The 2008 Iceland earthquake was a
doublet earthquake
__NOTOC__
In seismology, doublet earthquakes – and more generally, multiplet earthquakes – were originally identified as multiple earthquakes with nearly identical waveforms originating from the same location. They are now characterized as sing ...
that struck on May 29 at 15:46
UTC in southwestern
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
.
[.] The recorded
magnitudes of the two main quakes were 5.9 and 5.8 , respectively, giving a composite magnitude of 6.1 . There were no human fatalities, but 30 injuries were reported and a number of sheep were killed. The epicenter of the earthquake was between the towns of
Hveragerði
Hveragerði (, "hot-spring yard") is a town and municipality in the south of Iceland, 45 km east of Reykjavík on Iceland's main ringroad, Route 1 (Iceland), Route 1. The river Varmá runs through the town.
Overview
The surrounding area ...
and
Selfoss Selfoss may refer to:
*Selfoss (town), Iceland
*UMF Selfoss, a football club based in Selfoss
**Selfoss men's football
**Selfoss women's football
*Selfoss (waterfall), Iceland
*Selfoss Airport
Selfoss Airport is an airport serving Selfoss, a to ...
, about east-southeast of the capital,
Reykjavík. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Iceland since the
summer of 2000.
[.]
Characteristics
Iceland straddles the
mid-Atlantic ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a divergent or constructive plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. In the North Atlantic, the ridge separates the North Ame ...
where the Eurasian and North-American
tectonic plate
Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large te ...
s move away from each other.
Volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
activity is common along such
divergent boundaries but strong earthquakes are rare. In Iceland the ridge is somewhat off-set, creating two
transform fault
A transform fault or transform boundary, is a fault along a plate boundary where the motion is predominantly horizontal. It ends abruptly where it connects to another plate boundary, either another transform, a spreading ridge, or a subductio ...
s where plates move horizontally along each other. One is in the north of the country and one in the south; the strongest Icelandic earthquakes happen along those transform faults. The 29 May quake is classified by geologists as typical ''Suðurlandsskjálftar'' (literally: Southern Iceland quakes), which happen on the southern fault.
Damage
Unlike the quakes in the summer of 2000, the 29 May quake happened in the most densely populated part of the South Iceland district. The population of the affected area is about 12,000 and it includes the towns of Selfoss and
Hveragerði
Hveragerði (, "hot-spring yard") is a town and municipality in the south of Iceland, 45 km east of Reykjavík on Iceland's main ringroad, Route 1 (Iceland), Route 1. The river Varmá runs through the town.
Overview
The surrounding area ...
as well as
Eyrarbakki
Eyrarbakki () is a fishing village on the south coast of Iceland with a population of about 570 people, not including inhabitants of the prison located there. The village is founded on the Great Þjórsá Lava.
History
For centuries, the harbour ...
,
Stokkseyri
Stokkseyri () is a small town in Southern Iceland, with a population of around 445.
Overview
Founded around 900 AD by the settler Hásteinn Atlason, it was an important fishing and trading village in previous times.
The town is founded on the Gr ...
and
Þorlákshöfn
Þorlákshöfn () is a town on the southern coast of Iceland in the Municipality of Ölfus.
The town is named after Saint Thorlak who was a bishop at Skálholt. Its main importance is as a port as it has the only harbour on Iceland's southern coa ...
. Many farms were also affected.
See also
*
Geology of Iceland
The geology of Iceland is unique and of particular interest to geologists. Iceland lies on the divergent boundary between the Eurasian plate and the North American plate. It also lies above a hotspot, the Iceland plume. The plume is believed to h ...
*
List of earthquakes in 2008
*
List of earthquakes in Iceland
See also
* Geology of Iceland
* Lists of earthquakes
* '
References
;Sources
*
Further reading
*
External links
Earthquakes in Iceland magnitude 4 and greater, 1706–1990
{{Europe topic, List of earthquakes in
Iceland
Earthq ...
References
Sources
*
*
* .
*
Further reading
* Vogfjord, K. S., et al
"Fault interaction in the South Iceland Seismic Zone: The May 2008, M6. 3 earthquake" EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts. Vol. 11. 2009.
* Brandsdottir, Bryndis, et al. "The May 29th 2008 earthquake aftershock sequence within the South Iceland Seismic Zone: Fault locations and source parameters of aftershocks." ''
Jökull Jökull is the name of:
* Jökull Andrésson, Icelandic footballer
* Jökull Júlíusson, Icelandic singer
*Jökull (journal)
''Jökull: The Icelandic Journal of Earth Sciences'' () is an annual peer-reviewed scientific journal published jointly ...
'' 60 (2010): 1–22.
External links
*
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
Earthquakes in Europe
Natural disasters in Iceland
May 2008 events in Europe
Doublet earthquakes
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