[ACTUEEL] Vulkanen IJsland #18: Verhoogde activiteit bij Bardarbunga

quote:

IJslandse vulkaan kan 142.000 Europeanen het leven kosten
Wat als de geschiedenis zich zou herhalen en de Laki-vulkaan in IJsland uitbarst? Wetenschappers zochten het uit.

Tussen juni 1783 en februari 1784 barstte de Laki-vulkaan in IJsland uit. Naar schatting belandden er miljoenen kilo’s zwaveldioxide in de lucht. Ietsje meer zwaveldioxide dan wij mensen in een jaar tijd uitstoten.

Slachtoffers
In IJsland kwamen ongeveer 10.000 mensen om. In Engeland kostten de stofdeeltjes aan 23.000 mensen het leven en ook in Zweden, Italië en Nederland ondervonden mensen hinder van de eruptie.

Simulatie
Wetenschappers vroegen zich af welke gevolgen zo’n eruptie vandaag de dag zou hebben. Ze zochten het uit. Uit hun modellen blijkt dat het aantal aerosolen boven Europa in de eerste drie maanden met 120 procent zou toenemen. In de jaren daarna steken de problemen pas echt de kop op: de vulkanische deeltjes vervuilen de lucht en leiden tot hartziekten en ademhalingsproblemen. Het aantal mensen dat hierdoor komt te overlijden, wordt geschat op 142.000.

Relevant
Hoe relevant is zo’n simulatie? Heel relevant, zo stellen de onderzoekers. De afgelopen 1150 jaar is IJsland vier keer door een vergelijkbare eruptie getroffen. Dergelijke vulkaanuitbarstingen komen dus relatief vaak voor.

Behalve de gezondheidsproblemen zouden mensen ook te maken krijgen met voedseltekorten. Vulkaanuitbarstingen van deze omvang leggen namelijk het luchtverkeer en een deel van de scheepvaart lam, waardoor de import van voedsel wordt bemoeilijkt.

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This morning there has been some earthquake activity in Katla volcano. But it has also been reported in the news this morning that a really strong sulphur smell was found around 06:00 UTC on nearby farm to Múlakvísl river this morning. But this was before the earthquake did happen. I am not sure if this sulphur smell continues to be felt in the area close to Katla volcano. No changes in water hight has been detected in Múlakvísl glacier river.

The ML2.6 earthquake in Katla volcano was on 2.3 km depth. This was mostly a dike intrusion into the bedrock of the Katla volcano caldera.

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Op woensdag 5 oktober 2011 09:35 schreef Frutsel het volgende:
2011-10-05 04:11:51.03hr 22min ago 63.65 N 19.10 W 1 4.1 ICELAND

4.1
bij zulke bevingen kan een vulkaan spontaan ploffen

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Op dinsdag 20 september 2011 14:51 schreef Frutsel het volgende:

Wat als de geschiedenis zich zou herhalen en de Laki-vulkaan in IJsland uitbarst? Wetenschappers zochten het uit.

Tussen juni 1783 en februari 1784 barstte de Laki-vulkaan in IJsland uit. Naar schatting belandden er miljoenen kilo’s zwaveldioxide in de lucht. Ietsje meer zwaveldioxide dan wij mensen in een jaar tijd uitstoten.

quote:

Slachtoffers
In IJsland kwamen ongeveer 10.000 mensen om. In Engeland kostten de stofdeeltjes aan 23.000 mensen het leven en ook in Zweden, Italië en Nederland ondervonden mensen hinder van de eruptie.

Simulatie
Wetenschappers vroegen zich af welke gevolgen zo’n eruptie vandaag de dag zou hebben. Ze zochten het uit. Uit hun modellen blijkt dat het aantal aerosolen boven Europa in de eerste drie maanden met 120 procent zou toenemen. In de jaren daarna steken de problemen pas echt de kop op: de vulkanische deeltjes vervuilen de lucht en leiden tot hartziekten en ademhalingsproblemen. Het aantal mensen dat hierdoor komt te overlijden, wordt geschat op 142.000.

