Iceland's Fagradalsfjall Fires

[bjdeming]

This isn't Svartsengi related, but it is geographically close and on the same tectonic feature, the Reykjanes Ridge:



X translation:

A swarm of earthquakes began around 9pm JST on May 24th near the northern end of the Reykjanes Ridge, southwest of the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, and the active state continued until 3am JST on the 25th (updates then appear to have stopped until 7am on the 25th).
● As of 3:00 JST on the 25th, the largest earthquake was a M5.1 earthquake measuring 10km at 23:21 JST on May 24th.
● Reykjanes Ridge epicenter distribution map from IMO website M-T Figure for the past 48 hours as of 3:00 JST on May 25 (18:00 UT on May 24)

RUV just did a news update (autotranslated), noting that the swarm continues, with at least 30 out of 400 temblors thus far being over M3. They report that IMO has not yet seen signs of volcanism.

AFAIK, the nearest named submarine volcanic systems are Eldey and the submerged part of the Reykjanes system (which is west of the 2021-to-present eruptions and magmatism at Fagradalsfjall and the Sundhnuk craters).

Ah, the joys of living on a mid-ocean ridge!

 

[bjdeming]

The Eldey swarm settled down, came back weakly, and has settled down again.

The IMO update today (via GT) has a nice view of the lava berms and the Blue Lagoon complex. Emphasis added.

Continuing land rise in Svartsengi-3.6.2025​

Updated June 3



Landslides and magma accumulation continue beneath Svartsengi. However, the rate of magma accumulation continues to slow steadily compared to the rate in April and the first half of May. If magma accumulation continues at a similar rate to the past few weeks, it can still be assumed that the likelihood of a magma flow or eruption will increase as the autumn progresses. Changes in the rate of landslips, and thus magma accumulation beneath Svartsengi, may, however, affect this assessment.

 

[bjdeming]

No changes -- they're still expecting eruption chances to rise in autumn, according to today's update (autotranslated), if magma continues to accumulate. Apparently inflow has slowed down in recent weeks.

Regarding the April 1st events, per GT:

Although the eruption on April 1, 2025 was by far the smallest eruption to date on the Sundhnjúk crater chain in terms of lava flow, the sequence of events was extensive. The largest part of the event consisted of a magma intrusion that traveled north and reached as far north as Keilur. The intrusion was comparable to the one that occurred on November 10, 2023, except that the magma intrusion then mostly headed south and reached under Grindavík. The event on April 1 was therefore the second largest on the Sundhnjúk crater chain, with only the intrusion on November 10, 2023 being larger.