A large volcano in Iceland named Bárðarbunga has been making ominous noises since Saturday, August 16 — scientists have detected thousands of earthquakes around the area, a sign that magma may be on the move.
This tool lets you track Iceland’s rumbling volcano in real time
So far, there's no sign that the magma is moving closer to the surface, but scientists are watching closely. And if you want to watch the earthquake swarms in real time, check out this continuously updated 3D graph created by programmer Bæring Gunnar Steinþórsson at Github (via Laura Olin):
The Github tool lets you see exactly when and where earthquakes are erupting around Bárðarbunga. The last big earthquake was magnitude 3.8, occurring just before midnight on Wednesday, August 20. And there’s still little indication that earthquakes are moving closer to the surface.
Still, Iceland is bracing itself — the IMO has put the volcano on “orange” alert. In recent years, volcanic eruptions in Iceland have churned up lots of ash that can disrupt aviation. And, since Bárðarbunga sits under a giant glacier, an eruption could melt a bunch of ice and create flooding.
See our longer piece on Bárðarbunga — and the consequences of a possible eruption — here.
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By Brad Plumer
By Brad Plumer