Relevant
Hoe relevant is zo’n simulatie? Heel relevant, zo stellen de onderzoekers. De afgelopen 1150 jaar is IJsland vier keer door een vergelijkbare eruptie getroffen. Dergelijke vulkaanuitbarstingen komen dus relatief vaak voor.

quote:

Behalve de gezondheidsproblemen zouden mensen ook te maken krijgen met voedseltekorten. Vulkaanuitbarstingen van deze omvang leggen namelijk het luchtverkeer en een deel van de scheepvaart lam, waardoor de import van voedsel wordt bemoeilijkt.

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Op woensdag 5 oktober 2011 14:12 schreef lipjes het volgende:
http://live.mila.is/english/katla/
en nog een cam

twitter:

hjortur twitterde op woensdag 05-10-2011 om 13:23:01 Almost 100 earthquakes recorded in #Katla in the last 48hrs. The strongest being 3.9 on Richter. #iceland #volcanoes reageer retweet

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Op woensdag 5 oktober 2011 14:12 schreef lipjes het volgende:
http://live.mila.is/english/katla/
en nog een cam

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johnseach John Seach op twitter:
Earthquake swarm at Katla volcano, Iceland, 5th October 2011. Eruption may have begun!
1 uur geleden(15.45 dus)

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jonfr500 Jón Frímann Jónsson
No eruption yet in Katla volcano. But minor earthquake activity continues with breaks.

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Op woensdag 5 oktober 2011 16:23 schreef lipjes het volgende:
op de Reykjanes ridge is het ook lekker bezig
is daar ook toevallig een vulkaan?

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Op donderdag 6 oktober 2011 00:23 schreef blids het volgende:

Update on Katla volcano earthquake swarm
October 5, 2011

http://www.jonfr.com/volcano/?p=1589

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Op donderdag 6 oktober 2011 09:37 schreef lipjes het volgende:
lol geweldig
er komt volgens mij rook uit de krater van katla
de cam staat te schudden als een gek

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Op woensdag 5 oktober 2011 16:23 schreef lipjes het volgende:
op de Reykjanes ridge is het ook lekker bezig
is daar ook toevallig een vulkaan?

quote:

de cam staat te schudden als een gek

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Iceland's scientists say activity at Katla volcano increasing, next eruption could be huge

VIK, Iceland - If Iceland's air-traffic paralyzing volcanic eruption last year seemed catastrophic, just wait for the sequel.

That's what some experts are saying as they nervously watch rumblings beneath a much more powerful Icelandic volcano — Katla — which could spew an ash cloud dwarfing the 2010 eruption that cost airlines $2 billion and drove home how vulnerable modern society is to the whims of nature.

Brooding over rugged moss-covered hills on Iceland's southern edge, Katla is a much bigger beast than the nearby Eyjafjallajokul volcano, which chugged ash all over Europe for several weeks in an eruption that local scientist Pall Einarsson describes nonetheless as "small."

Named after an evil troll, Katla has a larger magma chamber than Eyjafjallajokul's. Its last major eruption in 1918 continued more than a month, turning day into night, starving crops of sunlight and killing off some livestock. The eruption melted some of the ice-sheet covering Katla, flooding surrounding farmlands with a torrent of water that some accounts have said measured as wide as the Amazon.

Now, clusters of small earthquakes are being detected around Katla, which means an eruption could be imminent, seismologists say. The earthquakes have been growing in strength, too. After a long period of magnitude 3 tremors, a magnitude 4 quake was detected last week.

"It is definitely showing signs of restlessness," said Einarsson, a professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland.

Teams of seismologists and geologists at the university are tracking the spike in seismic activity and working with disaster officials to prepare communities near Katla like Vik, a small town of some 300 people that is flanked by black sand beaches.

Civil defence authorities have been holding regular meetings with scientists. Disaster officials have also drafted an evacuation plan and set aside temporary housing, but many fear they may have less than an hour to evacuate once the volcano erupts.

Iceland sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge. Eruptions, common throughout Iceland's history, are often triggered by seismic activity when the Earth's plates move and magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface.

