This is a short article that because the situation can change without warning and article is written on 19-March-2021 at 21:07 UTC. There have been updates to names used and now Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja name is used by Global Volcanism Program and Icelandic Met Office. Suggesting that the magma that is about to erupt has its origin in Krýsuvík volcano system eat of current centre of activity. This sometimes happens in Iceland when magma travels long distances deep underground.
Earthquake activity in Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcano system. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
Today at 15:01 an earthquake took place with magnitude of Mw3,1. This earthquake has in my view clear signs of magma movement close to the surface as the depth of this earthquake was just 0,1 km (100 meter).
A magnitude Mw3,1 earthquake that took place today at 15:01 UTC.
This earthquake strongly suggests that magma created it at shallow depth. It has not yet resulted in an eruption but it is a question if this the final sign before an eruption happens. The current quiet time might last up to 2 months but it is impossible to know for sure.
At 04:30 this morning (19-March-2021) an earthquake swarm started just off the coast of Reykjanestá. This activity looks tectonic in nature for now but it is highly focused in one location. This earthquake activity did start on 24-February-2021 when the Mw5,7 earthquake happened. This activity was only going on for short period of time on 24-February-2021 before it stopped until now.
Earthquake activity in Reykjanes volcano off the coast of Reykjanestá in the far left corner of this image. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
Largest earthquakes in this swarm had a magnitude of Mw3,7 but in total of 10 earthquakes with magnitude above 3 took place in this earthquake swarm. Around 100 earthquakes where recorded at the writing of this article but after 06:00 this earthquake swarm slowed down from its peak activity around 05:50. This earthquake swarm might increase again without warning.
This is a short article written on 17-March-2021 at 17:49 UTC. The situation can change without warning.
It has been less activity in in Fagradalsfjall volcano (Krýsuvík volcano). Current day to day change is not a lot at the writing of this article but it is also possible that bad weather that is now passing over Iceland is masking some of the smaller earthquakes in the dyke between Keilir mountain and Fagradalsfjall mountain. Inflation continues at what seems to be about the same rate as yesterday (16-March-2021).
Earthquake activity in Fagradalsfjall volcano located between Keilir mountain and Fagradalsfjall mountain. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
Number of strong earthquakes has dropped after the strong earthquake activity during last weekend (12 to 14 March). What also changed is that the dyke can’t move more south then it already has. It seems that it hit a impasse in the crust that it was unable to break or go around (harder crust is the most common why this happens). The current status is a waiting for the eruption to start and when that happens is impossible to know.
Since there is not a lot of change going on at the writing of this article I am going to slow down the number of updates I am posting. Next update is going to be when something happens or at the latest Monday 22-March 2021.
This is a short article because the situation is always changing. This article is written on 15-March-2021 at 21:23 UTC. This article is about Fagradalsfjall volcano but Icelandic Met Office updates go to Krýsuvík volcano so I link to that volcano also.
Between Friday and Monday the activity in Fagradalsfjall volcano was really strong. Several earthquakes with magnitude above Mw4,0 took place and the second largest earthquake took place on Sunday 14-March at 14:15 UTC with the magnitude of Mw5,4. Earlier that day at 12:34 UTC an magnitude Mw5,2 earthquake had taken place. According to the news (Icelandic) over 50.000 earthquakes have taken place since 24-February-2021 when this earthquake activity started (20 days ago). Of those six have been larger than magnitude 5, earthquakes with magnitude between 4 to 5 have been 53 and total of 524 earthquakes with magnitude between 3 to 4. Inflation is now reported to be 20 cm or 10 cm on both sides of the dyke. Eruption is expected to happen close to or in Nátthagi valley soon. When that happens is impossible to know but the magma inflow into the dyke doesn’t show any signs of slowing down or stopping.
Earthquake activity in Fagradalsfjall mountain and nearby area. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
It has also been reported that the magma dyke managed to push it self a little more south in the line it had been then compared to Friday according to newest data that scientists have access to. Today (15-March-2021) earthquake activity has been small and slow but after 16:30 UTC it started to increase again but at the writing of this article no major earthquake has happened. It has mostly been small earthquakes taking place.
