The Meteorological Office still warns that a large earthquake of up to 7 in magnitude could occur at the mouth of Eyjafjörður, according to Vísir. Over 13,000 earthquakes have been detected in the area since the earthquake series began on June 19th. They are also the strongest earthquakes there in 40 years.
Three earthquakes of magnitude 5-6 were measured in the first days of the series, which have been the strongest in two locations near Siglufjörður.
According to Sigurdís Björg Jónasdóttir, a nature conservation specialist at the Meteorological Office, the earthquakes are ongoing.
“There have been about 300 earthquakes in the area over the weekend, but no major earthquakes yet, although we still expect a big tremor,” she tells Vísir.
“There could be an earthquake of a magnitude of 7 which would be very big and would have a big impact. Historically that has happened.”
Sigurdís ascribes the current rumbles at least partially to the movements along a fault line and of two tectonic plates.
Meanwhile, Bárðarbunga has also been shaken up by a multitude of earthquakes just last night ranging from under 2 to about 3.6 in magnitude.
The stratovolcano located under Vatnajökull last erupted in 2014 but Einar Bessi Gestsson, another nature conservation expert at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, tells RÚV that the current rumbles are in line with the usual earthquake pattern in these areas and no new eruption is expected in the area in the near future.
The last magnitude 3.0 earthquake in Bárðarbunga was recorded a month ago, on June 14, and there have been a total of ten earthquakes this year of that magnitude.
Did we mention that seismic activity has been persistent in the area around Grindavík in Reykjanes as well? The last earthquake in that area measured 3 in magnitude on July 12th, according to vedur.is.
The Reykjanes region already made headlines in March when earthquake clusters and ground swelling due to magma intrusion were detected near Mt. Þórbjörn. While things have calmed considerably since then, scientists are still regularly monitoring the area.
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