Yesterday (14-March-2018) a earthquake swarm started in Askja volcano. The area the earthquake swarm is happening in has been having smaller earthquakes for several weeks already. Currently this earthquake activity is ongoing.
Earthquake activity in Askja volcano (green star). Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Met Office.
This is the strongest earthquake in Askja volcano since August-2014 when a magnitude 4,5 earthquake happened in this area due to activity in Bárðarbunga volcano and the connected dyke intrusion. That also resulted in a deformation in Askja volcano that later did go back to normal. At the moment there is no harmonic tremor being detected and that means no magma movement and no eruption.
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My move to Iceland by the end of May is going to change this to the better. Specially after I finish paying the debts I have in Denmark (that is going to take until November).
I believe we now also have a 4.8 quake off the coast of Siglufjörður. That’s the biggest there for some time.
This was a fake earthquake. An error in the SIL system. Any close earthquake appears on my geophone. Larger ones appear clearly even if far way (within 300 km) from my geophones.
Its gone.
Hi Jon,
Is that magma on the move in Hekla?
I don’t know. My geophone recorded a low period activity when this earthquake activity happened. I don’t know what that means at the moment.
Jon
The seismics at Askia are at the level of the upper magma chamber which lies under Vity. This could mean the injection of fresh basalt magma into the base of the partially crystallised mush.
That is the same scenario which occurred in the 1875 eruption. Interesting n’est pas.
They’re also on the caldera fault… I don’t think is magmatic, look more like a tectonic main shock / aftershock sequence to me.
Recent Hekla seismicity is much more interesting for me.
Yes, Hekla for me too.
John, everything ok?
Haven’t heard of you since 5 days.
Is it this quiet in Iceland ftm?
Or are you busy with you moving back to Iceland?
I am fine. It’s just really quiet in Iceland at the moment and I am terribly broke because of that.
I am looking into writing a article about Öræfajökull volcano but so far most of the earthquake activity is just micro-earthquakes with magnitude less than 1,0.