More than 700 Tremors over the Weekend
Grindavík. Þorbjörn mountain in the background. mbl.is/Kristinn Magnússon
Seismic activity continues in the vicinity of Grindavík, on the Reykjanes peninsula, although last night was rather uneventful, according to the Icelandic Met Office.
About 40 tremors have been detected in the area since midnight, most of which are less than 2 in magnitude. An earthquake of magnitude 3.3 was detected around 2 km northeast of Grindavik at 7:04 pm last night.
Since January 21, over 1,000 tremors or earthquakes have been detected in the area, 700 of which occurred over the weekend. Most of them are located in a SW/NE line around 2 km northeast of Grindavík.
The largest earthquake hit the area Friday night at 10:23 pm. It measured 4.3 in magnitude. Two other quakes in excess of magnitude 3 hit that night.
The latest GPS data show that the uplift west of Þorbjörn is still ongoing - amounting to more than 4 cm since January 20. “With ongoing uplift we can expect ongoing earthquake activity,” a specialist at the Icelandic Met Office notes, adding that the most likely explanation of the uplift and earthquake activity is that there is a magma intrusion at a depth of 3-9 km, just west of Þorbjörn mountain. “Most likely, this activity will stop without any volcanism,” the specialist concludes - a remark that must be considered uplifting.
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