Category: Öræfajökull

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Earthquake activity in Öræfajökull and Bárðarbunga volcanoes

This is article is set-up in this way to save me some time due to the fact that I have to go to work tomorrow at 07:00 UTC (this is until 23rd October 2018).

Öræfajökull volcano

Since yesterday (01-October-2018) there has been a earthquake swarm in Öræfajökull volcano. There has been several dozen earthquakes in this earthquake swarm. Most of them are small. Largest earthquake in this swarm had a magnitude of 3,1 and was felt on nearby farms (there is no town or village close to Öræfajökull volcano). This earthquake swarm is currently ongoing.

Bárðarbunga volcano

A magnitude 3,0 and 3,6 earthquakes happened in Bárðarbunga volcano today. The smaller earthquake happened early in the morning but he larger one at 13:08 UTC. There hasn’t been any large amount of earthquake activity following this earthquakes. This is now the normal pattern of Bárðarbunga volcano since the eruption 2014 – 2015 (Holuhraun).


Earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga and Öræfajökull volcanoes. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

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Minor earthquake swarms in Öræfajökull volcano

An earthquake swarm started in Öræfajökull volcano yesterday (26-September-2018). Largest earthquake in this swarm had a magnitude of 1,2. Other earthquakes had a magnitude of 0,0 and up to 0,5.


Earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This earthquake activity is because of magma is moving inside Öræfajökull volcano. This movement is mostly slow and often stops at times. This is going to continue for a long while longer in current phase. There is no risk of eruption in Öræfajökull volcano at the moment.

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Magnitude 3,0 earthquake in Öræfajökull volcano

This evening (21-September-2018) at 21:15 UTC a magnitude 3,0 earthquake happened in Öræfajökull volcano. This was followed by a swarm of earthquakes and largest earthquake after the magnitude 3,0 earthquake had a magnitude of 1,4 so far.


Earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

I expect the largest earthquake to have been felt in nearby farms that are close to Öræfajökull volcano (some are in it roots). In recent weeks the magnitude of earthquakes in Öræfajökull volcano has slowly been moving upwards. This change is not by much at the moment.

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Fresh minor earthquake swarm in Öræfajökull volcano

Yesterday (23-August-2018) an fresh earthquake swarm started in Öræfajökull volcano. This earthquake swarm seems to be progressing in the same way as earlier earthquake swarms. Earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano only happens when magma is on the move inside the volcano.


Earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Largest earthquake in this swarm had a magnitude of 2,2 and the second largest earthquake had a magnitude of 1,9. Other earthquake activity has been as before and is mostly made of earthquake with magnitude 0,0 and up to magnitude 1,0. The magma in Öræfajökull volcano is slow moving and that is reflected in current earthquake activity.

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Öræfajökull volcano eruptions in 1362 and 1727 possibly larger than previously thought

According to a news report an early result from a field study into Öræfajökull volcano eruptions in 1362 and 1727 suggest that those eruptions where possibly larger then previously thought.

According to the research so far the following has been discovered.

  • Volcano ash layers from the eruption 1362 are 3 meters thick. They where thought be around 0,5 meters thick. This suggests that the eruption in 1362 was larger than previously thought.
  • The craters from the eruption 1727 have been found. That eruption was close to the Fimmvörðuháls eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010 (not under glacier eruption).
  • Pictures of the magma that has been found suggest that both eruptions where highly felsic (rhyolitic) type and high in gas content. There are also high in crystals (known as crystallization of magma). What type of crystals is not known at the moment (not mentioned in the news).

That fact does explain the current process of earthquakes in Öræfajökull volcano and why earthquake activity drops down to almost nothing every few weeks in Öræfajökull volcano. The magma in Öræfajökull volcano is slow moving and there is a lot of it. Current volume is around the same that started the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010 (there are massive differences between the two, so comparing the volcanoes is subject to limitations).

Icelandic News from Vísir.is

Fyrri eldgos í Öræfajökli mun öflugri en áður var talið (Vísir.is, Video, images, Icelandic only)

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Slight increase in earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano

Today (1-August-2018) there seems to be a minor increase in earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano. What has also happened is that magnitude of earthquakes today has been slightly larger then in a normal week. Few magnitude 1,0 and larger and at least one magnitude 1,5 earthquake have happened so far.


Earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano (right corner, to the ocean). Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Current rate of earthquakes have dropped down to 50 earthquakes a week from earlier 100 earthquakes a week. This change might be normal for Öræfajökull volcano since this magma intrusion seems to be moving slowly inside the volcano. Regular earthquake activity continues to happen and there is no sign that is changing at the moment.

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Small earthquake swarm in Öræfajökull volcano Monday 23-July-2018

On Monday 23-July-2018 there was an small earthquake swarm in Öræfajökull volcano. This type of earthquake swarm is a common activity at the moment. Around 100 to 200 earthquakes now happen in Öræfajökull volcano each week. Almost all of them are small and less than 1,0 in magnitude.


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

Largest earthquake so far this week had a magnitude of 1,2 and it had a depth of 4,9 km. Other earthquakes where smaller in magnitude. When a earthquake swarm happens in Öræfajökull volcano it is because magma is pressuring it self upwards inside the volcano. Earthquakes far outside Öræfajökull volcano are because of stress changes in the crust and that re-activates fault lines in the area. This might increase as more magma collects into Öræfajökull volcano along with stronger magnitude. That process might take weeks or months from what it is today.

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Öræfajökull volcano is inflating and preparing for an eruption

In a statement sent out yesterday (13-July-2018) by Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management it is made clear that Öræfajökull volcano is now inflating at considerable rate.

At the moment the amount of magma accumulated inside the mountain is equal to the volume that accumulated inside Eyjafjallajökull volcano before it erupted in 2010. At the moment Öræfajökull volcano continues to collect magma and each time a magma injection happens into Öræfajökull volcano an earthquake swarm happens.

At the moment there are no signs that an eruption is imminent. That might change without warning but I do expect to see earthquakes in the thousands before an eruption happens in Öræfajökull volcano. Until then its just normal monitoring of Öræfajökull volcano earthquake patterns and inflation.

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Ongoing earthquake swarm in Öræfajökull volcano (3-July-2018)

During the last few hours there has been ongoing earthquake swarm in Öræfajökull volcano. This earthquake swarm started around 29-June-2018 in the south side of Öræfajökull volcano. At the moment the earthquake activity seems to be close or directly under Road 1 in Iceland.


The earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano on 3-July-2018. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

This change in earthquake activity is interesting and is in my view a sign of trouble to come. There are not any older eruption vents in the side of Öræfajökull volcano, but such vents might have been wiped out by glacier over the centuries. There is a good reason to continue to monitor this earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano.

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Ongoing earthquake swarm in Öræfajökull volcano (update 29-June-2018)

There is currently ongoing earthquake swarm in Öræfajökull volcano. This earthquake swarm started on 26-June-2018 with the magnitude 3,1 and it has been mostly ongoing since then. All earthquakes are minor in the volcano at the moment. A magnitude 2,1 earthquake happened outside the volcano (but those earthquakes appears to be connected to it) and suggest crustal stresses are changing at the moment at expectational speed (my view).


Earthquake activity in Öræfajökull volcano (red dots). Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

What also appeared today is a earthquake swarm in the side of Öræfajökull volcano. If this earthquake activity continues it is worrying as it suggests that an eruption might happen in Öræfajökull volcano side and that might be a major issue if a eruption vents opens up in such area. Since this is close to Road 1 and warning time might be limited or close to none in worse case. This type of activity warrants more monitoring in my view.