Awakening: second glacial burst from geothermal vents under Katla

May 20, 2012 – ICELAND – A small glacial burst occurred in the volcano Katla, which lies underneath the Mýrdalsjökull icecap in south Iceland, on April 28 and lasted a few days. The activity was registered by seismic monitors and increased conduction was measured in the river Múlakvísl until May 7. Last summer a large glacial burst, probably caused by a minor eruption in Katla, caused the river to swell and tear a hole in the Ring Road, right at the height of the tourism season in early July. Oddur Sigurðsson, a geologist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told visir.is that the glacial burst in late April was so insignificant that it couldn’t be detected by the naked eye. Oddur explained that it was caused by geothermal activity in one of Katla’s craters. Volcano enthusiast and blogger Jón Frímann Jónsson reported on two events in Katla, on April 28 and May 6 or 7, and considers them to be warning signals: something is happening in the volcano, he predicts. He also commented on the recent series of earthquakes which hit Herðubreið in the northeastern highlands early this week. –Iceland Review