Met Office Hypothesises Two Outcomes Of Earthquake Swarm

Experts at the Icelandic Meteorological Office are hypothesising two scenarios that could play out in the coming days or weeks, MBL.is reports.

The first is that the earthquake swarms that began to rumble the Reykjanes peninsula July 4 could simply die down without magma breaching the Earth’s surface. Alternatively, siesmic activity could continue, resulting in an eruption at the epicentre of the quakes. The Reykjanes peninsula has been rocked by 4,700 earthquakes since the current swarm began, with more than 1,300 occurring today since midnight.

Graph of earthquakes on the Reykjanes peninsula as of July 6, 2023 at 17:15. (Vedur.is)

The more likely of thee two scenarios is, according to the Met office, that an eruption will begin in the coming days or weeks, with a fissure opening anywhere between Fagradalsfjall and Keilir.