No signs of receding seismic actvity in Bárðarbunga

By Gissur Sigurðsson 21. ágúst 2014 14:03

There are no signs that the seismic activity in the norhtern Vatnajökull glacier is letting up.

Close to 300 earthquakes were recorded there last night, of which two reached over 3 on the Richter scale. The first one at 23:30 GMT measured 3.8 (Richter) while the second one struck at 02:15 and measured 3 (Richter).

A similarly strong earthquake struck the area yesterday afternoon. Despite all this, there are still no signs that the magma is heading for the surface, it is still flowing horizontally to the northeast via subterrainian caverns.

Civil Protection is still preparing for an eruption with subsequent flooding, and is taking all the necessary precautions. Scientists are estimating that the ash from a possible eruption in the area will be more coarse than the ash from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption, and thus will settle much faster to the ground and won't spread out so far.

Many travellers have had to alter their travel plans due to the closed-off area of the highlands north of the Vatnajökull glacier.

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