Category: Reykjanes

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Earthquake swarm on Reykjanes peninsula (close to Hengill volcano)

Today (11-August-2018) there has been a earthquake swarm on the Reykjanes Peninsula close to Hengill volcano (but not in that volcano system). This earthquake swarm is currently ongoing and largest earthquake so far has had a magnitude of 2,6.


The earthquake swarm (red dots) on Reykjanes peninsula. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

It is impossible to know how this is going to develop in this earthquake swarm. Stronger earthquakes might happen but it is impossible to know if they are going to happen.

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Earthquake swarm in Krýsuvík on Reykjanes peninsula

Today (31-July-2018) an earthquake swarm started in Krýsuvík volcano. Currently this earthquake swarm is ongoing. Largest earthquake so far has the magnitude of 3,1. Other earthquakes are smaller in magnitude.


Earthquake swarm in Krýsuvík volcano (green star). Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake swarm looks tectonic in nature and nothing suggests that magma has anything to do with it. It is impossible to know how this earthquake swarm develops as the time passes.

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Felt earthquake north of Grindavík today (18-June-2018)

A magnitude 3,0 earthquake was felt in the village of Grindavík today (18-June-2018) at 10:24 UTC. This earthquake happened 4,3 km north of the village. There were few minor earthquakes that followed the main earthquake.


The earthquake north of Grindavík village. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Earthquake activity is common in this area and nothing special about this earthquake activity.

Moving back to Denmark

I am moving back to Denmark because I can’t get a apartment in Iceland. This attempt in moving to back to Iceland was a massive mistake on my part and I only blame my self for it. I should be back in Denmark in about 9 to 10 months if everything goes according to plan (and I’ll make sure that it does so). That means from mid-January-2019 to mid-February-2019. Until then I’ll be running at limited capability in writing on this website. This is at least until November when I stop working (because there won’t be any more work to have). If anyone wants to help in moving back to Denmark, donations are welcomed. Thanks for the support. 🙂

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Magnitude 3,4 earthquake on Reykjanes peninsula

Today (12-February-2018) at 01:14 UTC a magnitude 3,4 earthquake took place on Reykjanes peninsula. I am not sure if this earthquake was felt by any people in nearby villages and towns.


The earthquake at Reykjanes peninsula. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake was followed by several smaller earthquakes and largest aftershock had a magnitude of 1,6. More earthquake activity in this area is always a possibility.

Donations

Please remember to support my work with donations. Thanks for the support. 🙂

I got a small loan from a family member to help me to pay the electric bill since I did not get donations in time in order to pay it. I did get one large donation and I am thankful for it since it helps me to buy food for a large portion of what remains of February.

Please note that from June-2018 all donations have be moved to my Icelandic bank account and my Icelandic Paypal account. Since I will be moving back to Iceland in June-2018 and I don’t have any plan on move away from Iceland after that (I’ll just tourist abroad more for a longer period of time instead).

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Magnitude 3,5 earthquake 2,6 km from Grindavík village

Yesterday (21-January-2018) at 21:15 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of 3,5 took place 2,5 km from Grindavík village. This earthquake was clearly felt in Grindavík village. This earthquake was at depth of 5,0 km.


The magnitude 3,5 earthquake (green star) on the Reykjanes peninsula. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Largest aftershock had the magnitude of 2,8 and all other earthquakes where smaller in magnitude. This earthquake swarm does seems to be over for now. There is always a risk of more earthquakes on the Reykjanes peninsula due to tectonic forces at work in this area.

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Earthquake activity in Breinnisteinsfjöll volcano

Since the weekend there has been a earthquake swarm ongoing in Breinnisteinsfjöll volcano (Wikipedia link). This earthquake swarm has not been strong in magnitude of the earthquakes happening, with largest magnitude just at 2,8 and all other earthquakes being smaller in magnitude. Close to 130 earthquakes have happened so far.


