano eruption in 2014 I set-up a new system (that I use for my self. No-one uses something something similar that I know of) to detect possible eruptions. Each volcano is different and there is also a risk of false detection. However I do think that based on latest activity that something is going on in Torfajökull volcano. If this results in a eruption is too early to say at the time of writing of this article. If this is on a path to an eruption there might not be any warning or much of a warning besides few magnitude 3,0 to 4,5 earthquakes in Torfajökull volcano. Last eruption in Torfajökull volcano was in 1477 (north of the caldera) so its behaviour before an eruption is unknown. Last time a eruption took place in west side of the caldera was in the year 1170 or around that year.

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If you donate with the bank please update your information here. I have switched everything back to Denmark since I expect to move to Denmark by September. When I am back in Denmark I am going to open a new Danish PayPal account for donations. It is going to take ~3 months due to security requirements that are now in place by PayPal and the law.

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Earthquake swarm north of Kolbeinsey island

Yesterday (22-May-2019) at 15:47 UTC a magnitude 3,4 earthquake took place around 12 km north of Kolbeinsey Island. This earthquake was part of a small swarm in this area yesterday. It appears to be over but there is a risk of more activity in this area. Due to distance from the coastline and next populated island this earthquake was not felt.


Earthquake north of Kolbeinsey island (green star north of Iceland). Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Earthquake swarms happen in this area frequently. This is not part of the TFZ but borders it just a little south of this earthquake activity.

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Added

If you donate with a bank please update your information. I have changed the bank information again in April and the new information can be found here. The Icelandic bank account that I have been using is going to be closed soon.

Personal note

I have added a personal note on what is going on with me in the comments. It explains why I changed my mind on moving back to Denmark and other issues that I’ve been dealing with in recent months.

Updated at 13:45 UTC. Added updated information about bank donations.
Updated at 14:11 UTC. Added updated information about bank donations.

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Earthquake activity on the Reykjanes ridge

This morning at 10:57 UTC (21-May-2019) a magnitude 3,1 earthquake took place around 7 km west of Geirfugladrangi (a rock). This earthquake was part of a small earthquake swarm in this area. Several magnitude 1,1 to 1,7 earthquakes took place in this location. Since 13:44 UTC the area has been quiet, due to distance from the coastline and the SIL network it is possible that more earthquakes have happened than are being recorded.


Earthquake activity on Reykjanes ridge. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This is most likely rift zone earthquake activity rather than a volcano related earthquake activity. Earthquake activity is common in this area of the Reykjanes ridge.

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Increased activity in Askja volcano

After more than a month of no noticeable earthquake activity in Iceland there is finally something new to report. It remains quiet in Iceland and most earthquake activity today is just small earthquakes in the magnitude range of 0,0 – 2,8.

This is only my view and might not be the same as views of professional scientists that monitor volcanoes as their job.

Askja volcano has started showing clear signs that an eruption might happen in near future. When that might happen is impossible to know, but given recent history this might happen in 18 to 48 months time from writing of this article. It might also be a considerable longer time until a eruption happens. Current sequence of activity started in 2011 so its already been ongoing for a considerable long period of time.


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

In recent months Askja volcano has been showing signs of increased earthquake activity. This is mostly small earthquakes with magnitude from 0,0 to 3,0 in magnitude. Located in small swarms that appear at random location within the volcano. There are quiet time period in this earthquake activity as is normal.

An eruption in Askja volcano is not a major risk to flight in Iceland or Europe. Since if an eruption happens it is going to be lava fissure eruption similar to what erupted in Bárðarbunga volcano in Holuhraun 2014 to 2015. That eruption might also have increased the speed of when Askja volcano is going to erupt. Since the dike intrusion from Bárðarbunga volcano almost started an eruption in Askja volcano, it was only two to three days from happening but stopped in its track before it happened. That might have put Askja volcano on a path of unsuitability that might now be starting to show in increased earthquake activity.

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Earthquake activity in Grímsvötn (Grímsfjall) and Þórðarhyrna (Thordarhyrna) volcanoes

Sorry for the late article. I’ve been busy in other project that involves taking a lot picture and putting them up on my Instagram that can be found here.

Two earthquake swarms have appeared that I am now keeping an eye out for. This is earthquake activity in Grímsvötn (Grímsfjöll) volcano and then in Þórðarhyrna volcano (Thordarhyrna). Last time Þórðarhyrna erupted was in the year 1902 and that was at the same time an eruption took place in Grímsvötn volcano. Over the last few months there has been increase in earthquake activity in Þórðarhyrna and Grímsvötn volcanoes. Its not completely symmetrical increase in earthquakes, but close to it as of writing of this article. Last time Þórðarhyrna erupted without an eruption in Grímsvötn volcano was in the year 1887 (15th August) to 1889 (?).


Earthquake activity in Grímsvötn and Þórðarhyrna volcanoes. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

It is going to be a serious problem if an eruption happens in Þórðarhyrna volcano because that volcano is completely covered with a glacier that is up to 200 meters thick or thicker. Other risk factor is that Grímsvötn volcano might erupt outside of the caldera resulting in glacier floods and other problems.

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Two earthquake swarms in Tjörnes Fracture Zone (TFZ)

Over the last few days there has been small earthquake swarm activity in Tjörnes Fracture Zone. The activity has been in two locations, west of Kópasker village and east of Grímsey island (ongoing swarm). Both earthquake swarms are small for now and only few earthquakes larger than magnitude 2,0 have happened. Total number of earthquakes is around 146 for the whole Tjörnes Fracture Zone when this article is written.


Current earthquake activity on the Tjörnes Fracture Zone. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

The earthquake swarm east of Grímsey island is not over as it has not yet peaked based on what I am seeing. It is more difficult to know about the earthquake swarm west of Kópasker village. As of writing of this article both earthquake swarms are ongoing.

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Update on the earthquake swarm east of Grímsey island in Nafir volcano

This is a short update on the earthquake swarm east of Grímsey island in the Nafir volcano (no Global Volcanism Program profile). Yesterday (19-March-2019) a magnitude 3,2 earthquake happened. Other earthquakes both before and after it are smaller in magnitude. In total over 200 earthquakes appear to have taken place in this earthquake swarm.


Earthquake activity yesterday (19-March-2019) in Nafir volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Earthquake activity has currently stopped. Based on the pattern in the earthquake swarm last year this might not be over and this might be going on for weeks until a peak is reached in earthquake swarm activity. It is impossible to know for sure what happens next in this earthquake activity in this area.

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Earthquake swarm east of Grímsey island (Tjörnes Fracture Zone)

During the night of 18-March-2019 an earthquake swarm started east of Grímsey island in a volcano called Nafir (no Global Volcanism Program profile). The only GVP profile that exists is about the volcano south of this one (GVP profile can be found here). The volcano in this area doesn’t have any documented eruption history in recent 10.000+ years. This might be wrong due to lack of research. In 2018 there was a strong earthquake swarm in this area. Articles connected to that earthquake swarm can be read here. Top of the earthquake activity on 19th of February 2018 looked like this as I wrote in a article last year. Current earthquake activity suggests a repeat of last year activity, only time is going to show if this does happen, but clues are strong in that direction. Earthquake activity in this area is complex and this is a rift valley it is taking place in.


The earthquake swarm east of Grímsey island in Tjörnes Fracture Zone. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Largest earthquake so far has the magnitude of 3,3 and other earthquakes are smaller in magnitude. Currently around 55 earthquakes have been recorded. The earthquake swarm is ongoing even if current rate of earthquakes is low.

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