Could another Icelandic volcano erupt soon?

reply to post by YourPopRock


When you say 'Katla tremors are normal', yes some are normal. There is little or no activity at Katla at present as the qaukes map shows. Note however the mini swarm under Eyjafjallajokull continues. By the way tremors are not earthquakes as such. Tremors are usually what is referred to as harmonic tremors and normally are associated with the movement of magma.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a7e2874e37f5.png[/atsimg]

The Eyjafjoll volcano looks very much quieter today and the trmor graphs are way down.

This is the link to get the map above.

And this is the link for the tremor graphs. GOD is the closest to Katla and HAU is the closest to Hekla.

Note that on the map it refers to Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull. These are the names of the glaciers(ice caps). Where the quakes are at present is the crater of Eyjafjoll, which is the name of the volcano. The other dotted line is the Katla caldera. Katla (actually Kotla) is the name of the volcano of course.

Likewise under the Vatnajokull icecap we have Grimsvotn, Bardabunga, Öraefajökull and Kverkfjöll. To the SW of that is Laki.

Here is the link for the Vatnajokull area.

Basically this is a very 'busy' area of iceland volcanically since north of Vatnajokull is Askja, and more extending up into the Tjörnes fracture zone.

Iceland is split in half by the mid Altlantic ridge and the two parts move at 1 cm per year away from each other.

By the way Katla is NOT showing as active. I would take anything RSOE says with a pinch of salt. If you want to know about Iceland look at the icelandic maps not RSOE. If you look at the tremor map you will see that they specifically state that nothing is happening at Katla. When that message goes away - worry!

Hope that helps!

[edit on 23/5/2010 by PuterMan]

How long do you think Katla will just sit by and let its smaller brother iuyhkjsdfh,ksaduysk,fdhuS,KDFU,HS.DKBH (or however it's spelled) take credit for all this mayhem?

If they are anything like typical siblings, Katla should be gearing up for quite the show!

reply to post by YourPopRock


I would not like to make a guess on that one, and I don't even think an Icelandic geologist would either. Whilst on the last three occassions that Ejyafjoll has erupted Katla has subsequently erupted within 6 months or so, there is nothing to suggest that this would be the case again. Mother Nature is just not that predictable when it comes to these things.

There is also no foundation for presuming that any eruption at Katla would necessarily be a very bad one. It may be minor or it may be a world event - who knows. Do you remember the last one? If you look on Wikipedia you find...

The last major eruption occurred in 1918, although there may have been a couple small eruptions that did not break the ice cover: one in 1955 and another 1999

Source

So my point is that a Katla eruption may not be a doomsday event.

Whatever happens the sun will come up the next day (of course whether you can see it is a different matter! )

[edit on 24/5/2010 by PuterMan]

I am just wondering what the effect would be if katla went up with a big bang instead of a fizzle.

The last time she really went off, we didn't have air traffic to speak of... I wonder what would happen if she went ka-boom.

Also, does anyone know the duration of katla's last eruptions?

Gotta credit lasertaglover for this post:

The EQ you mention is right in the middle of Katla. I have seen most of the recent EQ's, and I don't quite remember seeing one so centered.

Wednesday
26.05.2010 08:43:21 63.667 -19.114 2.8 km 0.7 49.21 7.3 km ENE of Goðabunga

Here is the link for the map:

en.vedur.is...=map

And I still think that the progression of EQ activity towards Katla looks like magma moving in that direction. Maybe a 'larger' sized lava tube?

reply to post by YourPopRock


Thanks for the credit YourPopRock.

Today, Bárdarbunga had some seismic activity as well. Remember, 'E' is smaller than Katla (by alot), and Katla is smaller than Bárdarbunga (also by alot).

I am still a noob at posting, so I do not know how to get the pic on here, but this is the link for Bárdarbunga seismic activity:

en.vedur.is...=map

I am not an expert on volcanic or seismic activity (even though I did stay in a Holiday Inn once), but I have been tracking US seismic activity for about 10 years now.

This is also a good site for volcano knowledge even though it only updates weekly:

www.volcano.si.edu...

reply to post by prettygreeneyes26


And it wasn't Katla. It was Laki.

mclinking

I would like to give special credit to ATS Menber "Portugoal" for this post from a more recent Katla thread:

2nd Iceland volcano issues warning- Scientists say powerful Katla is ‘close to failure’


2nd Iceland volcano issues warning

www.msnbc.msn.com


A second, much larger volcano in Iceland is showing signs that it may be about to erupt, scientists have warned.

Since the start of the Eyjafjallajökull eruption, which caused cancellations of thousands of flights in Europe because of a giant ash cloud, there has been much speculation about neighboring Katla.

An initial research paper by the University College of London Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction said: "Analysis of the seismic energy released around Katla over the last decade or so is interpreted as providing evidence of a rising ... intrusive magma body on the western
(visit the link for the full news article)

--------------------

Looks to me like Katla is getting close. Could this be magma flow underground between the 2? Could E just be venting off some pressure from Katla?

When do you think we will see the fireworks?

I really don't like this quake activity at Bárdarbunga.

Quakes - Vatnajökull

There have been other quakes at Vatnajökull recently, but now the quakes seems more concentrated near Bárdarbunga. Bárdarbunga (Stratovolcano) is much bigger than Katla. If it erupts, let's hope that it'll only be a small event. Bárdarbunga's last major eruption was in 1477.

Just got back into town from a computerless weekend at the cabin.

Haven't had the chance to look yet, so I will ask... how was the volcanic activity over the weekend?

Just found this neat little record of Katla's historical eruptions

Eruption site Year/century Date Duration (days)
Katla 1955 (small subglacial eruption)
Katla 1918 12 October 24
Katla 1860 8 May 20
Katla 1823 26 June 28
Katla 1755 17 October ~120 days
Katla 1721 11 May ~100 days
Katla 1660 3 November ~60 days
Katla 1625 2 September ~ 13 days
Katla 1612 12 October
Katla 1580 11 August
Katla ~1500
Katla 15. century
Katla 1416
Katla ~1357
Katla 1262
Katla 1245
Katla ~1179
Katla 12. century
Eldgjá-Katla ~934
Katla ~920
Katla Late 9. cent. or early 10. cent.


Do these dates sync up with any other major earth events at the time?

Has anyone been watching volcanic activity lately?

Any thought as to if this is just the calm before the storm?

Calm before the storm it is!

Katla has reported several earthquakes today...

Check this out: [url=http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/myrdalsjokull/]http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/myrdalsjokull/[/ url]

Looks like we could be in for the big boom I have been talking about!

Here is the map from today!

You will see it waking up!

I have to give you 10 out of 10 for persistence!!

Yes it will wake up - one day! Maybe sooner, maybe later.

I will take the 10 on that one!

I think we will honestly see the big dog katla go up... and sooner than later!

Odd thought.... can volcanic ash soak up oil?