The longer pressure builds up, the more catastrophic an eruption can be. Records show that Katla usually has a large eruption twice a century. Since its last eruption was almost exactly 93 years ago, it is long overdue for another, seismologists say.

Icelanders are getting nervous as they mark the anniversary of Katla's last blast.

"We've been getting calls recently from people concerned that Katla is about to erupt because it erupted ... in 1918 on Oct. 12," said Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.

"As scientists we don't see that much of a correlation in the date but there is most definitely increased activity. The question is whether it calms down after this or whether there is an eruption."

The eruption of Laki in 1783 was one of Iceland's deadliest. It freed poisonous gases that turned into smog and floated across the jet stream, killing thousands of people with toxic fumes in the British Isles alone.

As sulfur dioxide was pumped into the atmosphere, crop production fell across western Europe because of the smog. Famine spread. And the sun reportedly turned a blood-red hue — a phenomenon painted by many artists of the time. Temperatures in Europe were about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) below average.

The winter of 1784 was also reportedly one of the longest and coldest on record in North America, with the Mississippi River freezing in New Orleans. Scientists believe volcanic ash floating over the Atlantic was a factor.

"Volcanoes can be quite beautiful, but they can also obviously be quite destructive," Einarsson says.

Of Iceland's more than 22 volcanoes, seven are active and four are particularly active — including Katla and Hekla.

Although it doesn't pose the same flood risk as Katla because it's not situated beneath an icecap, Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes and sits in the path of most international flight patterns. During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called Hekla the "Gateway to Hell," believing that souls were dragged into the fire below.

Like Katla, Hekla is also overdue for a large eruption and could produce a disruptive and dangerous ash cloud that, in addition to disrupting air travel, could lower overall temperatures across continents by blocking out sunlight for days or weeks.

The capital Reykjavik also sits on a plate boundary but it hasn't seen any eruptions for some 800 years.

Still, one of the plates is showing an uplift, or expansion of the crust, which could mean either that a volcano could be nearing an eruption or there is an increase of geothermal activity. Much of Iceland's infrastructure was built during a lull in volcanic activity.

"One of these days that situation will change and we will definitely see more eruptions close to Reykjavik," Einarsson says.

After the Eyjafjallajokul eruption, Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson warned European officials that they should be prepared for future eruptions, and urged the aviation industry to develop engines that are less sensitive to ash and a better warning system to gauge the threat posed by volcanic ash.

The aviation industry says there is little that airlines can do to prepare for a future ash cloud because decisions on closing air space rest with national regulators.

"The issue is what the regulators will allow us to do, and that's down to the precise circumstances of any future eruption," said David Henderson, spokesman for the Brussels-based Association of European Airlines.

But he said that, despite the fragile state of the airline industry at a time of economic crisis, a new ash cloud would be unlikely to cause any airlines to go under. Still, Katla's eruption could prove significantly larger than last year's, producing a larger ash cloud.

"It would take a closure greater than last May's to put people out of business," he said. "Everything depends on the magnitude of the eruption."

There are no plans to change engines or any other parts of the airframe because all such components are susceptible to damage from volcanic ash.

Any major eruption could also upset Iceland's precarious economic situation.

This island nation of some 300,000 is only just starting to recover from the collapse of its economy in 2008, when a massive speculative bubble that built up in the banking sector came crashing down in a foretaste of the global financial meltdown that was to ensue.

Meanwhile, many Icelanders remain nonchalant about warnings of a major volcanic eruption. Some are even hopeful that they'll get to see one of the awe-inspiring spectacles.

And Icelanders know that volcanoes are tied closely to their livelihood, at most times more friend than enemy. Without them, Iceland would be stripped of its cheap and valuable energy source — geothermal power, which comes from heated water beneath the earth.

Even Iceland's most famous person, singer-songwriter Bjork, has drawn from Iceland's volatile geology for her new album, "Biophilia."

"For me, to connect nature to music is a very effortless and natural connection" Bjork, 44, told The Associated Press.

Thorir Kjartansson, who manages a souvenir and wool shop in Vik — a town close to the flood path of Katla — says he's been waiting for a large eruption since he was a teenager. His father, who witnessed the 1918 eruption, used to warn him before he set out in his car to look north toward Katla's glacier cap.

