Katla and Eyjafjallajökull Volcanoes

• The Katlavolcano is covered by the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap and is currently one of the most active volcanoes in Iceland. It has erupted twenty times the past 1,100 years. The neighbouring volcanoEyjafjallajökull has erupted twice, simultaneously with Katla. As glaciers cover both volcanoes, their eruptions are phreato-magmatic by nature. The volcanoes are located directly south of where surface expressions of the rift cease. Seismically, Katla is one of the most active volcanoes in Iceland, showing an annual cycle in activity, observed from at least 1960 and less pronounced since 2004. From 1999 to late 2004, GPS measurements revealed steady inflation of the volcano, showing uplift and outward horizontal displacement. Until 1990s, Eyjafjallajökull had been seismically quiet for several decades. Seismic activity there was high in 1994 and again in 1999, related to the emplacement of two intrusions.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Annan geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kap (subject category)