Türkiye-Syria Earthquakes, 6th February 2023

Fig 1: Rescue workers in in Osmaniye, Turkey.  Cropped from image by Onur Erdoğan, Public Domain, Wiki Commons

It’s approximately one month on from 6th February 2023 when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on the south western end of the East Anatolian Fault Zone at 01:18 UTC (04:18 local time) 32.4km west northwest of the town of Gaziantep.  This, followed by large aftershocks, including a very shallow 7.5 magnitude earthquake to the north of the first quake, caused catastrophic damage in central and southern Turkey, and northern and western Syria.  The 7.5 earthquake signalled the rupturing of a second fault zone, the Sürgü-Misis Fault.  The final fatality number is not yet available but, at the time of writing, fatalities exceeded 50,000, with hundreds of thousands injured and millions displaced.  Our thoughts are with the victims, including those facing a long road to recovery.

We have taken a look at the earthquakes surrounding the Anatolian Plate from the start of January 2023 to 1st March 2023. 

Tectonic Settings

The Anatolian Plate lies between the Eurasian Plate, Arabian Plate and African Plate.  The African Plate is moving at a rate of 2.15cm per year in a north easterly direction, the Eurasian Plate is moving south, relative to the African Plate, at a rate of 7-14mm per year, the Arabian Plate is moving northward at a rate of 15-20mm per year and the Anatolian Plate is moving south west at the rate of 21mm per year. The relative motions are accommodated by the North Anatolian Fault, East Anatolian Fault, Bitlis – Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt and Dead Sea Transform Fault System.

Fig 2: Image by Roxy – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wiki Commons

The East Anatolian Fault is a 500km long fault zone which marks the plate boundary between the Anatolian and Arabian Plates; the boundary is a transform one with left lateral strike slip seismic activity and a slip rate of 10mm per year. The Anatolian Plate is pushed westward by the Arabian Plate moving northwards towards the Eurasian Plate. 

The East Anatolian Fault is a single fault between Karliova and Çelikhan.  After Çelikhan the fault zone splits into north and south strand, both of which include multiple faults.  The Sürgü-Misis Fault makes up the northern strand; it is a 380km long stretching between Çelikhan and Karataş; the eastern parts of the east-west section are made up of the Çardak and Sürgü faults; the sytem changes direction at the Göksun bend dividing into seven north east trending fault systems – the Karataş, Yumurtalık, Toprakkale, Savrun, Misis, Çokak and Düziçi-İskenderun faults.  The Sürgü-Misis Fault system connects to the Cyprus Arc via the Misis-Kyrenia fault system.   The southern strand of the East Anatolian Fault is less certain; the East Anatolian Fault may extend to the north of Cyprus; and, the NNE trending Türkoğlu-Amik section (the Karasu Fault Zone) may be a separate fault, linking the Dead Sea Transform to the East Anatolian Fault. The Karasu Rift has had Quaternary volcanic activity on northern part and sides of the rift between Kirikhan, Reyhanli and Fevzipaşa in an area 94km long and 12-25km wide.

The North Anatolian Fault, another strike slip fault, accommodates the relative motion between the Anatolian Plate and the Eurasian Plate.  The North Anatolian Fault and the East Anatolian Fault meet the Bitlis – Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt, where the Arabian Plate subducts under the Eurasian Plate, at the Karliova Triple Junction.

Not very far to the west, the African Plate is subducting under the Anatolian Plate at the Cyrpus Arc.  The Dead Sea Transform Fault System to the south marks the transform boundary between the Arabian and African Plates.  The East Anatolian Fault meets the Dead Sea Transform Fault System at the Maras Triple Junction.

Earthquake Plots

We initially plotted the earthquakes from 1 January 2023 to 25 February 2023 for the area 34.47361°N, 25.22222°E to 42.25833°N, 44.45056°E.  We then looked at 35.3122°N, 32.50944°E to 41.21667°N, 42.70056°E, focussing on the East Anatolian Fault. The results are shown in the following videos and earthquake density plot.

Fig 3:  Video by the author of earthquake plots from 1 January 2023 to 1st March 2023, latitude v depth, Geoscatter, earthquake count and longitude v depth.  Key: cyan circles denote current earthquakes <4.5M, green stars, current earthquakes between 4.5M and 5.5K, yellow stars, current earthquakes between 5.5M and 6.5M and red stars, current  earthquakes over 6.5M; and, grey circles denote previous earthquakes <4.5M, green stars, previous earthquakes between 4.5M and 5.5K, yellow stars, previous  earthquakes between 5.5M and 6.5M ,and red stars, previous  earthquakes over 6.5M.  © copyright remains with the author, 2023; all rights reserved.
Fig 4. Video by the author of the Geoscatter plot of the East Anatolian Fault and by earthquakes in groups of 10 from 6 February 2023 to 1st March 2023.  Key: red circles denote current earthquakes <7.0M and red stars denote current earthquakes >7.0M, and dark red circles, previous earthquakes <7.0M and black stars, previous earthquakes >7.0M. © copyright remains with the author, 2023; all rights reserved.
Fig 5: Video of a rotating 3D scatter plot of the earthquakes in the East Anatolian Fault for the period 6 February 2023 to 1st March 2023. Colour denotes age: red, the oldest, and yellow, the newest. © copyright remains with the author, 2023; all rights reserved

The geodensity plot shows that most activity occurred on the Sürgü-Misis Fault to the west and east of the 7.5M earthquake.

