Category: Monitoring

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Earthquake swarm near Geirfugladrangur island on Reykjanes ridge

Today (23-March 2026) at 12:08 UTC an earthquake swarm that had been going on since at least Friday (20-March 2026) increased in activity. Largest earthquake at the writing of this article had a magnitude of Mw4,4 and was felt in Reykjavík and other populated areas on Reykjanes peninsula.

Green stars and a lot of red dots where the main earthquake activity is on the Reykjanes ridge.
The earthquake swarm at Geirfugladrangur island. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake activity happens in waves. That means a lot of activity for up to four hours at the time or longer, with low activity for one to three hours at the time. This changes every few hours. I am reading this as there is magma that is causing this earthquake activity. It might not result in a eruption at the moment. If there is a very sharp increase in earthquake activity, that might be a sign that magma is breaking a path to the surface. What is happening now, is at possible dyke intrusion into the crust at Geirfugladrangur island. However, distance from land, this being under the ocean makes it real difficult to monitoring what is going on and to be sure what is going on.

If anything more happens. I’ll update with a new article soon as possible.

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Earthquake swarm in Torfajökull volcano

This morning (12-March 2026) at 11:47 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,7 took place in Torfajökull volcano.

Green star north of Mýrdalsjökull glacier in Torfajökull volcano. Along with few dots showing smaller earthquakes.
Earthquake activity in Torfajökull volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

A small earthquake swarm followed the main earthquake. There are no signs of magma movement in the area. But this area doesn’t erupt basalt lava, so it might be difficult to tell or know if there is lava on the move. Magma erupted in this area most of the time is Rhyolite. Just detecting this type of magma movement might be difficult. There has been some minor inflation in Torfajökull volcano, but it might have stopped few years ago.

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The earthquake swarm in Reykjanes volcano

I am sorry about being late with this. I got a cold again with its usual problems.

On Sunday 8th February 2026 an earthquake started in Reykjanes volcano, in the area of Eldey island. Around 1000 earthquakes where recorded. Largest earthquakes had a magnitude around Mw3,4. Other earthquakes where smaller in magnitude.

Earthquake activity on Reykjanes ridge on 9th February 2026. Three green stars show the largest earthquakes. The earthquakes are spread on the map, because how the software Icelandic Met Office uses locates the earthquakes.
The earthquake activity on Reykjanes ridge, close to Eldey island. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake swarm is possibly connected to the inflation that is happening in Svartsengi volcano, as that inflation changes stress in faults along the Reykjanes peninsula and Reykjanes ridge. How well that stress results in earthquakes in unknown. It is unclear if magma was also active in this earthquake swarm. It should not be ruled out. No eruption did happen in this earthquake swarm. More earthquake swarms in this area of Reykjanes ridge and Reykjanes peninsula should not be ruled out.

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A magnitude Mw5,3 earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano

Today (31-January 2026) at 11:54 UTC an earthquake with the magnitude of Mw5,3 took place in Bárðarbunga volcano. This earthquake was not felt in populated areas. This earthquake is part of the inflation process in Bárðarbunga volcano. This process has been going on since the eruption in Bárðarbunga volcano ended on 28-February 2015.

Green star and red and orange dots showing smaller earthquake in left side of this image in Bárðarbunga volcano. That is north side of Vatnajökull glacier.
Earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This strong earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano is going to continue until maximum inflation is reached or until next eruption start. Whatever comes first. Then this cycle is going to restart in some form once a eruption has happened. If maximum inflation is reached, then this type of earthquake activity is going to stop. Based on current data, it is going to take several decades until that happens.

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Dyke intrusion in Þórðarhyrna volcano

Yesterday (24-January 2026) from 10:27 UTC and until 12:02 UTC an earthquake swarm took place in Þórðarhyrna volcano. This earthquake swarm looks like a dyke intrusion in that volcano. Largest earthquake had a magnitude of Mw2,8 and other earthquakes where smaller in magnitude.

Just south-west of Grímsfjall volcano, in the white snow on the map of Vatnajökull glacier a cluster of earthquake is located in Þórðarhyrna volcano.
Earthquake activity in Þórðarhyrna volcano. Just south-west of Grímsfjall volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake activity is showing a increase in activity in this volcano over the recent years. There has not been a eruption in Þórðarhyrna volcano since 1830 to 1903 (year is uncertain). This volcano is inside Grímsfjall volcano fissure swarm. There are no clear signs that eruption is going to happen any time soon. This increase in earthquake activity might continue for next 10 to 20 years before an eruption happens in Þórðarhyrna volcano. There are more information about Þórðarhyrna volcano on Icelandic Volcanoes website.

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Earthquake in Torfajökull volcano

A earthquake with the magnitude of Mw3,3 took place in Torfajökull voclano at 02:42 UTC on 20-December 2025. A second earthquake with magnitude of Mw2,5 took place at 03:12 UTC. After this, there has not been any more earthquake activity in Torfajökull volcano.

Green star in Torfajökull volcano. That is located north of Mýrdalsjökull glacier.
Green star in Torfajökull voclano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

More earthquake activity in this location or nearby location can’t be ruled out. Bad weather might block recording of those earthquakes, since the weather forecast for next few days is not good.

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Earthquake activity in Hamarinn volcano

Today (06-December 2025) at 10:10 and 10:13 UTC two earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,1 and Mw4,0 took place in Hamarinn volcano. This was followed by few smaller earthquakes in the same area.

Two green stars on top of each other in western Vatnajökull glacier. This is in Hamarinn volcano.
Two green stars in Hamarinn volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

No other activity has happened following this earthquake activity. There has not been any change in harmonic tremor levels. I am not expecting more activity at the writing of this article.

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Earthquake in Askja volcano

A magnitude Mw3,5 earthquake took place in Askja volcano today (9-November 2025) at 09:39 UTC. This was a single earthquake with no aftershocks. It is unlikley that more earthquakes are going to happen following this earthquake.

Green star at the bottom of the image in Askja volcano. The green star is in the northern part of the caldera in Askja volcano.
Earthquake activity in Askja volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

There has been some inflation in Askja volcano in recent years. It is my view that that inflation is not going to result in a eruption for the next few decades. That might change if the situation changes in Askja volcano. At the current time, that seems unlikely to happen.

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Magnitude Mw5,4 earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano

Today (29-October 2025) at 16:46 UTC an strong earthquake took place in Bárðarbunga volcano. This earthquake had a magnitude of Mw5,4. It was not felt according to news. This earthquake is the result of inflation that is happening in Bárðarbunga volcano and has been since its eruption ended in the year 2015.

Green star in Bárðarbunga volcano, located in northern part of Vatnajökull glacier. A lot of red dots showing smaller earthquake activity.
Green star showing the earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

There was some aftershock activity, but it has been minimal. Currently there are no signs of an eruption is about to start in Bárðarbunga volcano.

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Strong earthquake swarm in Katla volcano

This morning on 20-October 2025 an strong earthquake swarm started in Katla volcano. Strongest earthquake so far had a magnitude of Mw4,5. It was most likely felt in nearby populated areas. Several earthquakes with magnitude above Mw3,0 also took place. This earthquake swarm is ongoing, but it happens in waves and at the writing of this article there is a quiet period happening.

Red dots showing smaller earthquakes in Katla volcano. Green stars showing stronger activity in Katla volcano caldera.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

At the moment there has not been any signs of magma movement. That might change without warning. There also not been any change in glacier water from Mýrdalsjökull glacier. That only show up after 4 to 8 hours, since it takes time for the glacier water to travel to the glacier rivers from Mýrdalsjökull glacier. If anything more important happens. I’ll post a new update on what is going on.