The Activity of the Reykjanes Fissure Swarm in Time and Space

• Main Author: Julia Annina Heilig 1990-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Jarðfræði (námsgrein); Reykjanes; Krafla; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/39923

Late 2019 and early 2020 unusual earthquake activity and the start of an uplift of the land around the mountain Þorbjörn drew attention to the Reykjanes Peninsula, in southwest Iceland. The events could indicate that a new rifting episode is about to start. The last volcanic eruption in this area occurred around 800 years ago. This paper is a report of a study of the Reykjanes fissure swarm. The fissures of the Reykjanes fissure swarm were mapped, the magnitude of the throws calculated and multiple cross sections were drawn. The fissure swarm is at its maximum about 8.5 km wide and has a maximal cumulative throw of about 110 m. To create a throw of that size about 4 to 8 rifting episodes like the ones in Krafla (1975-1984) and Dabbahu (2005-2010) would have had to occur in the last 14 thousand years. The different data from the study made it possible to outline what the different stages of a rifting episode are and how the fissure swarm behaves in case of dike intrusions. They also indicate that there is a higher risk of damage because of fault movements on the Grindavíkurvegur and Nesvegur roads than on Reykjanesbraut, should another rifting episode occur. Rannís - Nýsköpunarsjóður Námsmanna