Fig 6: Geodensity plot by the author of earthquakes occurring between 35.3122°N, 32.50944°E to 41.21667°N, 42.70056°E, from 6th February 2023 and 1st March 2023. Red triangles denote volcanoes with dated activity in the Holocene and blue triangles denote volcanoes with activity in the Holocene of unknown date. © copyright remains with the author, 2023; all rights reserved.
Fig 7: Surface rupture from the two earthquakes as shown by analysing before and after satellite images. The first rupture on the East Anatolian Fault was 190km long and the second on the Sürgü-Misis Fault was 38km long (Image credit: Copernicus/NERC/COMET)

Most of the faults within the East Anatolian Fault Zone seem to have moved in the period we looked at. However, the scale of our plots may be misleading. Our plots do show a tenuous link between the East Anatolian Fault and the Cyprus Arc.  There was some activity on the Arc preceding the 7.8 earthquake. After shocks have migrated through the fault system towards the Arc.   There is no obvious link with the Dead Sea Transform Fault in the time period selected but geologically-speaking that is a very short period.

Armchair Volcanologist

© copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2023.

Sources & Further Reading

Raw earthquake data was downloaded from EMSC, https://www.emsc-csem.org

“Paleoseismology of the western Sürgü–Misis fault system: East Anatolian Fault, Turkey”, Tamer Y. Duman, Hasan Elmacı, Selim Özalp, Akın Kürçer, Meryem Kara, Ersin Özdemir, Ayhan Yavuzoğlu & Çağıl Uygun Güldoğan,  Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews volume 2, pages411–437 (2020) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42990-020-00041-6

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

Apologies for not posting for a while now. Illness in the family has made more demands on our time than anticipated.

We have missed the eruptions of Mauna Loa and Kilauea, to name but two, and two catastrophic earthquakes: one in West Java in Indonesia and the other in Khost, Afghanistan.

Even when we are not posting, our thoughts remain with all those impacted by volcanic and seismic hazards.

Christmas Candles from: https://www.myfreetextures.com/

Greetings of the season,

Armchair Volcanologist

Eruption at Meradalir, Iceland, Stalled 21st August 2022

Eruptive activity at the new fissure in Meradalir stalled on 21st August 2022 at around 6:00 am.  The seismic tremor ceased following the emission  of a blue grey plume.  Lava was seen on webcams to be still flowing from the crater just before then.  We await to see whether or not this is the end of this eruptive episode.

Fig 1:  Tremor plot for Fagradalsfjall.  Source: Tremor (vedur.is)

To quote IMO, “A new chapter is about to begin in the Fagradalsfjall fires, but whether the seismic activity will recur and it will erupt again in the near future or not, time will tell.”

What do we know of the eruption so far?  The eruption started on 3rd August 2022.  The initial discharge rate was c. 32 cubic metres per second, dwindling to 2 cubic metres per second by 16th August 2022. The total volume of lava emitted by 16th August 2022 was 12 million cubic metres, c. 8% of that emitted by the Geldingadalir eruption last year. At the crater the lava is 20 to 30 metres deep and 40 metres deep by the crater rims, themselves.  Over the rest of the lava field the lava is between 5 and 15 metres deep.  The new lava has displaced cooling older lava causing it to rise by 3 to 5 metres in places.

Fig 2: Lava fields 2021 and 2022.  Source: Eldgos í Meradölum | Jarðvísindastofnun – Institute of Earth Sciences (hi.is)
Armchair Volcanologist

The lava composition is similar to the basalt emitted by Geldingadalir in September 2021. The K2O / TiO2 ratio ranges from 9.3 to 9.4 and the MgO is around 8.4 wt(%).

Armchair Volcanologist

© Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

Sources: in the text

A New Eruption Near Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, Started 3rd August 2022

So, it was hours, not days!  The eruption started near Fagradalsfjall / Meradalir yesterday at around 13:18 about 1.5 km north of Stóra-Hrut on a north-easterly southwest fissure.  The onset was detected by a local webcam and later confirmed by scientists. The alert level is currently orange (Volcanic eruption is underway with no or minor ash emission.)

