New mass increase beneath Askja volcano, Iceland – a precursor to renewed activity?

  1. Hazel Rymer1,
  2. Corinne Locke2,
  3. Benedikt G. Ófeigsson3,
  4. Páll Einarsson3,
  5. Erik Sturkell3,4

Article first published online: 24 MAY 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2010.00948.x

Issue

Terra Nova

Terra Nova

Volume 22, Issue 4, pages 309–313, August 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Rymer, H., Locke, C., Ófeigsson, B. G., Einarsson, P. and Sturkell, E. (2010), New mass increase beneath Askja volcano, Iceland – a precursor to renewed activity?. Terra Nova, 22: 309–313. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2010.00948.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK

  2. 2

    Geology and Environmental Science, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

  3. 3

    Nordic Volcanological Center, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland

  4. 4

    Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 100, S-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden

*Dr Hazel Rymer, Earth & Environmental Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK. Tel.: +44 1908 653949; e-mail: h.rymer@open.ac.uk

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 8 JUL 2010
  2. Article first published online: 24 MAY 2010
  3. Received 25 November 2009; revised version accepted 23 April 2010

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Terra Nova, 22, 309–313, 2010

Abstract

Askja is an active central volcano located on the NS trending en echelon rift zone marking the mid-Atlantic plate boundary in North Iceland. Between 2007 and 2009, we observed a gravity increase at the centre of the caldera. This contrasts with net gravity decreases recorded between 1988 and 2007 interpreted previously in terms of magma drainage. The recent gravity increase is rapid, but similar in terms of lateral extent to the preceding decrease. This gravity increase corresponds to a sub-surface mass increase of 0.68 × 1011 kg at about 3 km depth. It is possible that the new gravity increases observed at Askja reflect accumulation of magma beneath the caldera and thus may herald a new phase in the activity of this volcano, which last erupted in 1961.

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