Is Bárðarbunga volcano stirring again? The huge sub-glacial caldera, located in Vatnajökull glacier in the central highlands, was hit by a 3.2 earthquake yesterday (16 November) and according to the Iceland Met Office (IMO) noticeable seismic activity has been recorded in the area this past month. Scientists are closely monitoring the volcano.
Bárðarbunga is at the center of a 200 km (124 mi) long volcanic system, one of the largest on the planet. The 10 km (6,2 mi) wide caldera is located underneath a 600 to 850-meter (1,968 to 2,788 ft.) thick ice cap in Vatnajökull glacier.
The large eruption in Holuhraun lava field, that lasted for 181 days (31st August 2014 to 27th February 2015) was directly connected to subsidence in the center of the caldera.
The eruption was in an ice free zone about 41 km (25.5 mi) north of the caldera, and it left a new lava covering 85 square km (32.8 sq. mi). For scale, imagine an area roughly 1.5 times larger than Manhattan island covered with new 7 to 30 meters (21–90 feet) thick lava.
Is Bárðarbunga volcano stirring again? The huge sub-glacial caldera, located in Vatnajökull glacier in the central highlands, was hit by a 3.2 earthquake yesterday (16 November) and according to the Iceland Met Office (IMO) noticeable seismic activity has been recorded in the area this past month. Scientists are closely monitoring the volcano.
Bárðarbunga is at the center of a 200 km (124 mi) long volcanic system, one of the largest on the planet. The 10 km (6,2 mi) wide caldera is located underneath a 600 to 850-meter (1,968 to 2,788 ft.) thick ice cap in Vatnajökull glacier.
The large eruption in Holuhraun lava field, that lasted for 181 days (31st August 2014 to 27th February 2015) was directly connected to subsidence in the center of the caldera.
The eruption was in an ice free zone about 41 km (25.5 mi) north of the caldera, and it left a new lava covering 85 square km (32.8 sq. mi). For scale, imagine an area roughly 1.5 times larger than Manhattan island covered with new 7 to 30 meters (21–90 feet) thick lava.