Fig 1:  Image of the new fissure taken by Halldór Björnsson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office on a flight over the eruption site on 03.08.2022.  Source:  Volcanic eruption resumed on the Reykjanes Peninsula | News | The Icelandic Meteorological Office (vedur.is)

Like the previous eruption, lava is contained by the local geography so no infrastructure is currently threatened.  Gas emissions are, however, a hazard.  The lava flow is estimated to be 5 – 10 times that of Geldingadalir at 32 cubic meters per second in the first 24 hours; gas emissions may well be similarly larger.

Fig 2:  The red line shows the location of the new fissure on the northern edge of the lava flow from the 2021 eruption. The 2021 eruption was located near “Fagradalshraun” on the map. Source: Volcanic eruption resumed on the Reykjanes Peninsula | News | The Icelandic Meteorological Office (vedur.is)

Visitors are advised not to approach the site at the moment. When the site is open, bear in mind that it is not an easy walk, so for the fit only, and visitors should be properly prepared, including having gas masks and metres.

A video made by Reykjanes Grapevine shows the eruption site yesterday: RVK Newscast #203: New Volcanic Eruption In Iceland – YouTube

Seismic activity has decreased since the onset of the eruption.  We have now updated our earthquake plots to 4th August 2022 10:27- see below.

Updated earthquake plots

At the time of updating, we did not have confirmation of the coordinates of the eruption site, so we have guessed based on maps of the fissure. The plots will be updated when more up to date information becomes available.

Fig 4: Earthquake density plot of the swarm from 29th July 2022 to 4th August 2022 10:27 by the author showing how close the eruption site is to the densest parts of the current swarm. © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022
Fig 5: Scatter plot depth v earthquake number in the swarm from 29th July 2022 to 4th August 2022 10:27 by the author. © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022
Fig 6: Video by the author of geoscatter plots and 3D scatter plots of the swarm from 29th July 2022 to 4th August 2022 10:27. © Copyright remains with the author, all right reserved, 2022

Happy volcano watching and stay safe.

Armchair Volcanologist

© Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022

Sources: within the text

A New Earthquake Swarm Near Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, Started 30th July 2022 – Updated

Updated 04/08/2022, Fagradalsfjall

A new eruption started at c13:18 yesterday, 3rd August 2022. We are following this on a new thread, A New Eruption Near Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, Started 3rd August 202.

Update 02/08/2022, 20:39:46, Fagradalsfjall and Grímsvötn

The earthquake swarm near Fagradalsfjall continues unabated.  The aviation code for Grímsvötn has been raised to yellow following increased seismic activity there.

Fagradalsfjall

At the time of writing IMO were reporting 3,000 earthquakes in the last 48 hours detected by the SIL Seismic Network. 

Rising magma has caused some large triggered earthquakes where existing faults slip to accommodate the strain, the largest so far being 5.47 on day 2 of the swarm. 

The Icelandic media are reporting that new satellite images taken on 1 August 2022 show magma movements located between Fagradalsfjall and Keilir. The magma intrusion is shallow at c. 1 km below the surface. The magma influx is close to double the rate of the previous eruption. The chances of an eruption near Fagradalsfjall in the coming days or weeks have therefore increased and are considered to be significant.

We have updated our earthquake plots using confirmed earthquake data from IMO’s Skjálfta-Lísa for the area 63.75°N, 23.0°W to 64.0°N, 22°W (the western Reykjanes Peninsula).  The geodensity plot shows that most of the action is centred north east of Fagradalsfjall.

Fig 4a: Geoscatter, Latitude v Depth and Depth v Longitude and Count v Day plots by the author.  Green (grey) dots denote earthquakes less than 3.0M, yellow (old gold) stars denote earthquakes between 3.0M and 4.0M, red (wine) stars those between 4.0M and 5.0M and black (dark grey) stars those over 5.0M for the current day 2 (cumulative prior days). © Copyright remains with the author, all rights reserved, 2022.
Fig 4b: Geoscatter, Latitude v Depth and Depth v Longitude and Count v Day plots by the author.  Green (grey) dots denote earthquakes less than 3.0M, yellow (old gold) stars denote earthquakes between 3.0M and 4.0M, red (wine) stars those between 4.0M and 5.0M and black (dark grey) stars those over 5.0M for the current day 3 (cumulative prior days). © Copyright remains with the author, all rights reserved, 2022.
Fig 4c: Geoscatter, Latitude v Depth and Depth v Longitude and Count v Day plots by the author.  Green (grey) dots denote earthquakes less than 3.0M, yellow (old gold) stars denote earthquakes between 3.0M and 4.0M, red (wine) stars those between 4.0M and 5.0M and black (dark grey) stars those over 5.0M for the current day 4 (cumulative prior days). © Copyright remains with the author, all rights reserved, 2022.
Fig 5: 3-dimension scatter plot by the author.  Colour denotes earthquake number in the swarm (red the oldest and yellow the newest). © Copyright remains with the author, all rights reserved, 2022
Fig 6: Geodensity plot by the author. © Copyright remains with the author, all rights reserved, 2022.

