Kverkfjöll – Iceland geology

September 23, 2017September 23, 2017

Earthquake activity in Öræfajökull and Kverkfjöll volcano

Since this volcanoes are in the same part of Iceland I am going to write about them in the same article.

Öræfajökull volcano

I don’t think this was a glacier earthquake activity happening in Öræfajökull volcano. I don’t know how many earthquakes took place this time around. Largest earthquakes had magnitude of 2,0 and 1,8 all other earthquakes where smaller in magnitude. Currently there is no GPS monitoring for Öræfajökull volcano that I know of.

The earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano and Kverlfjöll volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

It is noticing how this time the earthquake swarm is all on the east side of the volcano. This earthquake activity is interesting and this also seems to signal an increase in earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano at least for the time being. It remains a question if this activity slows down again. Earthquake activity in this part of Iceland only happens due stress changes in Öræfajökull volcano. This is most likely influx of magma into Öræfajökull volcano but it might not erupt right away or at all (at least for a long time).

Kverkfjöll volcano

A minor earthquake swarm took place in Kverkfjöll volcano today (23-September-2017). Largest earthquake in this swarm had the magnitude of 2,1 and the second strongest earthquake had a magnitude of 1,4. The earthquake swarm was in the central part of the volcano. This is the first earthquake swarm since 2015 in Kverkfjöll volcano and the activity that year was mostly due the activity happening in Bárðarbunga volcano next to it (the dike from Bárðarbunga volcano did disturb Kverkfjöll volcano). Since this earthquake activity took place everything has been quiet in Kverkfjöll volcano.

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August 18, 2014August 18, 2014

Magnitude 3,3 earthquake in Kverkfjöll volcano

A minor earthquake swarm took place in Kverkfjöll volcano today (17-August-2014). This earthquake swarm might have been triggered by the earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano that is next to it, that is however not confirmed and can be considered a speculation. Since connections between volcanoes is difficult to prove. The earthquake had the magnitude of 3,3 and depth of 9,5 km. This earthquake was felt by summer tourists in the area of Kverkfjöll volcano.

The green star in the Kverkfjöll volcano system shows the location of the earthquake. Kverkfjöll volcano are located were the “W” shape of the Vatnajökull glacier appears. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

No other activity has been detected from Kverkfjöll volcano today and that volcano appears to be quiet, even if it has a noise neighbour at the moment. I am not expecting more activity in Kverkfjöll volcano, but it cannot be ruled out at this moment.

Update at 23:27 UTC.

August 17, 2014

Update on activity in Bárðarbunga at 18:13 UTC

This is a update on the activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. This information might get outdated quickly as things change.

Earthquake activity continues in Bárðarbunga volcano with no signs of stopping. Since midnight the total earthquake count for Iceland has now reached 578 (at 18:14 UTC) this number gets outdated quickly due the continuous earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. The total amount of earthquakes recorded yesterday was around 480 for the whole day, so it seems that earthquake activity has increased today from what it was yesterday. It is possible to see the largest earthquakes on my geophone website here. I want to note that my geophones are both more then 100 km away from Bárðarbunga volcano, so only the largest earthquakes appear on my geophones.

The earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. It has now moved into two groups of activity. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

The earthquakes are forming an line south-south-east in Bárðarbungu volcano. I don’t know why that is, but this might be a feature of the SIL network, rather then actual alignment of the earthquakes. There also chance that the earthquakes really are aligning them self into a line like this.

Earthquake activity continues to be dense. A minor drop in activity was seen around 12:00 UTC, but it increased again around 13:00 UTC. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

There has been little drop in activity, besides the drop in activity seen around 12:00 UTC, that drop in activity however only lasted for about one hour, maybe less. There has overall not been much change in activity during the past 24 hours. I don’t know if that is going to change, but for the moment there are no signs of the activity slowing down.

Harmonic tremor at Dyngjuhálsi SIL station. It moves up and down with the earthquake activity. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Harmonic tremor at Vonaskarð SIL station. It shows the changes in activity as other SIL stations around Bárðarbunga volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

There are interesting theories on why the harmonic tremor is as it is. Currently there is nothing to suggest that an large eruption has taken place, there is a chance that a small eruption started all this, but I expect by now that it is over if it took place. It has not been confirmed. There is also a chance that earthquake activity is so high in Bárðarbunga volcano that it is registering as continuous harmonic tremor. It does not happen often, but it can happen. There is also chance that the harmonic tremor is due to boiling of hydrothermal systems in Bárðarbunga volcano, or something other related to magma under heavy pressure. Whatever the reason for this tremor, it’s there and an eruption does not seems to be the reason behind it.

