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Deep long period seismicity preceding and during the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption, Iceland

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Winder, T 
Rawlinson, N 
Maclennan, J 
White, RS 

Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:pWe use a dense seismic network on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, to image a group of earthquakes at 10–12 km depth, 2 km north-east of 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption site. These deep earthquakes have a lower frequency content compared to earthquakes located in the upper, brittle crust and are similar to deep long period (DLP) seismicity observed at other volcanoes in Iceland and around the world. We observed several swarms of DLP earthquakes between the start of the study period (June 2020) and the initiation of the 3-week-long dyke intrusion that preceded the eruption in March 2021. During the eruption, DLP earthquake swarms returned 1 km SW of their original location during periods when the discharge rate or fountaining style of the eruption changed. The DLP seismicity is therefore likely to be linked to the magma plumbing system beneath Fagradalsfjall. However, the DLP seismicity occurred ~ 5 km shallower than where petrological modelling places the near-Moho magma storage region in which the Fagradalsfjall lava was stored. We suggest that the DLP seismicity was triggered by the exsolution of COjats:sub2</jats:sub>-rich fluids or the movement of magma at a barrier to the transport of melt in the lower crust. Increased flux through the magma plumbing system during the eruption likely adds to the complexity of the melt migration process, thus causing further DLP seismicity, despite a contemporaneous magma channel to the surface.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

Deep long-period earthquakes, Magma plumbing system, Iceland, Reykjanes, Low-frequency, Fagradalsfjall

Journal Title

Bulletin of Volcanology

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0258-8900
1432-0819

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
NERC (NE/W004690/1)