Between 29 August and 4 September around 600 earthquakes were detected by the South Iceland Lowland (SIL) earthquake monitoring network of the Icelandic Met Office (IMO).
This kind of seismic activity is quite usual in Iceland. The island lies on the divergent boundary between the Eurasian plate and the North American plate. Iceland is in effect slowly splitting apart along the spreading center between the plates, with the North America plate moving westward from the Eurasia plate. The rate of spreading along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge averages about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) per year, or 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) in a million years.
According to IMO the main source of last week’s action was a seismic swarm in Mýrdalsjökull glacier. On 29 August two quakes hit northern rim of Mýrdalsjökull’s large sub glacial volacano Katla measured at magnitude 4.5. Those are the biggest earthquakes in Katla volcano since 1977.
In the afternoon of 29 August a M3.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2.5 mi) north of the fishing town of Grindavík on Reykjanes peninsula in Southwest Iceland, next door to the Blue Lagoon. It was felt in the town and in the town of Hafnafjörður in the capital area.
On 30 August an earthquake of magnitude 3.8 was measured in the Bárðarbunga caldera, the huge sub-glacial volcano in Vatnajökull glacier in the south central highlands.
One other notable event last week was close to Landmannalaugar nature reserve, also in the south central highlands, where visitors felt an earthquake M1.7 located at Brennisteinsalda volcano (height above sea level: 855 m/2.805 ft).
In addition to the Mid Atlantic Ridge underneath Iceland, is also a hotspot, the Iceland plume, which is believed to have caused the formation of the island some 16 to 18 million years ago.
Accordingly we have repeated eruptions and seismic activity, and, of course, an abundant of geothermal energy.
The SIL system
IMO’s automatic SIL monitoring network has been in operation for two decades. Besides evaluating source function and mechanism information carried from below by micro-earthquakes, it provides near real-time information that is used as the basis for an alert system.
Between 29 August and 4 September around 600 earthquakes were detected by the South Iceland Lowland (SIL) earthquake monitoring network of the Icelandic Met Office (IMO).
This kind of seismic activity is quite usual in Iceland. The island lies on the divergent boundary between the Eurasian plate and the North American plate. Iceland is in effect slowly splitting apart along the spreading center between the plates, with the North America plate moving westward from the Eurasia plate. The rate of spreading along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge averages about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) per year, or 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) in a million years.
According to IMO the main source of last week’s action was a seismic swarm in Mýrdalsjökull glacier. On 29 August two quakes hit northern rim of Mýrdalsjökull’s large sub glacial volacano Katla measured at magnitude 4.5. Those are the biggest earthquakes in Katla volcano since 1977.
In the afternoon of 29 August a M3.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2.5 mi) north of the fishing town of Grindavík on Reykjanes peninsula in Southwest Iceland, next door to the Blue Lagoon. It was felt in the town and in the town of Hafnafjörður in the capital area.
On 30 August an earthquake of magnitude 3.8 was measured in the Bárðarbunga caldera, the huge sub-glacial volcano in Vatnajökull glacier in the south central highlands.
One other notable event last week was close to Landmannalaugar nature reserve, also in the south central highlands, where visitors felt an earthquake M1.7 located at Brennisteinsalda volcano (height above sea level: 855 m/2.805 ft).
In addition to the Mid Atlantic Ridge underneath Iceland, is also a hotspot, the Iceland plume, which is believed to have caused the formation of the island some 16 to 18 million years ago.
Accordingly we have repeated eruptions and seismic activity, and, of course, an abundant of geothermal energy.
The SIL system
IMO’s automatic SIL monitoring network has been in operation for two decades. Besides evaluating source function and mechanism information carried from below by micro-earthquakes, it provides near real-time information that is used as the basis for an alert system.
