Strongest earthquake swarm in over two years
View looking west over Mýrdalsjökull glacier and the Katla volcano. mbl.is/RAX
It has been almost two and a half years since an earthquake swarm similar to the one yesterday was measured in Mýrdalsjökull glacier. There are no indications that a glacial outburst flood (jökulhlaup) or volcanic eruption is beginning.
Sigríður Magnea Óskarsdóttir, natural hazards specialist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, tells mbl.is that the last comparable swarm in Mýrdalsjökull occurred in May 2023, when the largest quake measured magnitude 4.8.
“There was also a swarm in June 2023, but the earthquakes were then more numerous, though not as large,” she says.
“So this has come in a few swarms, but it’s been roughly two years since we’ve seen this many strong ones.”
Reviewing possible causes
Óskarsdóttir says that possible causes behind the current swarm are still being reviewed and that they will be discussed at a briefing scheduled to begin shortly.
However, she adds that there is currently no sign of a glacial outburst flood starting.
So there’s no need to worry about a flood or eruption at this stage?
“At least not as things stand now. There is no tremor or unrest — if anything, things have calmed down.”
A post on the Meteorological Office’s Facebook page notes that there have been no reports of the largest earthquakes being felt in inhabited areas, though it cannot be ruled out that people in the region may have noticed them.
The agency also points out that larger earthquakes increase the likelihood of rock or ice falls, and that the glacier will be monitored very closely.