Grímsvötn

The image from IMO below shows the earthquake activity at Grímsvötn.

Fig 7: Screenshot of seismic activity at Grímsvötn today.  Source: Vatnajökull (vedur.is)

Hopefully, eruptions are not like buses – wait for ages, then several show up together.  On a more serious note, if Grímsvötn does erupt, ash may be problematic for Europe depending on the size of the eruption and the prevailing wind direction. A jökulhlaup caused by melting of the ice-cap is another hazard. An eruption near Fagradalsfjall is less likely to produce a lot of ash unless magma encounters an aquifer or other body of water; lava and any gas emissions depending on volume and location are likely hazards. Seismic activity remains a hazard for both; the public are advised of the risk of rockfall and landslip.

Armchair Volcanologist

© Copyright remains with the author, all rights reserved, 2022.

Source:

Raw earthquake data: Skjálfta-Lísa

News report: Kvikugangurinn liggur mjög grunnt | RÚV (ruv.is)

Original post 31/07/2022

A large earthquake swarm started yesterday (30/07/2022) lunchtime north east of Fagradalsfjall, Iceland.  At the time of writing, IMO had reported 1,597 earthquakes in the last 48 hours for the Reykjanes Peninsula from the SIL seismic network. This network automatically detects and locates earthquakes in Iceland and the surrounding offshore region. 199 of these earthquakes had been confirmed.

At the moment the swarm is being likened to the swarm in December 2021, which did not result in an eruption.  The local authorities are warning of the increased risk of rockfall as a result of increased seismic activity.

We have downloaded the earthquakes reported from the Table tab and plotted the confirmed  earthquakes (quality 99.9%).

Fig 2:  Earthquake density plot by the author of the swarm.  © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.
Fig 3a:  Geoscatter, Latitude v Depth and Depth v Longitude plots for day 1 of the swarm by the author.  © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.
Fig 3b:  Geoscatter, Latitude v Depth and Depth v Longitude plots for day 2 to 11:23 of the swarm by the author.  © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

For more up to date information, please consult the Icelandic Met Office, Home-page – Icelandic Meteorological Office | Icelandic Meteorological office (vedur.is)

Armchair Volcanologist

Sources:  in the article.

Updates on Seismicity in the Mount Þorbjörn Area, 17th April 2022 to date

Good Evening!

Update 26th May 2022

Seismic activity continues in the Svartsengi area, extending to the Sundhnúkur crater row.  The earthquakes in the vicinity of Mount Þorbjörn appear to be getting shallower today as at the time of writing. 

The Sundhnúkur crater row erupted c. 2,360 years ago. It is accredited with creating the Hópsnes/Þórkötlustaðanes land spit to the east of Grindavík.  

Fig 8: Bird’s eye view of the Svartsengi area and Gringavík.  Image from Google Earth; yellow text added by the author.

Here are our updated earthquake plots to 26th May 2022 15:06.

Fig 9: Summaries of Days 39 (25th May 2022) and 40 (26th May 2022) by the author. Grey & green circles denote earthquakes < 3M, yellow stars between 3M and 4M and red stars ≥4M. Blue triangles denote volcanoes: K is Krýsuvík, Ke is Keilir, F is Fagradalsfjall, Ge is Geldingadalir, Þ is Þorbjörn, El is Eldvörp and R is Reykjanes.  © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.
Fig 10: Earthquake plots depth by day by the author for the area 63.81°N, 22.5°W to 63.90°N 22.35°W from 17th April 2022 (Day 1) to 26th May 2022 (Day 40).  Size denotes magnitude.  © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.
Fig 11: Geodensity plot of earthquakes by the author for the area 63.81°N, 22.5°W to 63.90°N 22.35°W from 17th April 2022 (Day 1) to 26th May 2022 (Day 40).  © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.
Fig 12: Latitude v Longitude scatter plot of the area 63.81°N, 22.5°W to 63.90°N 22.35°W from 17th April 2022 to 26th May 2022. Colour indicates age: red, oldest; and, yellow, youngest.  © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

The following video shows both the geoscatter plots by day from 17th April 2022 to 26th May 2022 in the swarm for the western Reykjanes Peninsula, and the scatter plots for the same period for the area around Mount Þorbjörn.

Fig 13: Video by the author of the geoscatter plots and scatter plots from which the above images have been extracted. Keys are in the video.  © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

While the earthquake plots are highly suggestive of more shallow magma ascent, we need to bear in mind that this area is on the plate boundary, the Mid Atlantic Ridge. Some of the seismic activity may be existing faults moving to accommodate the magma. Time will tell when and where magma emerges.

