Seismic activity around Askja increased in August 2021 as uplift, most likely caused by a magmatic intrusion, began. The seismic activity was more elevated in November and December 2021 and has since the start of 2022 remained steady. At the same time, the uplift has continued at a very stable rate since the beginning of the unrest.
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satellite images show that the ice covering Askja lake has been retreating
significantly in the past week. Thisis quite unusual so early
in the year, normally it occurs in the summer time between June and July. A similar
event was recorded in 2012 when the ice in Askja lake started to melt in March. The reason why the ice covering the Askja lake has retreated
so much in the past days is still uncertain and no direct measurements are
currently available to fully understand the causes. However, few causes have been considered.
Retreating ice caps
have a large influence on the crust of the Earth and cause ground uplift – a
rebound effect resulting from unloading of the glaciers due to ice loss. Dr. Michelle Maree Parks, a specialist
in volcano deformation studies at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, together
with Freysteinn Sigmundsson, a geophysicist at the Nordic Volcanological Center
at the Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, lead a project that
received a grant-of-excellent from the Icelandic Research Fund that addresses
these questions. They will together form a large international team of
scientists to carry out research on glacial isostatic adjustment due to present
day glacier change and its effect on the Earth‘s crust, in particular at four
volcanic systems and two seismic zones in Iceland.