Earthquakes likely due to tension in the tectonic plates
Kleifarvatn. The earthquakes originates west of the lake. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
The earthquakes at Trölladyngja today is probably caused by tension changes on the Reykjanes peninsula, according to Benedikt Gunnar Ófeigsson, a geophysicist and director of deformation measurements at the Icelandic Met Office.
The epicenter of the earthquakes is at the edge of the area where land is rising which was measured in the fall in the Mt. Fagradalsfjall system and Ófeigsson thinks that the earthquakes are more likely to be caused by tensional stress in the tectonic plates than seismic activity.
Could take a few days
No volcanic murmurs has been recorded on Reykjanes peninsula and there have been small changes in the land rise at Svartsengi, but as was reported yesterday, the rate of the eruption has slowed.
This is similar to the development that took place in the wake of the eruption that started at the Sundhnúkagígar crater row on December 18.
According to Ófeigsson, one week passed from the time that scientists saw clear signs of the slowdown of the land rise to the last eruption. It could therefore take another few days before something starts happening on the Reykjanes peninsula, that is if something happens.
