Serious if Torfajökull caldera would erupt

Volcanologist Þorvaldur Þórðarson says it is a very serious matter if a volcanic eruption occurred in the Torfajökull caldera.

An earthquake struck in the northern part of the Torfajökull caldera last Sunday, with the largest tremor measuring 3.2 magnitude in an area called Breiðalda. Rocks fell in Landmannalaugar due to the earthquakes.  “There is obviously some movement going on there, but what it means is subject to interpretation,” Þórðarson tells Morgunbladid.

The last eruption at Torfajökull erupted in 1477, creating Laugahraun and Námshraun lava fields. Þórðarson states that it is not long ago in geological terms, pointing out that there have been many large eruptions at the volcano in the last few millennia.

“It was a powerful explosive eruption and it was just as powerful as the eruption of Askja in 1875,” he says of the eruption of Torfajökull in 871, which formed Hrafntinnuhraun lava fied. The 1875 eruption of Askja was the third largest explosive eruption in Iceland in historical times, although the main eruption lasted only a few hours.

“Nobody wants an eruption like this”

Asked what the significance would be if a volcanic eruption started at the volcano, Þórðarson says:

“It’s a very serious thing. Then there might be a small eruption, but if there’s a big eruption, it’s a different question. I’m absolutely convinced that Torfajökull has created an explosive eruption the size of the third and fourth eruptions in Hekla. Then there’s a nationwide tephra fall. Nobody wants an eruption like this, it’s much more convenient to have these eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula.”