For the latest updates and alerts, please consult with IMO or the local authorities.

Armchair Volcanologist

Original Post 24th May 2022

The earthquake swarm that started on 17th April 2022 on the western Reykjanes Peninsula continues.  Today we are plotting activity at the Svartsengi area near Mount Þorbjörn, which lies to the north of Grindavík, Iceland. We have used Mount Þorbjörn as the marker for Svartsengi in our plots.

Fig 1: Image cropped from one by Arian Zwegers of the Blue Lagoon looking towards Mount Þorbjörn.  Published under CC-BY SA-2.0.  Source: Þorbjörn (mountain) – Wikipedia

 IMO reports that there has been significant uplift of 40mm to 45mm during the swarm in the area north of Grindavík indicative of magmatic activity.

Fig 2: Ground deformation (Source: IMO, Talsverð skjálftavirkni á Reykjanesskaganum)
Fig 3: Stations in the area showing uplift.  Source for each station: Icelandic Meteorological Office

Let’s look at the earthquakes.

Western Reykjanes Peninsula

Initially, we updated our plots of the area between 63.75°N,23.0°W to 64.0°N, 22°W.  Here is a summary.

Fig 4: Plots by the author of earthquake activity from 17th April 2022 (Day 1) to 24th May 2022 (Day 38) between 63.75°N,23.0°W to 64.0°N, 22°W . Grey & green circles denote earthquakes < 3M, yellow stars between 3M and 4M and red stars ≥4M. Blue triangles denote volcanoes: K is Krýsuvík, Ke is Keilir, F is Fagradalsfjall, Ge is Geldingadalir, Þ is Þorbjörn, El is Eldvörp and R is Reykjanes. Day 38 shows the earthquakes to date in the swarm.  The video below shows the progression of the swarm by day.  © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

From a simpler scatter plot and a geodensity plot, we can see much of the activity has occurred near Mt Þorbjörn or Svartsengi in the area enclosed in the green box below.

Fig 5a: Latitude v. longitude scatter plot by the author of earthquakes between 63.75N,23W to 64.0N,22W from 17th April 2022 to 24th May 2022. Colour denotes age (red being the oldest and yellow the most recent).  Blue triangles denote volcanoes: K is Krýsuvík, Ke is Keilir, F is Fagradalsfjall, Ge is Geldingadalir, Þ is Þorbjörn, El is Eldvörp and R is Reykjanes. The green square is the area selected for further analysis today (63.81°N, 22.5°W to 63.90°N, 22.35°W). © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.
 Fig 5b: Geodensity plot by the author of earthquakes between 63.75N,23W to 64.0N,22W from 17th April 2022 to 24th May 2022. © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

Let’s look more closely at the area around Mt Þorbjörn.

Svartsengi Area, 63.81°N, 22.5°W to 63.90°N, 22.35°W

Fig 6: Plots by the author of earthquake activity from 17th April 2022 (Day 1) to 24th May 2022 (Day 38). Grey & green circles denote earthquakes < 3M, yellow stars between 3M and 4M and red stars ≥4M. Blue triangle is Þ, Þorbjörn. © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.
 Fig 7a: Latitude v. longitude scatter plot by the author of earthquakes between 63.81°N, 22.5°W to 63.90°N, 22.35°W from 17th April 2022 to 24th May 2022. Colour denotes age (red being the oldest and yellow the most recent).  Blue triangle is Þ,  Þorbjörn. © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.
 Fig 7b: Geodensity plot by the author of earthquakes between 63.81°N, 22.5°W to 63.90°N, 22.35°W from 17th April 2022 to 24th May 2022. The Svartsengi geothermal plant and Blue Lagoon are to the north of Þorbjörn and Grindavík is to the south. © Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

For more up to date information on the seismic activity and the latest alerts, please refer to the local authorities or the Icelandic Met Office, IMO.

Armchair Volcanologist

© Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

Sources

Raw earthquake data: IMO

Earthquake Swarm on the western Reykjanes Peninsula 17th April 2022 to date: updated earthquake plots.

An earthquake swarm started on the Reykjanes Peninsula on 17th April 2022 and is continuing at the time of writing. This swarm is part of a larger volcano-tectonic episode that started at the end of 2019 on the Reykjanes Peninsula, including the eruption at Geldingadalir.  

Local volcanologists are reporting now that recent ground deformation of 3.5cm suggests a magma intrusion in the vicinity of Svartsengi, north of the town of Grindavík. Magma is believed to be pooling at a depth of c. 4km between Mount Þorbjörn and the Eldvörp crater row. This is an area which can produce large earthquakes of 6.5M. People are advised to avoid areas where landslip is likely.