Residents say they only had about 20 minutes from that eruption to escape its raging flood waters.

"We've been waiting for it for a long time, and we know that it will come one day," he said. "Until then, there's no point in worrying about it."

quote:

Iceland volcano is getting restless
Vik - If Iceland's air-traffic paralysing volcanic eruption last year seemed catastrophic, just wait for the sequel.

That's what some experts are saying as they nervously watch rumblings beneath a much more powerful Icelandic volcano - Katla - which could spew an ash cloud dwarfing the 2010 eruption that cost airlines $2bn and drove home how vulnerable modern society is to the whims of nature.

Brooding over rugged moss-covered hills on Iceland's southern edge, Katla is a much bigger beast than the nearby Eyjafjallajokul volcano, which chugged ash all over Europe for several weeks in an eruption that local scientist Pall Einarsson describes nonetheless as "small".

Named after an evil troll, Katla has a larger magma chamber than Eyjafjallajokul's.

Signs of next eruption

Its last major eruption in 1918 continued for more than a month, turning day into night, starving crops of sunlight and killing off livestock.

The eruption melted some of the ice-sheet covering Katla, flooding surrounding farmlands with a torrent of water that some accounts have said measured as wide as the Amazon.

Now, clusters of small earthquakes are being detected around Katla, which means an eruption could be imminent, seismologists say. The earthquakes have been growing in strength, too.

After a long period of magnitude 3 tremors, a magnitude 4 quake was detected last week.

"It is definitely showing signs of restlessness," said Einarsson, a professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland.

Teams of seismologists and geologists at the university are tracking the spike in seismic activity and working with disaster officials to prepare communities near Katla like Vik, a small town of some 300 people that is flanked by black sand beaches.

quote:

Earthquake swarm in Tjörnes Fracture Zone
Posted on October 18, 2011 by Jón Frímann

Today (18 October, 2011) at 08:53 UTC a earthquake swarm started in TFZ. So far this earthquake swarm is small in nature, only about dozen earthquakes so far. But the largest earthquakes have been with the size of ML3.6 according to IMO automatic earthquake detection system (called SIL). There is a good chance that this earthquake swarm is going to continue for the next few hours. But it is hard to know that for sure at the moment.

There are no volcanoes in the area where this earthquake swarm is taking place.

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Op dinsdag 18 oktober 2011 15:13 schreef lipjes het volgende:

[..]

lees de laatste zin van je quote nog eens

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Op dinsdag 25 oktober 2011 14:12 schreef lipjes het volgende:
en weer een clustertje op de Reykjanes peninsula

Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant

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Magnitude ML 4.8
Region ICELAND REGION
Date time 2011-10-31 21:44:45.1 UTC
Location 66.32 N ; 20.04 W
Depth 12 km
Distances 258 km N Reykjavík (pop 113,906 ; local time 21:44:45.1 2011-10-31)
112 km NW Akureyri (pop 16,563 ; local time 21:44:45.1 2011-10-31)
53 km W Siglufjörður (pop 1,391 ; local time 21:44:45.1 2011-10-31)

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Op dinsdag 1 november 2011 09:20 schreef Frutsel het volgende:
Nog een 3.3 vanochtend en een zware 4.8 in het noorden van IJsland.

[..]

Al staat die weer nergens op de kaartjes van IJsland

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Magnitude ML 3.5
Region ICELAND
Date time 2011-11-08 09:50:42.3 UTC
Location 63.59 N ; 19.15 W
Depth 1 km
Distances 149 km SE Reykjavík (pop 113,906 ; local time 09:50:42.3 2011-11-08)
147 km E Hafnarfjörður (pop 22,289 ; local time 09:50:42.3 2011-11-08)
20 km NW Vík í mýrdal (pop 298 ; local time 09:50:42.3 2011-11-08)

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Op dinsdag 8 november 2011 11:18 schreef Frutsel het volgende:
3.5 quake in het zuiden van IJsland zojuist.
Misschien de start van een nieuwe zwerm daarro

[..]

