Category: Katla / Mýrdalsjökull

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Renewed earthquake activity in Katla volcano

Today (26. June 2023) the earthquake activity in Katla volcano increased again for few hours. Largest earthquake this time had a magnitude of Mw2,5. This earthquake activity has slowed down again. This earthquake activity is ongoing, even if there is no activity at the writing of this article.

A lot of orange dots and blue dots showing earthquake activity in Katla volcano caldera. Time on image is 26. June. 23, 19:55 Icelandic time.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Its is still unclear what is going on in Katla volcano. There was no change in harmonic tremor following this earthquake activity. Showing that magma did not move in any obvious way when this earthquake activity took place.

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Earthquake swarm in Katla volcano

Today (24. June 2023) an earthquake swarm started in Katla volcano. Largest earthquakes had magnitude of Mw3,8 and Mw3,3. Other earthquakes have been smaller. This earthquake swarm is ongoing but has slowed down since this morning.

Two green stars in Katla volcano caldera along with blue and red dots that show this earthquake activity. It is spread over some area in the caldera. Time on image is 24. june 23, 13:45.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

At the writing of this article there is no clear sign that an eruption is about to happen. That might change without a warning. This earthquake activity might stop and nothing more is going to happen until next time. That is what has been going on for the last few months and years.

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Strong earthquake swarm in Katla volcano

This morning there was a strong earthquake swarm in Katla volcano. At the writing of this article the largest earthquake had a magnitude of Mw4,8 and the second largest earthquake had a magnitude of Mw4,7, the third largest earthquake had a magnitude of Mw4,5. This earthquakes where felt in nearby farms and towns close to Katla volcano. Currently, a lot of smaller earthquakes have happened in Katla volcano.

Red dots and green stars in Katla volcano caldera showing the main earthquake activity.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

There are no changes in harmonic tremor levels at the writing of this article. That makes an eruption unlikely to happen now. That might change later without warning. The air aviation code has been moved to yellow and can be viewed here.

I’ll write a new article if something more happens.

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Dangerous levels of Hydrogen sulfide nearby Múlakvísl glacier river (Mýrdalsjökull glacier / Katla volcano)

It has just been reported that (today 14. April 2023) that there is now a high levels of Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) close to Múlakvísl glacier river that comes from Mýrdalsjökull glacier, that is on top of Katla volcano. Tourists have been asked to be careful in the area. Currently the conductivity in Múlakvísl is not high, but according to Icelandic Met Office that is expected to change in next few hours.

Earthquake activity in Katla volcano at the moment is at normal background levels, that might change without warning if there is anything more happening with this sudden increase in gas levels. The gas levels changed early morning on 13. April 2023 according to Icelandic Met Office website.

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Earthquake activity in western part of Katla volcano

This morning (11. March 2023) at 07:02 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,1 took place in western part of Katla volcano. This earthquake happened in Katla volcano caldera rim. The depth was 1,1 km. This was a single earthquake, at the writing of this article.

Green star in the western part of Katla volcano caldera. This is just a one star and one orange dot showing smaller earthquake slightly north of this earthquake.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Since this earthquake there has not been any new earthquake activity in Katla volcano. I am not sure why that is, but it there’s a chance this earthquake activity might just be over. There has been a lot of frost quakes in last few hours, because of a cold weather happening in Iceland. With freezing going down to -20C in some areas.

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Earthquake swarm in Katla volcano

Today (9. March 2023) an earthquake swarm started in Katla volcano. This earthquake swarm is ongoing and information in this article can go outdated quickly. Largest earthquakes at the writing of this article have a magnitude of Mw3,3 and Mw3,4. A swarm of smaller earthquakes is ongoing.

Two green stars in Katla volcano askja in Mýrdalsjökull glacier. Along with many red dots that show smaller earthquakes in Katla volcano.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

It is difficult to know for sure what is going on in Katla volcano. But this activity reminds me of what happened few years ago before an small eruption took place in Katla volcano. If that is going to happen now I don’t know. I’ll post information when I know more and if anything more happens in Katla volcano.

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Earthquake activity in Katla volcano

Yesterday (26. February 2023) and today (27. February 2023) there was an earthquake activity in Katla volcano. This is mostly normal activity in Katla volcano and no signs of an eruption or that an eruption is about to start. Largest earthquake in this swarm had a magnitude of Mw3,2. I don’t know if it was felt in nearby area.

Yellow dots and green star in Katla volcano caldera that is under Mýrdalsjökull glacier that is shown in white on this image, along with other nearby volcanoes. The askja of Katla volcano is shown as elongated circle.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

There is no change in harmonic tremors or other activity in Katla volcano. That means this is just an earthquake activity and there is no sign that an eruption is about to happen.

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Increase in larger earthquakes in Katla volcano (there’s no risk of eruption)

This might not be anything at the writing of this article. Since there’s little earthquake activity in Katla volcano at the moment, its well below background noise. Over the last several months I’ve noticed an slight increase in larger earthquakes in Katla volcano, this might not mean anything, but I do not remember having seen this type of pattern in earthquake activity in Katla volcano before. Currently the earthquake activity is almost none and that means that for now there’s no risk of an eruption.

Mýrdalsjökull glacier and the caldera shown as a elongated circle inside the glacier on the map from Icelandic Met Office. In the central caldera, there's a red dot showing the newest and largest earthquake of today.
Minimal earthquake activity in Katla volcano today (3. February 2023). Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Largest earthquake today (3. February 2023) had a magnitude of Mw2,7. This is what has been happening in recent months. This one or two earthquakes that are slightly larger than what I consider normal. There’s a chance this might be normal and nothing more is going to happen, but for now, it is impossible to know for sure what is happening.

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Earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,8 in Katla volcano

Today (18. December 2022) at 11:08 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,8 took place in Katla volcano. This earthquake was felt, I don’t know if it was felt in Vík í Mýrdal. This is the largest earthquake in Katla volcano in a while.

Two green stars in Katla volcano caldera. The south star is from the Mw3,1 earthquake on 16th December and the north star is from the earthquake of 18th of December.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

There has been some earthquake activity with minor earthquakes following this strong earthquake. But it has been minimal at the writing of this article.

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Magnitude Mw3,1 earthquake in Katla volcano

Today (16. December 2022) at 21:44 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,1 took place in Katla volcano. This seems to be a single earthquake at the writing of this article.

Green star in Katla volcano caldera along with two yellow and two blue dots showing smaller earthquakes.
Earthquake activity in Katla volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake activity seems to be normal and there is nothing to suggests that more is going to happen in Katla volcano at this time.