Fig 1: Image cropped from a photo by Roman Zacharij of Grindavik, Iceland (Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain).

We have updated our earthquake plots to show the swarm to date.  Our plots exclude an earthquake occurring earlier today with a depth of 40.7km to keep the detail in the plots showing depth; the earthquake omitted is 19/05/2022, 00:11:14,  63.77°N , 22.75°W, 40.7km, 1 magnitude. Since we downloaded the data at 09:55 am today, there has been a 3.0 magnitude, 4.9 km NNE of Grindavík.   

Our plots show possible doming in the vicinity of Mount Þorbjörn and  the Svartsengi Volcanic System.

Fig 2:  Video by the author of earthquake activity on the western  Reykjanes Peninsula between 17th April 2022 to 19th May 2022 09:55 am.  The keys are in the video.  © Copyright remains with the author; all right reserved, 2022.

Armchair Volcanologist

© Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022

Sources

Raw earthquake data: Icelandic Meteorological Office

From Iceland — Magma Collecting, Increased Earthquakes At Reykjanes (grapevine.is)

Earthquake Swarm between Reykjanestá and Eldey, Iceland. A look at seismicity along the Peninsula.

Good Afternoon!

An earthquake swarm started near the Reykjanes and Eldey volcanic systems on 17th April 2022.  A volcanologist was reported by the Icelandic media to have said that there is a 50% chance of another eruption on the Peninsula by the end of this year.   If the eruption occurs offshore, the resulting ash may reach Reykjavik and beyond.  Another possibility is that Fagradalsjall may erupt again.

Fig 1: Image of Eroded partially submarine volcano and boulder beaches at Reykjanestá by Diego Delso. Published under CC BY-SA 4.0.  Source: Geology of Reykjanes Peninsula – Wikipedia

So we decided to plot the earthquakes on the Reykjanes Peninsula from 1st January 1995 to 26th April 2022 for the area 63.6°N, 23.5°W to 64.2°N, 21.0°W by month.  The results are interesting.

Intense earthquake activity starts early 1995 in the east of the region to the south east of Hengill near the Hrómundartindur volcanic system, which has not erupted since the early Holocene.  Activity migrates slowly westward to Geirfuglasker via Krýsuvík, Fagradalsfjall, Reykjanes, and the intensity of activity near Hrómundartindur lessens.  The volcano-tectonic episode which resulted in the eruption at Geldingadalir started in month 300, the eruption, itself, started in month 315.

Fig 2: Video by the author of earthquake activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula between 1st January 1995 and 26th April 2022.  The keys are in the video.  The 3D rotating scatter plot is of earthquakes ≥1M. © Copyright remains with the author; all right reserved, 2022.

We have discussed the Hengill, Brennisteinfjöll, Krýsuvík and Reykjanes volcanic systems in an earlier post (Recent Seismic Activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula, 14th May 2020)  The Hrómundartindur system is about 25 km long, comprising a fissure swarm and a 500m high central volcano. The system lies at the junction of the Western Volcanic Zone and the South Iceland Seismic Zone. Its lavas range from picrite to basaltic andesite.  There is an active geothermal field in the system.  The Eldey volcanic system is a 40km long fissure system on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, here, the Reykjanes Ridge.  There is no central volcano.  It is mostly submarine; the island Eldey and the skerries, Eldeyjardrangur, Geirfugladrangur and Geirfuglasker, are the only subaerial features of the system.  Six small submarine/explosive Basaltic eruptions have occurred in the last 1,100 years, the last eruption occurring in 1926 CE.

We would not like to predict where the next eruption will be based on the above earthquake plots alone, other than to say it could be anywhere between Hrómundartindur and Geirfuglasker.  Our non-expert interpretation of the above plots is that magma is ascending between Krýsuvík and Reykjanes. The seismic activity to the east and west of that area is caused by resulting stress on the crust; whether there is enough activity to provide an additional path for magma remains to be seen. Time will tell where and when magma makes it to the surface again.

Armchair Volcanologist

© Copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

Sources

Reykjavik Grapevine: From Iceland — RVK Newscast 179: Underwater Volcano On The Cards (grapevine.is)

Kristján Sæmundsson (Iceland GeoSurvey) (2019 November 15). Hrómundartindur. In: Oladottir, B., Larsen, G. & Guðmundsson, M. T. Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes. IMO, UI and CPD-NCIP. Retrieved from http://icelandicvolcanoes.is/?volcano=HRO

Guðrún Larsen (Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland) (2019 November 15). Eldey. In: Oladottir, B., Larsen, G. & Guðmundsson, M. T. Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes. IMO, UI and CPD-NCIP. Retrieved from http://icelandicvolcanoes.is/?volcano=ELD

Raw earthquake data: Icelandic Meteorological Office

São Jorge Earthquake Swarm, Update 07.04.2022

Good morning!

