Yet another earthquake struck in the large sub glacial volcano Katla this morning. According to the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) the magnitude 3.5 quake hit at 8.58 and was followed by a few smaller aftershocks.
Katla is located under the ice cape of Mýrdlasjökull glacier in South Iceland and is one of Iceland’s most notorious volcanoes.
Earthquakes in the volcano started picking up the pace earlier this summer. Last week, on 29th August two considerable earthquakes struck in the northern rim of Katla’s caldera. The magnitude 4.5 quakes were the biggest earthquakes in the volcano since 1977.
The last eruption in Katla was in 1918, and as the volcano has historically erupted at least once every century, geologists have been expecting it to take off for a while.
Read more: A guide to Iceland’s glaciers, what to do there & their claim to fame
This is of course a reason for serious concern as Katla has the potential of generating an eruption that is at least ten times larger than the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. That event was felt around the northern hemisphere when the dispersal of the ash cloud shut down all aviation across the North Atlantic for one week, 313 airports were closed and 104,000 international flights between Europe and North America were cancelled.
But what is going on now? Is Katla about to explode or not? IMO’s experts have somewhat clarified the situation. The short answer is not necessarily, as several similar periods of unrest have occurred at Katla in the last 50 years without resulting in an explosive eruption. But as the history shows us Katla is overdue, so we should be prepared. Here you can read IMO’s assessment.
IMO has several monitoring networks around Mýrdalsjökull glacier, the home of Katla, and via twenty-four-hour monitoring, every effort will be made to issue a timely warning in the event of a volcanic eruption.
Read more: Iceland's most notorious volcano is kept under close surveillance
The distance between Katla and Reykjavík is around 180 km (112 mi). However Vík village (population 318), a very popular travel destination on the south coast, is located at the bottom of the volcano.
Yet another earthquake struck in the large sub glacial volcano Katla this morning. According to the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) the magnitude 3.5 quake hit at 8.58 and was followed by a few smaller aftershocks.
Katla is located under the ice cape of Mýrdlasjökull glacier in South Iceland and is one of Iceland’s most notorious volcanoes.
Earthquakes in the volcano started picking up the pace earlier this summer. Last week, on 29th August two considerable earthquakes struck in the northern rim of Katla’s caldera. The magnitude 4.5 quakes were the biggest earthquakes in the volcano since 1977.
The last eruption in Katla was in 1918, and as the volcano has historically erupted at least once every century, geologists have been expecting it to take off for a while.
Read more: A guide to Iceland’s glaciers, what to do there & their claim to fame
This is of course a reason for serious concern as Katla has the potential of generating an eruption that is at least ten times larger than the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. That event was felt around the northern hemisphere when the dispersal of the ash cloud shut down all aviation across the North Atlantic for one week, 313 airports were closed and 104,000 international flights between Europe and North America were cancelled.
But what is going on now? Is Katla about to explode or not? IMO’s experts have somewhat clarified the situation. The short answer is not necessarily, as several similar periods of unrest have occurred at Katla in the last 50 years without resulting in an explosive eruption. But as the history shows us Katla is overdue, so we should be prepared. Here you can read IMO’s assessment.
IMO has several monitoring networks around Mýrdalsjökull glacier, the home of Katla, and via twenty-four-hour monitoring, every effort will be made to issue a timely warning in the event of a volcanic eruption.
Read more: Iceland's most notorious volcano is kept under close surveillance
The distance between Katla and Reykjavík is around 180 km (112 mi). However Vík village (population 318), a very popular travel destination on the south coast, is located at the bottom of the volcano.
