An Earthquake swarm is underway in Iceland, with over 10.000 earthquakes detected in the past 7 days

A powerful earthquake swarm has begun on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland on February 24th. Over 10.000 earthquakes have been detected since the beginning of the earthquake swarm.

After the long series of strong earthquakes, magma movement is now also being detected. This increases the risk of a potential volcanic eruption on the peninsula, as long as the earthquake swarm continues.

Iceland is a very famous volcanic island in the North Atlantic. It is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world. As history shows, its eruptions can sometimes have powerful impacts on Europe and the entire Northern Hemisphere.

It has constant earthquake activity because it sits on both the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. The plates are moving away from each other, tearing the island apart. It is the only place in the world where you can see those two tectonic plates and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge above ground.

On the image below, you can see where the spreading Mid-Atlantic ridge is passing through Iceland (orange strands). It enters in the southwest on the Reykjanes Peninsula, going towards the east, where it then turns north. Main volcanoes are marked in red.

The region of main activity recently is the Reykjanes Peninsula. You can see it on the image above, as the western tip of Iceland, where the Mid-Atlantic ridge enters Iceland.

Further reading: Severe Weather Europe

Quote from JiminieKookie

Is this badly affecting the citizen?

From a Redditor who is supposedly living in Iceland:

As someone living less than 10 miles / 15km from the area where most the stronger quakes and tremors currently originate, we certainly are living in interesting times. Having slight tremors below 3.0 Richters is very common here, and usually they are too weak to be felt and only register on the seismometers. Having quakes strong enough that the house shakes.... that's not so common, much less so that it now happens every hour or every few hours.

Still, so far all the quakes have been under 6.0R, and at least personally I'd rather deal with regular weakish quakes than one sudden, strong one. And from what I've read, that's the difference between subduction zone quakes where one tectonic plate pushes beneath another one (looking at you, California) and expansion zone quakes where two plates drift apart. In the latter case you get frequent but weak quakes, in the former you get more rare but much more stronger ones.

Most of the quakes here last between just 5-20 seconds, and when you're not used to it, it's a pretty peculiar experience. Sometimes you first hear a rumbling sound, and then things start shaking, most of the time laterally, with the ground shifting back and forth on the horizontal plane, and since the whole ground moves, you feel like you're dizzy and are losing balance. Then there's of course a few vertical shakes too, rocking things in the shelves and everywhere. As a whole... imagine swerving down a road full of potholes in your car, pulling the steerring wheel left and right wildly and still hitting some potholes regardless. Now imagine your entire house is the car. And no-one is on the steering wheel, you are not in control at all. That's the unnerving bit. That, and you never know when it happens next. Maybe that last quake was the last there is gonna be. Maybe the next hits in an hour, or in a minute. It keeps you on edge.

Of course people are unnerved, especially since the news do partly contradict themselves as new facts are revealed. Some sources report that this will all boil over in a few days, others report that it is an event that occurs every half a century and that the quakes might go on for a year or several years. Guess in the end all we can do is wait and see.

In the end, people prepare. We've drained our fishtanks to half volume, taken heavy objects off shelves and cupboards, and packed an emergency suitcase just in case. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

In the end it MIGHT not be the worst if this turns into a volcanic eruption as long as the ashfall and any lava flows keep out of populated areas, our economy has taken a severe hit during the whole pandemic crisis and we could use a boost via tourism there, especially since we finally seem to have pretty decent checks and protocols in place right at the airport and people need to have a negative test record no older than 3 days before they even are allowed to fly here.

And if everything else fails, we'll sacrifice the tourists to our volcano gods.

Perhaps related?

Volcanic unrest confirmed

Source: Rus

It has just been confirmed that there is volcanic unrest on the Reykjanes peninsula, according to Kristín Jónsdóttir, division head for natural disaster monitoring at the Met Office.

Scientists are still analysing the data, but the measurements indicate the pulses of instability beneath the surface usually expected just before a volcanic eruption.

"That is not to say that we are seing signs that an eruption has started. But it does appear to be the sort of instability pulses we'd expect in the run up to an eruption," Kristín says.

A statement from the Met Office says the pulses began at 14.20.

"It is being recorded on most seismometers and is located south of Keilir, by Litla Hrútar. Such readings are registered in the run up to a volcanic eruption but there is no confirmation that an eruption has begun. Further analysis is underway."

Quote from bartkun

I just hope people will be safe and if there will be a possibility of a fast evacuation then people will just run away asap...

also if there would be an eruption, let's hope for small one, or... for the one that shots magma to water, not to land, with small amount of ash and toxins

From Reddit:

Few points to consider

1. It's neither underwater nor under a glacier, so there won't be the same amount of ash as the 2010 eruption. At least not enough to shut down air traffic.
2. It's probably not going to destroy any settlements, although the main road to the international airport might be in danger. Also there is some gas that might go over to Reykjavík
3. It's the first eruption in this area for ca. 900 years..

17,000 earthquakes hit Iceland in the past week. An eruption could be imminent

Source: CNN

Reykjavik (CNN)Even for a volcanic island accustomed to the occasional tremor, this has been an unusual week for Iceland. According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, around 17,000 earthquakes have hit the southwestern region of Reykjanes over the past week.