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Op donderdag 3 november 2011 16:46 schreef lipjes het volgende:
Katla doet

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Op zaterdag 12 november 2011 11:57 schreef KazimirMalevich het volgende:
34 aardbevingen de afgelopen 48 uren, waarvan eentje boven de 3. Te weinig om te wijzen op nakende activiteit, maar anderzijds toch ook niet zo erg normaal? Iemand die dit kan kaderen?

Wijst dat op een soort "ontwaken" van de vulkaan, dus dat het binnen pakweg een jaar prijs kan zijn? Of is dit gewoon een periode van wat onrust zonder dat dit wijst op een nakende uitbarsting?

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During the night there was an small earthquake swarm in Bárðarbunga volcano. The largest earthquake in this earthquake swarm was ML3.04 in magnitude. It had the depth of 8.5 km. This might have been a n dike intrusion. But it is hard to know that for sure at the moment. This earthquake swarm only lasted for an about 2 to 3 hours before it stopped.

read more here

twitter:

jonfr500 twitterde op woensdag 21-12-2011 om 21:24:41 There is an harmonic tremor activity visible on Skrokkalda SIL station. This seems to be from Hamarinn volcano. So far it is just tremor. reageer retweet

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3.6 quake strikes Krisuvik Volcano
At 21:12 UTC on 3. January 2012 an earthquake with the automatic size of ML3.6 did happen in Krísuvík volcano. I do not yet know if this earthquake was felt in the nearby area. But I assuming that it has done so.

This earthquake did appear clearly on my geophones. Both in north and south Iceland. They can be viewed here. I am going to update this blog post as I know more. But this seems to be an start of earthquake swarm in Krísuvík volcano.

Update 1: It has been confirmed that this earthquake was felt in Reykjavík and nearby area. The automatic depth of this earthquake was 14.2 km according to Iceland Met Office.

Update 2: Earthquake swarm has started in Krísuvík volcano. The largest earthquake in this earthquake swarm after the main earthquake is ML1.1 in size. Larger earthquakes however might happen at any time in this earthquake swarm. But that is at least the experience so far.

Update 3: Here are the traces of the earthquake. Sorry. But for the moment there are no high resolution pictures available as my main earthquake computer is offline until I move back to Denmark. See this blog post here for more details on that.

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Update on Grímsfjall volcano glacier flood
During the past several hours the amount of water in the glacier flood from Grímsfjall volcano has not dropped a lot, but this glacier flood started two days ago (27.01.2012 around 12:00 UTC). But that might be down to heavy rain in the area. Normally a glacier flood from Grímsvatn lake (inside the Grímsfjall volcano caldera) last for about one to two days during a normal glacier flood. It is believed that this glacier flood is from Grímsfjall volcano glacier lake. But it might be hard to confirm this during this time of the year.



Possible noise from the glacier flood on this SIL station. This might however be increased noise due to heavy rain on it. Copyright of this picture belongs to IMO.

I have known for some time now that Grímsfjall volcano is preparing for a new eruption. This I know because of the increase in earthquake activity and increased hydro thermal activity in Grímsfjall volcano. So far there is nothing that suggest that Grímsfjall volcano is going to erupt this time around, at least for the moment. I am expecting this glacier flood to be over in the next several hours. No earthquakes have happened in Grímsfjall volcano during this glacier flood. I do not expect them to take place unless magma starts moving inside Grímsfjall volcano. Be that dike intrusion or start of an eruption.

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Earthquake swarm at Katla

This morning there was an earthquake swarm in Katla volcano. This is the first earthquake swarm of the year 2012. This earthquake swarm is most likely created by an dike intrusion. Based on how dense the earthquake swarm appears to be. But that is often an sign of an dike intrusion in an volcano. How this earthquake swarm is going to evolve over the next few hours impossible to know for sure. That depends on what the magma is going to do that is creating this earthquake swarm.

The earthquake swarm in Katla volcano. It is dense as can be on this picture from Iceland Meteorological Office. Copyright of this picture belongs to Iceland Meteorological Office.