If anything major happens I’ll post update soon as possible.
Please remember to support my work with donations. Everything continues to be locked down with Google Adsense and I don’t know when that is resolved or if that gets resolved at all. Thanks to everyone that has supported me already. Thanks for the support. 🙂
This article is short because the situation is always changing. This is about the volcano Fagradalsfjall but I have also added Krýsuvík because that volcano is being updated at Global Volcanism Program website. I am not sure currently what volcano is considered active in this make injection. This article is written at 20:39 UTC.
Today (12-March-2021) at 07:43 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw5,0 at 3,7 km depth took place close to Nátthagi valley just south of Fagradalsfjall mountain. Over the last 48 hours 72 earthquakes with magnitude above Mw3,0 have taken place. This earthquake activity is happening at the south end of the magma dyke that has now stopped moving south but continues to expand based on the earthquake activity that is now happening. This is also the location where an eruption might happen without any warning or strong earthquake activity. Eruption out on the ocean is no longer considered a possibility because the magma dyke stopped moving south.
The dense earthquake activity in Fagradalsfjall or Krýsuvík volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
GPS data shows that inflation remains heavy and has moved some GPS stations up to 120mm over a time period of two weeks. There are no signs of this inflation stopping or slowing down.
Next article is going to be on Monday 15-March-2021 if an eruption doesn’t happen or something else major doesn’t happen. I am hoping to get weekend break this weekend. If that is going to be successful is currently unclear.
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This is a short article about the activity in Fagradalsfjall volcano. This article is written on 11-March-2021 at 17:34 UTC.
This morning at 08:53 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw4,5 took place west of Grindavík town. Second earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,2 took place at 09:03 UTC. This earthquakes are not connected to any magma movement in this location. The reason for this earthquake activity is because of the inflation from the Fagradalsfjall volcano dyke. According to new measurements the dyke in Fagradalsfjall volcano is moving around 500 meters every 24 hours. Currently the dyke has moved more south but it was moving south-west yesterday and the days before that. Today (11-March-2021) the dyke has only 2 to 3 km left until it goes under the ocean and a road called Suðurstrandarvegur (road 427). If the magma reaches the ocean and an eruption starts, it is going to be an explosive eruption while the ocean can access the main craters that are erupting. Depending on locations this can go on for weeks and is going to form new islands that might only exist for short time period until the ocean erodes them away.
Earthquake activity in Fagradalsfjall volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
If an eruption happens before the magma dyke reaches the ocean the magma only has 2 to 3 km left until it reaches the ocean and it is now expected if that happens that the lava is going to reach the ocean in 6 to 10 hours and go over Suðurstandarvegur (road 427). Since 24-February-2021 over 34.000 earthquakes have been recorded by Icelandic Met Office in this volcano activity.
This is a short update on the activity in Fagradalsfjall volcano. This article is written at 21:08 UTC.
Since Monday 8-March-2021 there has been a lot going on and there are no signs of this activity slowing down. Currently it seems that the volcano dyke is expanding to the south and that is more into Fagradalsfjall mountain that is a earlier eruption structure from maybe few million years ago. This expansion of the magma dyke is resulting in strong earthquake activity and during the night the strongest earthquake had a magnitude of Mw5,1 at 03:15 UTC. Second largest earthquake had a magnitude of Mw4,6 at 08:50 UTC. Over the last 48 hours 68 earthquakes with magnitude above Mw3,0 have taken place. Smaller earthquakes are happening with the rate of 1 to 5 or more earthquakes at every minute. Since 24-February-2021 over 34.000 earthquakes have been recorded by Icelandic Met Office.