The largest quake, a magnitude 5.6 on the Richter scale, occurred on the morning of February 24. It was the loudest in a swarm that continues to rattle residents in the nearby capital city of Reykjavík and the municipalities around it, where two-thirds of the Icelandic population lives. Two larger earthquakes -- over magnitude 5.0 -- also hit on February 27 and March 1.

The quakes have caused little damage so far, though Iceland's Road and Coastal Administration has reported small cracks in roads in the area and rockfalls on steep slopes near the epicenter of the swarm.

"I have experienced earthquakes before but never so many in a row," Reykjavik resident Auður Alfa Ólafsdóttir told CNN. "It is very unusual to feel the Earth shake 24 hours a day for a whole week. It makes you feel very small and powerless against nature."

In the fishing town of Grindavík, locals have had a front-row seat to the tremors. "I've not experienced anything like this before," says Páll Valur Björnsson, who teaches at the local College of Fisheries and sits as a deputy member of Parliament.

"We are used to it; it started one year ago. But it is much more now -- very unsettling. I'm not afraid but this is uncomfortable. I woke up twice last night because of [tremors]. There was a very big one when I went to sleep, and I woke up with one. It is difficult but you have to learn to live with it," he said.

Iceland sits on a tectonic plate boundary that continually splits apart, pushing North America and Eurasia away from each other along the line of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Most seismic activity here is only picked up by sensitive scientific equipment. Occasional stronger tremors are an inevitable part of living in an active seismic region.

Only this time, there seems to be no end to the rumble under the ground.

Þorvaldur Þórðarson, a professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland, said concerns over the recent activity are understandable. "Of course it worries people. For this region, this is actually fairly unusual, not because of the type of earthquakes or their intensity, but for their duration. It's been going for more than a week now."

"We are battling with the 'why' at the moment. Why is this happening? It is very likely that we have an intrusion of magma into the [Earth's] crust there. It has definitely moved closer to the surface, but we are trying to figure out if it's moving even closer to it," he said. With multiple volcanoes in the area, local officials have warned that an eruption could be imminent.

Aerial view taken on February 28, 2021 shows the lighthouse and the geothermal energy plant near the town of Grindavik on the Reykjanes peninsula, Iceland.

Elísabet Pálmadóttir, specialist in natural hazards at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told CNN that authorities are deploying surveillance equipment in the area, from GPS and earthquake monitors to web cameras and gas detectors.

She too can't remember having ever experienced so many earthquakes over such a long period of time. She warns that a more powerful event could be cause for concern, and estimates that the area could experience a magnitude 6 earthquake or above.

"In this particular area, where we've seen activity in the past week, we could experience a magnitude 6.0 earthquake. But we could have a 6.5 to the east of the area, east of the Kleifarvatn Lake," she says.

No towns appear to be at risk from lava flows in the event of a volcanic eruption, according to the latest modeling by the University of Iceland's Volcanology and Natural Hazard Group, which released maps of potential flows on Wednesday.

Lava flow modeling in Reykjanes Penninsula by University of Iceland researchers at the Nordic Volcanological Center.

"Based on the current model, no major town is in harm's way," volcanologist Ármann Höskuldsson told CNN, adding that Keflavík International Airport -- one of the most direct connections between Iceland and the rest of the world — would also be spared.

However, the main road connecting the airport to the capital, Reykjavík, could be impacted, as could some powerlines, he added.

Pálmadóttir notes that such models do not account for possible dangerous gases that could be emitted from a volcanic eruption.

The specter of a major eruption recalls the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010, which caused one of the world's largest air-traffic shutdowns since World War II. But Pálmadóttir says a similar ash plume would be unlikely in the current situation.

Þórðarson adds that "the magma composition here is very different, the intensity of explosive activity would be significantly less."

On Wednesday afternoon, a tremor close to the Keilir volcano, just 20 miles south of the capital, prompted authorities to ban traffic in the area. On its webpage, the Icelandic MET Office says similar activity has previously preceded eruptions.

Víðir Reynisson, Chief Superintendent at Iceland's Department for Civil Protection and Emergency Management, told a news conference on Wednesday that an eruption was "more likely than not" within the next few hours. It would be the first in the area since the 12th century.

For now, residents await signs of an eruption, some with excitement, others with anxiety. Víkurfréttir, a local news service, has installed a video camera pointing at Keilir, which will start livestreaming should an eruption start.

In the last 24 hours, the large earthquakes felt the previous days have largely subsided -- but the current lull may not last for long. "It's definitely not over," says Pálmadóttir.

UPDATE:

Earthquake swarm in Iceland continues, now with over 20.000 earthquakes detected since the start, facing an even higher eruption risk in the next few days

Earthquake swarm in Iceland continues, now with over 20.000 earthquakes detected since the start, facing an even higher eruption risk in the next few days

A powerful earthquake swarm continues on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland since February 24th. Over 20.000 earthquakes have now been detected since the beginning of the earthquake swarm.

As the series of strong earthquakes continues, more signs of magma movement are also being detected. This has prompted the officials monitoring the situation, to raise the alert level from yellow to orange.

celand is most known as a volcanic island in the North Atlantic. It is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world. As history shows, its eruptions can sometimes have powerful impacts on Europe and the entire Northern Hemisphere.

It has constant earthquake activity because it sits on both the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. The plates are moving away from each other, tearing the island apart. It is the only place in the world where you can see those two tectonic plates and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge above ground.

Further reading: Severe Weather