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Typical geophone station that I run

Here is a picture of a typical geophone station that I run in Iceland. This is the computer and other needed hardware on the Böðvarshólar geophone station that I am running. This hardware used to be the Hvammstangi geophone station until December 2012 when I had to move it.


Click on the image for full size. This image is released under Creative Commons licence. Please see the CC licence page for more details.

What is not shown in this picture is the geophone it self. But it is in the white box on the table. The readings from all my geophone stations can be found here.

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Donations needed for January

As always this months. I am broke after paying all my bills. I have explained this before. So I don’t see any reason to do so again. But what I can add is that I am working hard to fix this (with the help from my bank as can be helped. But this is a long standing problem at the moment and my bank has limits). But this progress is far from easy and I am doing my best in this regards.

The case now however is that I have no way to reach my budget ends together this month. In fact. I am not sure even how I am going to buy food this month. I am being serious on that.

Thanks for the support! 🙂

Update 1: Thanks to donations I won’t starve this month as I was afraid of. But this is not the greatest food budget ever either. But I hope that it is going to last all of January or close to it. I am close to Germany (It is just a bus trip to Flensburg). So I can go there and buy food more cheaper then in Denmark.

Update 2: I have made this blog post a sticky on the front page. So it won’t go down when I post new blog post. This blog post is going to be a sticky until end of January.

Update 3: I got a complaint about this blog post today. I wrote blog post about it. I called it, Why don’t you just get a job?

Update 4: I got a comment today (link to comment in the blog post). My view did turn into a blog post that I did call, Writing is a job and it is not easy doing it

Update 5: January 2013 was bad for me in terms of bills. But February 2013 is going to be terrible. In short. The amount of bills that I have to pay is higher then my total income during the month. Yea, this is how is to be poor. I am looking into taking a loan here in Denmark to cover my monthly cost this time. Since loans in Denmark are more stable in terms of interest rates and payments then in Iceland (interest rates go up in Iceland and is a lot higher then in Denmark).

Update 6: I might even have to start searching for a job. Even if that is going to cut into my writing time on this blog. I just might not have any other option right now.

Update 7: The Oatmeal tells about it what it is to create continent for the internet. But that is exactly what I am doing here and on my other blogs.

As for Icelandic geology. It is all so quiet at the moment. Nothing to report at the moment.

Blog post updated at 15:03 UTC on 10. January 2013.
Blog post updated at 15:14 UTC on 12. January 2013.
Blog post updated at 21:34 UTC on 19. January 2013.
Blog post updated at 21:50 UTC on 23. January 2013.
Blog post updated at 15:59 UTC on 25. January 2013.
Blog post updated at 16:07 UTC on 25. January 2013.
Blog post updated at 02:17 UTC on 27. January 2013.
Blog post updated at 02:33 UTC on 27. January 2013.

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Magnitude 3.3 earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano during the night

At 02:55 UTC today (18.12.2012) there was a magnitude 3.3 earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano system. Earthquakes are common in this area so this activity is no surprise. Origins of this earthquakes are due to tectonic movements in the area. Not magma related changes.


Green star marks the magnitude 3.3 earthquake in Bárðarbunga volcano system. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

Aftershocks have followed this earthquake. So far the largest one got the magnitude 2.2. More earthquake activity can be expected in this area. But that is normal and not unexpected.

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Earthquake swarm in Katla volcano caldera

Yesterday (14.12.2012) from 20:50 UTC until 22:52 UTC there was an minor earthquake swarm in Katla volcano caldera. The largest earthquake in this swarm was a magnitude 2,2 earthquake. With the depth of 0,1 km. So it was a shallow earthquake. This is not uncommon for this part of Katla volcano. This earthquake activity has its origin in hydrothermal activity or changes in hydrothermal systems in this area of Katla volcano caldera.


Earthquake swarm in Katla volcano. This area has had earthquakes swarms before. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

I do not expect anything special to result from this earthquake swarm. Since it is highly unlikely that Katla volcano is going to erupt in December. It is also a when it comes to earthquakes. Katla volcano has a lot of them during the year and earthquake swarm as this one should be expected to happen every once in a while.

Blog post updated at 10:42 UTC on 15.12.2012.

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Earthquake swarm north of Kolbeinsey Island

During the night (on 15.12.2012) there was a swarm of earthquakes far north of Kolbeinsey Island. The distance from Kolbeinsey Island is about 100 to 200 km. What exactly is taking place at this location is impossible to know for now. Since this is far from Iceland and the SIL network. Last eruption is believed to have taken place around this area back in the year 1999, or at least there was an large dike intrusion at that time. What did happen exactly is not known.


The earthquake activity north of Kolbeinsey Island at midnight (00:00 UTC) 15.12.2012. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.


Earthquake activity at 09:00 UTC this morning (15.12.2012). More earthquakes have taken place since midnight. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

There is a chance of more earthquakes in this area. It can also be expected that not all earthquake activity in this area is being detected by the SIL network. Due to distance, weather and ocean activity.

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Dike intrusion in Askja volcano

Today (14.12.2012) around 12:00 UTC Askja volcano had dike intrusion. This dike intrusion was not in the main volcano it self. But a good distance away from it. But this is in a area that has erupted before in distant past in a fissure style eruption (just lava, no volcano ash). What is the case now I am not sure at the moment. But this dike intrusion was at the depth of 25 to 22 km. So it has long way to go before any eruption takes place. This dike intrusion did also not show any sign of moving upwards according to Rúv News of this event.


Earthquake map from IMO showing the dike intrusion clearly. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

What this means in the long term is impossible to know at this point. But this is one event in a long series of events that started in March 2010. This is going to end with a eruption. Large or small is impossible to know until it happens. What is also impossible to know is when and where such eruption might take place. As is always the case with active volcanoes. There is at least no reason to panic about this. Not now, not ever.

Donations: I am still needing donations to cover my cost of buying 3G hardware for upcoming geophone stations Böðvarshólar (total cost around 1300 DKK, or 29900 ISK). I have got some donations already. But they just cover the cost of UPS and USB card for Skeiðflöt geophone station. But I was fixing technical problems with it. Thanks for the support.

Icelandic News about this

Á annan tug skjálfta austur af Öskju (Rúv.is)

Blog post updated at 23:29 UTC on 14.12.2012

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Interesting earthquake swarm in TFZ

Today (12.12.2012) there was a interesting earthquake swarm in south part of TFZ (close to a place called Ásbyrgi). This earthquake swarm did consist mostly of minor earthquakes. With magnitudes of from ML0.2 and up to magnitude ML2.6. This earthquake swarm is tectonic in nature. I do not believe it is volcanic in nature. But this earthquake swarm is inside Krafla volcano fissure swarm or TFZ-NVZ two volcanoes. I am not sure in this case here.


The earthquake swarm is in the corner of this image. Copyright of this image belongs to Icelandic Meteorological Office.

This earthquake swarm might not mean anything special as is. But earthquake activity in this area has been some for the past few years. But it has so far never resulted in any major events so far in this area.