The earthquakes can be seen on my geophone web page here (English). The geophone at Skeiðflöt is going to go up this week. So all activity in Katla volcano is going to appear more clearly following that. Sadly. No high resolution of the earthquakes that take place is not going to be available until I move back to Denmark. As my main earthquake computer is offline and is going to be so until that time.

I am going to post updates to this if anything more happens.

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Op maandag 30 januari 2012 14:35 schreef Jumparound het volgende:
de url veranderd elke minuut

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A seismic swarm has occurred on the Reykjanes Ridge 70 km offshore the SW tip of Iceland. About 40 earthquakes with magnitudes mostly between 2 and 3 were recorded. The Reykjanes Ridge is part of the active SW rift zone running through the western part of Iceland.
Possibly, the swarm marked a magma intrusion in this area.

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Harmonic tremor pulse in Katla volcano

Today there was an harmonic tremor pulse in Katla volcano. I am not sure when this harmonic tremor pulse did start. But I am guessing around 15:22 UTC or maybe around 16:00 UTC. It seems that this harmonic tremor pulse was small, considering the activity in July 2011 in Katla volcano (an minor eruption). This harmonic tremor pulse seems to have happened in the north part of Katla volcano, outside the caldera from my best estimates but might well be inside it in the north part of it.

But its hard to be sure on that detail. From what I can tell, this harmonic tremor pulse does not appear on my geophones clearly. But it might have appeared on Hekla geophone poorly. But it is hard to be sure on that due to wind noise. When this is written the harmonic tremor pulse appears to be dying down. But there is still an possibly that it might pick up again or an new one might start without warning. It is impossible to know for sure how long this is going to stop after this harmonic tremor pulse. This harmonic tremor pulse is due to dike intrusion in Katla volcano at depth, so earthquakes might not happen until it reaches shallower surface in the crust. If the dike intrusion gets that far to start with.

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Series of tremors at Katla
Iceland's huge volcano Katla is stirring into life after tell-tale signs of the potential for an eruption were monitored by observers.

A harmonic tremor has been recorded for two days and small earthquakes have been confirmed at the volcano by the Icelandic Met Office this morning.

It is highly unusual for an eruption in Iceland to occur in the middle of winter but the early indications show Katla is building up power.

Experts are unclear as to whether it is water or magma that is causing this week's sudden increase in activity and the seismic recordings are currently lower than when the volcano first showed signs of a minor eruption last July.

In September, Katla again stirred into life with a harmonic tremor and earthquakes in the volcano's caldera - its magma chamber.

Katla, which has not experienced a significant eruption for 93 years, is the second largest volcano on Iceland and the consequences of a major eruption will be felt across Europe.

In 2010, the country's president Ólafur Grímsson warned "the time for Katla to erupt is coming close, Iceland has prepared and it is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over Europe and the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption".

It is believed Katla, named after a vindictive troll of Viking folklore, has the potential to be much stronger and disruptive than the last two Icelandic volcanic eruptions that caused chaos across Europe's air space, grounding flights and closing airports.

Katla is much larger than its neighbouring Eyjafjallajokull – which erupted in 2010 - with a magma chamber about 10 times the size.

Volcanologists warn that if Katla does erupt, the combination of the magma and the large ice sheet covering the volcano could lead to explosive activity and an ash plume for weeks, if not months.

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Harmonic tremor could indicate small eruption
Volcanic tremor (a low frequency vibration often caused by magma rising to the surface) has been observed under Katla volcano in southern Iceland, Jón Frímann reports on his Iceland volcanoes blog (see below), closely following seismic activity in Iceland recorded both by national instruments and his own private geophone network.

According to Jón, there are 2 possible explanations: one could simply be an increase in hydrothermal activity in the northern part of Katla volcano.

The second could be magma movements at depth although there have been no significant earthquakes that usually would accompany an intrusion or small (sub-glacial) eruption, although this still could occur in the near future as often observed in the past during similar episodes of tremor followed by earthquakes.
The last minor eruption at Katla volcano was on 6 September 2011, and caused a small glacial flood.