Visual observations have now been made of Bárðarbunga volcano and nothing has been seen on the surface of the glacier. Scientists are also installing new monitoring hardware and a web-camera on Bárðarbunga volcano in order to get proper visual observations of the volcano when something happens. I don’t expect the web-camera to be a public at the moment.

June 3, 2014

Earthquake activity in Þórðarhyrna, Bárðarbunga and Kverkfjöll volcanoes

Today (03-June-2014) there was a lot of minor earthquake activity in several volcanoes in Vatnajökull glacier. This is normal earthquake activity and so far nothing to worry about. This appears to be normal micro-earthquake activity in this volcanoes and I don’t see anything suggesting that volcano eruption is going to happen soon.

Earthquake activity today in volcanoes in Vatnajökull glacier. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

Þórðarhyrna volcano

Þórðarhyrna volcano (No GVP link. It is under Grímsfjall volcano GVP information) has been having interesting activity for the past few days. It might have been ongoing longer without being noticed until now. This earthquake activity is interesting since there is normally no earthquake activity in this volcano. Last eruption in Þórðarhyrna volcano took place in the year 1902. Activity in Þórðarhyrna volcano is often connected to eruptions in Grímsfjall volcano.

Bárðarbunga volcano

Some minor earthquake activity has been taking place in the area around dike intrusion location in Bárðarbunga volcano. This is just a minor activity and nothing to worry about.

Kverkfjöll volcano

Some minor earthquake activity is taking place in Kverkfjöll volcano. This earthquake activity is just minor. It is unusual to have earthquake activity in Kverkfjöll volcano. This earthquake activity is clearly a signal of increase of activity in Kverkfjöll volcano, it however does not signal that an eruption is imminent in Kverkfjöll volcano. So far everything remains quiet and might be so for a good while longer. Last eruption in Kverkfjöll volcano was in the year 1968.

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May 15, 2014May 15, 2014

Minor earthquake swarm in Kverkfjöll volcano

Today (14-May-2014) a minor earthquake swarm took place in Kverkfjöll volcano. Earthquake activity is not common in Kverkfjöll volcano, but it does happen once in a while. This does not mean the volcano is about to erupt, this was just an earthquake swarm taking place. No earthquake reached the magnitude 2,0 in this earthquake swarm.

The earthquake swarm in Kverkfjöll volcano (red dots at north-east part of Vatnajökull glacier). Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

There are no clues to why this earthquake swarm took place. This might have been a magma injection in the volcano, or this might just have been a change in the highly active hydrothermal areas in the volcano. There was no change at all in harmonic tremors in the volcano during this earthquake swarm. Kverkfjöll web-camera can be found here, it has however not updated since 1-May-2014. I am not sure if this means anything for Kverkfjöll volcano, as such I am just waiting too see what happens next in Kverkfjöll volcano.

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May 14, 2014

New earthquake swarm in Herðubreið

Yesterday (14-May-2014) an earthquake swarm started in Herðubreið, after an earthquake swarm in Heruðbreiðartögl dropped in activity. Both earthquake swarms are currently active. The earthquake activity however drops between as the swarm activity picks up.

The earthquake swarm in Herðubreið and Herðubreiðartögl. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

Most of this earthquakes had the magnitude smaller then magnitude 2,0. There was one magnitude 2,4 earthquake in this swarm. Over 100 earthquakes where recorded during this swarm. It remains unclear what is creating this earthquake swarm. It might just be tectonic stresses in Herðubreið and nearby area, or this might be magma injection. So far there is nothing suggesting that an eruption is going to take place at this location.

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May 9, 2014May 9, 2014

Update on earthquake swarm in Herðubreiðartögl on 9-May-2014

This is a short update for the earthquake swarm in Herðubreiðartögl on the 9-May-2014.

For the past 24 hours there has been drop in activity and no earthquake has been over magnitude 2,0. Activity continues but a lot lower levels then before. It does not look like it is over at this point, but the end of this soon to be seven day earthquake swarm in this area.

The earthquake swarm in Herðubreiðartögl as it was today. It can be seen that earthquake activity was at lot lower levels today then yesterday (08-May-2014) or the days before that. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

This can also be seen in the tracer on Icelandic Meteorological Office website. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

This drop in activity can also be seen in drop in the harmonic tremor plots in Askja. Fewer earthquakes means less earthquake related noise on the harmonic tremor plot (2-4Hz blue line). Not all of the activity that appears here is from Herðubreiðartögl, some of it is from SISZ and Reykjanes ridge activity. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

The drumplot from Icelandic Meteorological Office also show this drop in activity. Some of the activity that appears is from Reykjanes Ridge. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

None of this earthquake activity is strong enough to appear on my geophones. Since earthquakes at Herðubreiðartögl need to be at least magnitude 3,0 or larger to appear clearly on my geophones. My webicorders website can be found here, it shows all earthquakes that are taking place in Iceland and are large enough to appear on it. Its mostly earthquakes larger then magnitude 3,0 that are currently taking place (when this written).

