Volcano and earthquake activity in Iceland
This month of June 2023. Bárðarbunga volcano has had it second earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,1. This is a normal inflation earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano.
This is normal inflation earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano. It is going to be a long time until next eruption happens in Bárðarbunga volcano (expected, anything can happen).
In rather unusual activity, there have been earthquakes in Eyjafjallajökull volcano since yesterday (7. June 2023). It started with a small earthquake of magnitude Mw1,1 at 20,5 km depth. Earthquakes are few, so there’s clearly no risk for an eruption at the moment.
It would be highly unusual if Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupts now, since it looks like that volcano is on ~200 year cycle when it comes to eruptions and between those cycles it remains quiet with no earthquake activity, or at most few earthquakes each years. This has been true since end of the eruption in 2010 in Eyjafjallajökull volcano. There however is the question is something has changed. I don’t have any answer yet, but this is something to keep an watch for. This might turn out to be nothing, as is the case most times.
During the night of 6. June 2023 at 03:17 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw3,0 at the depth of 15,8 km, took place close to Surtsey island. This was just a single earthquake and only one smaller earthquake with magnitude of Mw1,1 took place at 03:20 UTC, it is possible that few smaller earthquakes took place at this same location without having been recorded because of distance from seismometers that Icelandic Met Office has.
No other earthquakes have happened in this location today. This is just one off earthquake activity currently and I don’t expect that to change.
The regular once to two month earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano took place today (5. June 2023) at 00:04 UTC. This time the earthquake magnitude was Mw3,4. Few smaller earthquakes happened before the main earthquake took place. There has been minimal earthquake activity after the main earthquake.
This is regular earthquake activity in Bárðarbunga volcano. There is no risk of eruption from Bárðarbunga volcano at the moment.
During the night of 3. June 2023 an earthquake swarm took place in Reykjanes volcano, at location called Reykjanestá. Largest earthquake in that swarm had a magnitude of Mw3,0. Other earthquakes where smaller. This earthquake swarm suggests a magma movement, but it is difficult to be sure if that is what happened now.
Its been ten months since last eruption took place in Fagradalsfjall volcano. It is likely that a new eruption is going to happen soon, but it is impossible to know when. In last few weeks earthquake activity has been increasing in Fagradalsfjall volcano and that suggests that magma pressure inside the volcano is increasing. It just has not reached the levels to start a new eruption.