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

The signal from this earthquake swarm shows that some of the earthquakes happening are hybrid earthquakes. That means magma is creating some of them. While tectonic process is creating others. Last eruption in this volcano was in the year 1341 and I don’t have a lot of information about it. I don’t know if this is only magma that erupts or a mix eruption (magma and ash cloud). The earthquake swam is highly localized but has moved slightly to the south from the area where it started during the weekend. The earthquake swarm appears to be ongoing as is, there are however quiet period in it and currently that is what is happening.

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Update on Reykjanes peninsula earthquake swarm (Fagradalsfjall mountain)

Since 26-July-2017 there has been a earthquake swarm on Reykjanes peninsula close to a mountain called Fagradalsfjall. This earthquake swarm has been one of the larger ones in the area in recent years. Total number of earthquakes that have been detected so far is well over 600 at the writing of this article. There is some magma involved in this earthquake swarm, it has stayed deep in the crust and there are currently no signs of it moving upwards more then it already has at this point. This makes an eruption extremely unlikely, unlike what some news reports about this earthquake swarm might suggest an eruption is not imminent in this area of Iceland.


Earthquake activity close to Fagradalsfjall mountain for the last 48 hours. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Largest earthquake during the last 24 hours is a magnitude 3,2 earthquake that took place at 05:56 UTC. In 1968 a magnitude 6,0 earthquake took place in this same area. I don’t know if that is going to happen now, what is a risk is this earthquake swarm increasing again from current drop in activity. This area is in part a rift valley and plate interaction can get complicated and last for a long time. With quiet period between high periods of activity. At this moment the earthquake activity in this area is decreasing, that does not mean it is over yet, just that a decreasing in activity is currently happening.

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Strong earthquake swarm on Reykjanes peninsula

Currently there is a strong earthquake swarm on the Reykjanes peninsula. Largest earthquake so far was a magnitude 4,0 with second largest earthquake having magnitude of 3,8. This earthquake swarm is currently ongoing. Over 150 earthquakes have been detected so far (this number is going to get obsolete soon).


The earthquake swarm on Reykjanes peninsula at 15:10 UTC. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.


The earthquake swarm is highly active at the moment. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

According to the Icelandic Met Office (news at 12:20, Rúv) this earthquake swarm is a mixture of tectonic forces and magnetic (magma) forces in the ground. It is currently too early to know if this is going to result in a eruption.

Update 1 at 00:04 – 27-July-2017

Over 300 earthquakes have happened so far on the Reykjanes peninsula. Largest earthquake so far had the magnitude of 3,8 and second largest had the magnitude of 3,3.


Earthquake activity remains heavy on Reykjanes peninsula. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.


Earthquake activity is heavy as is shown here. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Earthquake activity is ongoing and strong when this is written.

This article is going to be updated as needed.

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Article updated at 00:04 UTC on 27-July-2017.

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Magnitude 3,1 earthquake in Krýsuvík volcano

During the night of 15-July-2017 a magnitude 3,1 earthquake took place in Krýsuvík volcano. This earthquake does not seems to be connected to the volcano it self, rather the tectonic forces that are common in the Reykjanes rift zone that runs in this area with many fault lines.


Activity in Krýsuvík volcano for the last 48 hours. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Other earthquakes that happened in this swarm had smaller magnitude. It also appears that this earthquake swarm is over. Earthquake swarm like this one are common in this area, it has been quiet for past few months and that is perfectly normal too, since last major earthquake activity happened in Krýsuvík in the year 2000 (several magnitude 5,0 earthquakes) and several magnitude 4,0 earthquakes in the year 2008 following major earthquake activity in SISZ.

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Earthquake swarm in Krýsuvík volcano

Yesterday (08-June-2017) and today (09-June-2017) there has been a earthquake activity in Krýsuvík volcano. This earthquake activity doesn’t appear to be connected to the volcano, rather this is a normal rifting valley earthquake activity taking place.


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

Largest earthquake in this swarm so far had the magnitude of 2,6 and the second largest earthquake had the magnitude of 2,0. All other earthquakes where smaller in magnitude. The earthquake activity continues but has slowed down considerably from yesterday.

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