The earthquake swarm is continuing on São Jorge as we write, albeit it at a much lower intensity.  The swarm is located on the Manadas Fissure system.  INVOLCAN has sent a team to assist the local scientists (CIVISA and IVAR).   CIVISA advised on 6 April 2022 that volcano-tectonic earthquakes had been detected suggesting magma movement at depth.

Fig 1: Image of Fajã dos Cubres, São Jorge, Azores, cropped from one by Jules Verne Times Two.  Published under CC BY-SA 4.0 (Source: São Jorge Island – Wikipedia).

While we wait to see what transpires, here are some statistics.

  • Number of earthquakes ≥2.0 reported on IPMA’s site: 793
  • Maximum number: 127 on 20 March 2022
  • Minimum number: 5 on 31/03/2022 and 06/04/2022 (7/04/2022 is not a complete day)
  • Maximum magnitude: 4.0 (29/03/2022, 21:56:16, 38.686°N, 28.215°W, 10km)
  • Maximum depth: 26km on 20 March 2022 and 28km on 28 March 2022.
Fig 2: Number of earthquakes by day by the author.  © remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.
Fig 3: Earthquake depth and magnitude by day by the author. © copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

We have updated our earthquake plots for 38.548°N, 27.677°W to 38.769°N, 28.350°W from 19th March 2022 to 7th April 2022.

Fig 4: Video of geoscatter and scatter plots of the earthquake swarm from 19th March 2022 to 7th April 2022.  Keys are in the video. © copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

Armchair Volcanologist

© copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

Sources

 IPMA – Seismic Map (for raw earthquake data)

Volcano-tectonic tremors recorded for first time on quake-hit Azores island | Reuters

São Jorge, Large Earthquake Swarm May Herald an Eruption or Large Earthquake

Good Afternoon! (Updated 30/03/2022 to include Background)

On 19 March 2022 an earthquake swarm started on São Jorge, an island in the Azores.  The swarm is ongoing at the time of writing.  By 28 March 2022, c.14,000 earthquakes had been recorded.   This swarm is likely to be caused by a magmatic intrusion. 

Fig 1: Image of Fajã dos Cubres, São Jorge, Azores, cropped from one by Jules Verne Times Two.  Published under CC BY-SA 4.0 (Source: São Jorge Island – Wikipedia).

INVOLCAN have estimated that up to 20 million cubic meters of magma may have accumulated under São Jorge during the swarm, based on satellite measurements of ground deformation.  CIVISA (Centro de Informação e Vigilância Sismovulcânica dos Açores) has raised the alert level to V4 (out of a scale to V6. V5 and V6 are in eruption, based on size of the eruption).

There are four likely outcomes:

  1. An eruption occurs in the next few days to weeks, possibly with little warning.
  2. A larger earthquake occurs alongside changes in the magma intrusion leading to an eruption or stalling of the intrusion.
  3. The current swarm and deformation end without eruption.  Future swarms and deformation lead to an eruption.
  4. The activity ceases and the intrusion cools with no further activity.

Locals have been advised to prepare to evacuate due to the risk of eruption or larger earthquakes.  Our thoughts are with them.

Let’s take a look at what is going on underground.  We have downloaded the earthquake data reported by The Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere, I. P. (Source: IPMA – Seismic map).  This shows earthquakes ≥2.0 magnitude.  At the time of our download c. 840 earthquakes ≥2.0 had been recorded for São Jorge from 19/03/2022. 

 Our video shows geoscatter plots by day, showing the north-westward migration of the swarm, and 3D rotating scatter plots.

Fig 2:  Video by the author of earthquake plots for São Jorge from 19th March 2022 to 29th March 2022 (am) (earthquake greater than or equal to 2.0 magnitude) .  © copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

Background

Around 8,400 people live on the island in settlements around the coast.  Transport links have historical been by sea as land transport was inhibited by the harsh volcanic terrain. The economy is reliant on dairy farming, including the export of São Jorge cheese, fishing and some cereals, vineyards and local vegetables. The opening of an airport in 1982 led to the expansion of the export of cheese, farming and small crafts.

São Jorge Island, itself, is 55km long and 6km wide volcanic ridge in the Azores Archipelago.  The Azores are located at a triple junction between the North American, Eurasian and Nubian Plates; the Mid Atlantic Ridge forms the eastern boundary of the North American Plate. The Azores Plateau is considered to be a large igneous province generated from a plume interacting with the Mid Atlantic Ridge between 20 and 7 million years ago. Fissural volcanic activity arising from the interaction and tectonics created the islands.