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Some news has appeared about a sudden warming of the Askja volcano caldera lake. It seems that a melt of ice in the caldera lake started in the beginning of March and by the end of March, the lake was completely ice free.

This is highly unusual and it is not known to have happened before. Such increase in hydrothermal activity is probably caused by a heat source at the bottom of the lake, although so far, there are no other changes visible around Lake Askja. Hydrothermal areas around Askja are active recent reports confirm.

Whether the raised temperature of Askja lake is a precursor to a new eruption in the foreseeable future is speculation at this point.

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A short update on Askja volcano ice-free lake.

There have been news about the tour of geologist to Askja lake this week in the news. So far the result are puzzling. It turns out that Askja lake is just 1C, but that is normal for this time of year. So why it is ice-free remains a mystery at current time. Data from GPS and seismometers. Samples of the water has been taken also for a analyze and review of weather condition’s is under way. But so far the Askja lake mystery deepens.

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Earthquakes at Snæfellsjökull volcano
Snæfellsjökull volcano is not often in the news in Iceland. But today there was a short news about it due a study that was done last summer on earthquake activity in Snæfellsjökull volcano. The study was to see if there where any earthquake activity in Snæfellsjökull volcano. The results are really interesting, the main result was there is a lot of earthquake activity in Snæfellsjökull volcano. But also that most of the earthquakes take place on the depth from 9 to 13 km depth. This study was done by Matteo Lupi and Florian Fuchs at Bonn University in Iceland.

The reasons for earthquake activity in Snæfellsjökull volcano is magma. There are not a lot of tectonic movement in Snæfellsjökull volcano area. As it is a volcano zone, but not a rift zone as is the case in most areas of Iceland. But so far it seems that there is no risk of volcano eruption for now. At least that is the opinion for the moment.

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Earthquake swarm near Hekla
Yesterday there was an interesting swarm of small earthquakes in Hekla volcano system, or to be accurate. The earthquake swarm took place on the edge of Hekla volcano system. How far into the SISZ it was I do not know. For some unknown reasons, the earthquakes have not yet been reviewed. So errors are in there location and depth.

I have no idea what this means in terms of possible eruption in Hekla volcano. But this activity is interesting. But this is however not something that is new to this area. But it is uncommon anyway.

Activity in Hekla volcano system can be monitored on my web page with webicorders. Some of them have high human and wind noise however. As this is not expert setup that I am using.

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Katla warming up for Eruption

It seems that Katla volcano is warming up for a eruption. As I did mention in last blog post. But there is more to this. As the glacier flood that started on the 28. April 2012 continues according to a email that I got from an geologist working at Iceland Meteorological Office. But that suggests two things. That there is currently an ongoing melting of glacier taking place in Katla volcano, or there is a slow drainage taking place from some area in Mýrdalsjökull glacier. But given increased conductivity following this it is clear that this water has been in contact with magma. But that can be seen with the increased conductivity in the water.

There have not been many earthquakes following this events. But from the earthquakes that have happened. It seems that most likely source for current events is close to or the same area that erupted in July 2011. But at the moment this is just speculation based on limited data. It has not been confirmed so far.



The harmonic tremor that started on 28. April 2012.

This plot shows clearly how the harmonic tremor starts and continues at same level for several days. I do not know if the harmonic tremor is ongoing. But I find it likely, if the small glacier flood is currently going on (that was my last information, but things might have changed during the day). But it is hard for me to know that for sure. But based on latest data from the water monitoring system around Katla volcano, the spike in this glacier flood is most likely over for now. But it impossible to know what happens next in Katla volcano. All that can be done is to wait and see what happens next.

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Op zaterdag 12 mei 2012 14:39 schreef Frutsel het volgende:

[..]

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Update Sat 09 Jun 12:20
The earthquake swarm under the southern part of the icecap of Katla volcano that had started on 5 June continues with 30 more quakes recorded during the past 48 hours.
The quakes are mostly very small, but a few were between magnitude 2 and 3, and most are located at shallow depths of less than 5 km.

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Op woensdag 13 juni 2012 00:02 schreef lipjes het volgende:
nu dus