Another earthquake with a magnitude greater than 3 degrees shook South-West Iceland at night. It came at 2:07 and it was 3.7 degrees. Its source was 1.2 km southwest of Mount Keilir. It was preceded by a 3.2 quake at 10:10 pm, the source of which was 0.7 km southwest of Keilir. The largest earthquake to date occurred at 11:28 am and had a magnitude of 3.8. Its source was also 0.7 km southwest of Keilir. In total, the area was hit by seven earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater since Monday.
As reported by Morgunblaðið, the latest satellite images of the area show no signs of magma intrusion. However, this cannot be completely ruled out, as soil uplift may only occur after a few days.
Lovísa Mjöll Guðmundsdóttir, a natural hazard specialist at the Icelandic Meteorology Institute, told mbl.is that it examined InSAR satellite imagery for potential inflation. InSAR is a ground deformation mapping technique that uses radar images of the Earth’s surface from orbiting satellites.
Lovísa says it is too early to predict the event scenario and is not yet willing to predict whether current seismic activity might develop as it did in February when it ended with the Fagradalsfjall eruption on March 19.
He admits that scientists at yesterday’s meeting disagreed on whether the current seismic activity is related to magma intrusion or earthquakes at the boundary of tectonic plates.
There has been no apparent volcanic activity at the Fagradalsfjall eruption site in recent days, though degassing has been evident from the crater. When asked if the current earthquake swarm might indicate the beginning of a new phase, Lovísa replies that it is too early to say so.
Compared to the earthquake swarm that occurred in February, current activity is concentrated in a much smaller area. In February, earthquakes occurred in many parts of the Reykjanes peninsula.
Source: Yle