A powerful earthquake swarm hit the Bárðarbunga caldera just before two in the afternoon. The Icelandic Meteorological Office registered a powerful 4.3 magnitude earthquakes at 13:47, followed by several large quakes, including a 4.0 magnitude quake at 13:55.
Bárðarbunga, which is located beneath Vatnajökull glacier, is one of the two largest and most powerful volcanoes in Iceland. Katla, the other, is located beneath Mýrdalsjökull glacier. Both have been showing increasing levels of activity in the past weeks and months.
Read more: Eruption in giant volcano Katla grows more likely. Tourism poses challenges for evacuation
Bárðarbunga has seen constant seismic activity since the 2014-2015 Holuhraun eruption. Dozens of powerful earthquakes, larger than 3 on the Richter scale, have been detected. The seismic activity is most likely caused by the re-filling of the magma chambers of the sub-glacial Bárðarbunga, which is the heart of the most powerful volcanic system in Iceland.
A powerful earthquake swarm hit the Bárðarbunga caldera just before two in the afternoon. The Icelandic Meteorological Office registered a powerful 4.3 magnitude earthquakes at 13:47, followed by several large quakes, including a 4.0 magnitude quake at 13:55.
Bárðarbunga, which is located beneath Vatnajökull glacier, is one of the two largest and most powerful volcanoes in Iceland. Katla, the other, is located beneath Mýrdalsjökull glacier. Both have been showing increasing levels of activity in the past weeks and months.
Read more: Eruption in giant volcano Katla grows more likely. Tourism poses challenges for evacuation
Bárðarbunga has seen constant seismic activity since the 2014-2015 Holuhraun eruption. Dozens of powerful earthquakes, larger than 3 on the Richter scale, have been detected. The seismic activity is most likely caused by the re-filling of the magma chambers of the sub-glacial Bárðarbunga, which is the heart of the most powerful volcanic system in Iceland.