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Updated at 20:11 UTC.

May 4, 2014May 4, 2014

Update on ongoing earthquake swarm in Herðubreiðartögl

The earthquake swarm that started yesterday (03-May-2014) in Herðubreiðartöl continues. Information about this earthquake swarm changes quickly so this article about it is going to get obsoleted quickly. The largest earthquake in past 24 hours had the magnitude 3,9. Since around midnight over 370 earthquakes have been recorded. This means the earthquake swarm is more powerful in terms of earthquakes today than it was at the same time yesterday.

The earthquake swarm in Herðubreiðdartögl today. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

The evolution of the earthquake swarm in Herðubreiðartögl today. As be seen here this earthquake swarm is heavy in number of earthquakes being detected. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

The earthquake swarm in Herðubreiðartöl at Askja SIL station. As can be seen here this earthquake swarm is close to continuous. There is some minor drop in activity few hours ago before the earthquake activity picks up again. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

The earthquake swarm seen on the SIL station at Mókollar. It is close to what is seen on Askja SIL stations and other SIL stations around this area. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

My earthquake counter today showing all the activity. This gives me good comparison to how many earthquakes where recorded yesterday. This image is released under Creative Commons Licence. See CC Licence page for more details.

I am expecting more earthquake activity in Herðubreiðartögl next hours and even days. Since currently there are no signs of this earthquake swarm slowing down. The largest earthquakes (above magnitude 3,0) appear clearly on my geophone network website.

May 3, 2014May 3, 2014

Ongoing earthquake swarm north of Herðubreiðartögl

Today (03-May-2014) around midnight (00:02 UTC) a earthquake swarm started north of Herðubreiðartöglum (Global Volcanism Program link on Askja volcano can be found here), this area is an small mountain ridge that has built up with regular eruptions over some period of time. The largest earthquake in this swarm took place this morning at 05:49 UTC and had the magnitude of 3,5 with the depth of 7,6 km. After this earthquake took place the swarm increased with many minor earthquakes. So far over 265 earthquakes have been recorded today, this number gets obsoleted quickly since new earthquakes happens ever 1 to 3 minute when I am writing this text.

Tremor plot on nearby SIL stations show that a lot more earthquake activity is taking place than appears on IMO earthquake website. Reason for this is simple, the earthquakes cannot be located since they are only detected at one or two SIL stations, a minimal of three or four SIL station are required for location of each earthquake. The tremor plot in the area also show that no magma is erupting, but that does exclude the possibly that magma injection is responsible for this earthquake swarm. It has not reached the surface and currently there is no eruption taking place at this location. If an eruption takes place in this location, it is going to be Hawaiian eruption with large lava flows.

The earthquake swarm north of Herðubreiðartögl as they appear on Icelandic Meteorological Office maps. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

The earthquake rate during this earthquake swarm. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

The SIL station in Askja volcano. As can be seen the earthquake swarm is dense and highly active. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

The SIL station south of Herðubreiðartögl, this SIL station is called Mókollar and the earthquake swarm appears clearly on it. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

Earthquake swarms are common in this area and have been for a long time. Most of that earthquake activity has been contributed to normal tectonic activity in this region (plate tectonic movements). This area also has erupted in the past (last 12,000 years). I don’t think there have been any eruptions in this area in the past 1000 years, at least there are no such signs on the surface (crates, lavas). It is difficult to know what happens in this area for the next few hours to days, all that can be done is to continue monitor the activity that is now taking place. The largest earthquakes appears clearly on my Böðvarshólar geophone (link here), even if the distance is up to 200 km.

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December 20, 2013

Earthquake activity in Esjufjöll and Kverkfjöll volcanoes

Earthquake activity started again in Esjufjöll volcano today (20-Desember-2013). The largest earthquake had the magnitude of 2,9 and had the depth of 5,0 km. So far only two earthquakes have been recorded, but it is not uncommon that earthquake activity in Esjufjöll volcano starts slow before it picks up. Earthquake activity remains low in Esjufjöll volcano, but there is now more earthquake activity in Esjufjöll volcano for the past few years then in past several decades (perhaps, recording is missing in the past)

Kverkfjöll volcano

Earthquake activity continued in Kverkfjöll volcano today. None of the earthquake did reach the magnitude of 3,0. The largest earthquake had the magnitude of 2,0 and the depth of 5,3 km.

Earthquake activity in Esjufjöll volcano and Kverkfjöll volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

I am expecting more earthquake activity in Kverkfjöll volcano. But I expect it to remain small as it currently is at least I do not expect any earthquake above the magnitude of 3,0 to take place as is.

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