Earthquake with magnitude Mw4,1 just west of Kleifarvatn lake

Today (7-August-2022) at 11:52 UTC an earthquake with magnitude of Mw4,1 took place just west of Keifarvatn lake. This earthquake was felt in Reykjavík.

Green star just west of Kleifarvatn lake, in swarm of red and orange dots that show earthquakes from today (red) and few hours ago (orange)
Earthquake activity west of Kleifarvatn lake. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.

Earthquake activity is ongoing in this area. This might be tectonic earthquakes because of pressure changes that are now taking place because of the eruption in Meradalir valley. That is however unclear in my view.

Reykjanes volcano

At 10:52 UTC an earthquake with magnitude Mw3,0 took place west of Grindavík in the Reykjanes volcano. This might not be an earthquake related to pressure changes because of the eruption in Merdadalir valley. I am however not sure if that is the case. The Reykjanes volcano is going to erupt one day, since it goes out in the ocean, an ocean eruption and island formation is a possibly. An eruption on land is also an possibility. When and how an eruption happens in Reykjanes volcano is something that just has to wait and see.

The eruption in Meradalir valley

Newest reports is that a pulsing activity has started in the largest eruption fissure in Meradalir valley. This suggest to me that the old lava that is now erupting is almost all erupted. When that magma supply is gone a short break in the eruption might happen and then a new, larger eruption is going to start with the new magma that is on the way to the Fagradalsfjall mountain. When and if this happens like this is a big wait and see.

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4 Replies to “Earthquake with magnitude Mw4,1 just west of Kleifarvatn lake”

    1. I did contact Icelandic Met Office about this and they think this is because of the burned moss in that area. The area is now having a heavy rain, that should stop all moss fire in the area.

      That should also show if the ground is hot or just hot from the moss fire.

      1. In the initial video he thought that the moss fires were perhaps due to some cinders coming from the eruption area. As he explained in the later video, during this same trip on the way back through the moss fire area he and his companion were caught in a heavy rain and wind storm and almost lost their way. That was when he noticed the hot ground through his boots. Since it was raining hard then there is really no chance the hot ground was due to the small scattered moss fires. Here is the video where he describes this, beginning at the 2:35 mark.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_r21ZuSwW8

      2. Difficult to know, since the fire can warm the earth a lot. I’ve not heard of any new report of this and the cameras have not rotated in this area for the last few days.

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