There are four known centres of volcanic activity on São Jorge: the São João area on the south eastern end of the island; the Topo Volcanic Complex, occupying most of the eastern side of the island; the Rosais Volcanic Complex, with basalt and andesites; and Manadas Volcanic Complex on the west side of the island. The earliest known subaerial lava is alkaline enriched  c.1.32 – c.1.21 million years old from deep partial melting of an enriched  garnet peridotite mantle source. This is located at the south east end of the island at São João with a NW-SE to NNW-SSE direction oblique to the current WNW -ESE axis of the island. The period includes at least thee episodes of magma differentiation from alkaline basalts to mugearites in a shallow magma reservoir.  Subaerial activity resumed c. 750,000 years ago at the Topo Volcanic Complex, with several overlapping episodes migrating westward along the axis of the island. Activity in the western side of the island started c. 731,000 years ago. The lavas generated 750,000 years ago and subsequently were also generated from an enriched mantle source.  The different phases of subaerial growth are attributed to different episodes of deformation reopening the magma feeding system. It is possible that submarine activity occurred during the period of apparent quiescence.

GVP lists 11 confirmed Holocene eruptions for São Jorge, of which one is VEI 3 (1580), one is VEI 2 (1800) and one is VEI 1 (1808).  Three are submarine: 1964, off the SW coast; 1902, off Ponta do Topo; and, 1800, also off Ponto do Topo.  The eruptions in 1580 and 1808 caused widespread damage. In the 1580 eruption, magma ascended from 23km or more, ponded at 16km and then erupted in three lava flows along the Ribeira da Almeida, Queimada and between Ribeiro do Nabo and the beach of Cruzes;  ten people were killed.  In the Urzelina eruption in 1808 , fractionated residual ponded magma from the 1580 eruption emerged as andesite-basaltic lava to flow south west of Pico do Pedro to Urzelina.  This eruption caused gases and chloric, sulfuric and carboxylic acid vapours to be emitted from the Manadas Ridge, which along with eight large earthquakes, caused significant damage to property and farmland.  Eight people were killed in the 1808 eruption.

The island and surrounding area is heavily faulted.  Submarine fractures between the São Jorge and Pico have resulted  in large damaging earthquakes.  In 1757, an earthquake centred in Fajã dos Vimes resulted in destruction of property in Manadas and the death of c. 20% of its population (1,000 people).  

A series of seismic swarms in February 1964 associated with an offshore eruption 6.5km northwest of Velas led to large earthquakes which destroyed most property in the western side of the island.  The eruption was preceded by seismic activity starting tremors felt on 21 August 1963, followed by a swarm which lasted from mid-December 1963 to January 1964 and the cutting of submarine cables on 29 January and 1 February 1964.  Volcanic tremors started on 14 February 1964, resulting in a large damaging  earthquake on 15 February after a lull in activity.   The earthquakes initially impacted Urzelina, Manadas, San António and Norte Grand before migrating north west to include Rosais, Beira, Velas, and Santa Amaro.  Low intensity tremors occurred in the period before the next large events on 21 February 1964 when three large tremors caused more damage; this phase ended on 24 February 1964.  Earthquake foci near the centre of the island had depths of 5km, whereas those near Velas were 10-20km in depth.  Neighbouring islands also experienced large tremors.  The event ended on 25 February 1964. 5,000 people were evacuated from the island during this time, not an easy task as storms in the channel between Terceira, Pico an b d Faial hampered relief efforts, along with lack of planning. This time with monitoring the authorities are better prepared.

Time will tell when the next eruption occurs on São Jorge.  In the meantime, here’s hoping that the disruption to local residents is short-lived.

Armchair Volcanologist

© copyright remains with the author; all rights reserved, 2022.

Sources and Further Reading:

Anthony Hildebrand, Pedro Madureira, Fernando Ornelas Marques, Inês Cruz, Bernard Henry, Pedro Silva, “Multi-stage evolution of a subaerial volcanic ridge over the last 1.3 Myr: S. Jorge Island, Azores Triple Junction”, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 273, Issues 3-4, 15 September 2008, Pages 289 -298.

Anthony Hildebrand, Dominique Weis, Pedro Madueira, Fernando Ornelas Marques, “Recent plate re-organisation at the Azores Triple Junction: Evidence from combined geochemical and geochronological data on Faial, S. Jorge and Terceira volcanic islands”, Lithos, 210-211, (2014), 27-39.

Vittorio Zanon, Fátima Vieros, “A multi-method re-evaluation of the volcanic events during 1580 CE and 1808 eruptions at São Jorge Island (Azores Archipelago, Portugal), Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Volume 373, 15 March 2019, Pages 51–67.

Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History Global Volcanism Program (GVP): São Jorge https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=382030

1964 Rosais earthquake – Wikipedia

São Jorge Island – Wikipedia