Earthquake activity in Katla volcano

Today (19-August-2016) a magnitude 3,5 earthquake took place in Katla volcano. It was followed by several earthquakes, both before the strongest earthquakes and after it.

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The earthquake activity in Katla volcano. The green star shows the location of the magnitude 3,5 earthquake. Copyright of this image belongs to Iceland Met Office.

This doesn’t seems to be an activity connected directly to magma movements. This might however be a gas under pressure breaking rock, since clues this summer suggests that heat is now increasing in the caldera. At least for now, it might cool down again in coming months. The most common months for Katla volcano to erupt are from July until November, eruptions in other months are less common, they do happen every few hundred years.

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The magnitude 3,5 earthquake as it appeared on my geophone in Heklubyggð. This image is under Creative Commons licence. Please see the CC Licence page (above) for more details.

Thanks for the patience and understanding

I want to thank my readers for the patience and the understanding of the quiet period following the sudden passing of my step-father on 11th of July 2016. This past month has been difficult for me and my family and the recovery process is far from complete, but I’m doing my best to live with the new reality with my step-father.

Life is never going to be the same for me, this is however just how the world works and I’ll have to live with it.