Earthquake activity on the Reykjanes peninsula. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
The chance of an eruption are increasing according to Icelandic Met Office in the news this evening. While the magma dyke has space to expand it is going to do so. The magma in the dyke is now at the shallowest only at 1 km depth or less. Exact depth has been problematic to get information about. Eruption can happen without much earthquake activity because how shallow the magma is to the top of the crust. There remains a high risk of an earthquake with magnitude Mw6,0 to Mw6,5. Both in the fracture areas on both ends of the dyke and in Brenninsteinsfjöll volcano.
Next update is going to be on Friday (12-March-2021) unless something major might happen.
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This is a short article on the activity in Fagradalsfjall volcano. This situation is developing quickly and it is impossible to know what happens next.
During the night of 9-March-2021 from 05:20 UTC until around 07:00 UTC an harmonic tremor pulse was detected by Icelandic Met Office. This shows that the magma is still expanding into the Earth crust below Fagradalsfjall mountain and according to Icelandic Met Office it looks like the dyke is expanding in south direction but it is going to take a day or two to confirm that with GPS data.
Earthquake activity in Fagradalsfjall volcano. This shows the possible location of the south end of the magma dyke. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
There have been fewer stronger earthquakes in last few days. While the there are fewer strong earthquakes the amount of earthquakes has not really dropped in any number, most earthquakes are small in magnitude and only few reach magnitude above Mw3,0. This quiet period is not expected to last for any amount of time while magma continues to be injected into the crust of Fagradalsfjall volcano. There continues to be a high risk for earthquake with magnitude Mw6,0 to Mw6,5 along with risk of Mw6,5 earthquake in Brennisteinsfjöll volcano. Currently no magma movement is being detected in Reykjanes volcano, Krýsuvík volcano or Brennisteinsfjöll volcano.
New measurements of the situation in Fagradalsfjall volcano show that the dyke intrusion continues to grow and as at its shallowest point at 1 km depth. Possible eruption is expected at the south end of the dyke intrusion (closest to Fagradalsfjall mountain). Earthquakes are going to happen at the south-west end of the dyke and north-east of the dyke because of the inflation the magma is creating in the area.
The earthquake areas at the ends of the dyke intrusion, shown in gray areas on this map. The dyke is shown within the line with dot lines. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
There are going to be quiet times between high period of activity according to the news about this activity. There is also ongoing risk of a earthquake with magnitude of Mw6,5 in Brennisteinsfjöll volcano and according to Icelandic Met Office that risk has not been reduced in recent days. Outside of the Fagradalsfjall volcano magma dyke, no magma movement has been detected in Reykjanes (Svartsengi?) volcano and in Krýsuvík volcano.
This article is short because the situation is always changing. Article is written at 07-March-2021 at 23:10 UTC.
At 00:22 UTC and until around 00:42 UTC an harmonic tremor was detected in Fagradalsfjall volcano. While this harmonic tremor only lasted for 20 minutes it started an earthquake swarm around 01:00 UTC that lasted until around 04:00 and the largest earthquake in that swarm had a magnitude of Mw5,0 to Mw5,2 (USGS/EMSC) at 02:01 UTC. Every day from 2500 to 3000 or more earthquakes are being recorded. Since 24-February-2021 over 24000 earthquakes have been recorded in this earthquake swarm. There is a massive inflation happening from Fagradalsfjall volcano and that is what is causing the earthquakes west and east of the dyke location between Fagradalsfjall mountain and Keilir mountain. Resulting in large earthquakes like the Mw5,0. Many of the earthquakes are happening close to the town of Grindavík and people there can’t sleep due to earthquake activity and the ongoing earthquake activity that is now happening at every minute.
Heavy earthquake activity in Fagradalsfjall volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
It is now possible to check the inflation by viewing this GPS data website. Another website with GPS data can be found here and its is called Crustal Deformation.
More strong earthquakes are expected. If anything major happens I’ll post update soon as possible.
A news article has been published showing the road damage from the recent earthquake activity. This is close to the HS Orka energy plant on Reykjanes peninsula.
Article updated at 01:31 UTC. Article updated at 04:36 UTC. Fixed web camera link that was broken (YouTube) Article updated at 16:58 UTC on 8-March-2021. Fixed Rúv web camera link.
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