Iceland's
massive Katla volcano is showing increasing signs of a possible eruption
following an intense week of earthquakes and tremors.
 |
| Katla shows increased sign of life |
The feared
volcano was struck by a magnitude 3.2 earthquake last night as experts believe
magma is slowly filling inside the mountain, giving rise to fears the volcano
could soon erupt.
The latest
quake follows a week of increasing activity with official reports of harmonic
tremors and earthquake swarms.
Observers
have been closely watching Katla since July when the volcano showed the first
signs of increased activity.
Last
weekend, the Icelandic Met Office confirmed two swarms of earthquakes in Katla
and on Wednesday night, a harmonic tremor – a potential indicator to an
eruption - was detected.
Last
night's stronger earthquake was picked up in the volcano's caldera - its magma
chamber.
Katla,
which has not experienced a significant eruption for 93 years, is the second
largest volcano on Iceland and its eruption will be felt across Europe.
Last year,
the country's president Ólafur Grímsson warned "the time for Katla to
erupt is coming close, Iceland has prepared and it is high time for European
governments and airline authorities all over Europe and the world to start
planning for the eventual Katla eruption".
It is
believed Katla, named after a vindictive troll of Viking folklore, has the
potential to be much stronger and disruptive than the last two Icelandic
volcanic eruptions that caused chaos across Europe's air space, grounding
flights and closing airports.
Katla is
much larger than its neighbouring Eyjafjallajokull – which erupted last year -
with a magma chamber about 10 times the size.
Volcanologists
warn that if Katla does erupt, the combination of the magma and the large ice
sheet covering the volcano could lead to explosive activity and an ash plume
for weeks, if not months.
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