Grímsvötn

In the last 24 hours, no seismic activity was measured in the Grímsvötn system, Iceland's most active volcano, and activity is decreasing compared to the weekly average but remains within normal levels for this area. The increase over the past week has been characterized by distributed background activity rather than swarms, and land uplift at the station is currently faster than the decadal average although GNSS data are several weeks old. Activity most closely resembles the period around January 26, 2025, and results are automatic preliminary results; further charts on trends and land uplift can be found below on the page. (status from 2026-07-24 04:10 UTC)

Iceland's most active volcano, beneath Vatnajökull. Erupts every few years to decades (last 2011, large) and causes glacial outburst floods on Skeiðarársandur. (overview — more at vedur.is) · circle on the map = rough outline of the system (radius).

In the last 24 hours, no seismic activity was measured in the Grímsvötn system, Iceland's most active volcano, and activity is decreasing compared to the weekly average but remains within normal levels for this area. The increase over the past week has been characterized by distributed background activity rather than swarms, and land uplift at the station is currently faster than the decadal average although GNSS data are several weeks old. Activity most closely resembles the period around January 26, 2025, and results are automatic preliminary results; further charts on trends and land uplift can be found below on the page.

Over the last 24 hours, seismic activity in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath Vatnajökull glacier, has been decreasing and is currently below the weekly rate with only 1 earthquake. This scattered background activity is within what is considered normal for this area, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude M2.5 and a cumulative moment magnitude of Mw 2.5. Land uplift is still measured at approximately 75 mm per year according to GNSS data that is a few weeks old, which is faster than the decadal average of 53 mm per year. The activity most closely resembles the period around January 24, 2026, but it should be noted that these are automatic preliminary results where depth is unreliable.

Over the last 24 hours, 2 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath Vatnajökull glacier, with seismic activity remaining within what is normal for this area. The activity is similar to the past week and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude M2.5 and a cumulative moment magnitude of Mw 2.5. Land uplift is currently measured at approximately 75 mm per year according to GNSS data from a few weeks ago, which is faster than the decadal average of 53 mm per year. This activity most closely resembles the period around January 24, 2026, although it should be noted that these results are automatic preliminary findings where depth is unreliable.

Over the last 24 hours, 3 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath Vatnajökull glacier, with seismic activity remaining within what is normal for this area. The activity is similar to the past week and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude 2.5 and the cumulative moment magnitude for the same period being Mw 2.5. GNSS measurements show land rising at approximately 75 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average, though these results are automatic preliminary findings and earthquake depths are unreliable. This activity most closely resembles the period around January 24, 2026 as a historical analogue, and further data and monitoring charts can be found lower on this page.

Over the last 24 hours, 5 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull glacier, with seismic activity remaining within what is normal for this area. The activity is similar to the past week and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude M2.5 and a cumulative moment magnitude of Mw 2.5. GNSS measurements show land rising at approximately 75 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average, and this activity most closely resembles the period around January 24, 2026. Please note that these results are automatic preliminary findings with unreliable depths, and further data and maps can be found lower on this page.

Over the last 24 hours, 4 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap, with seismic activity remaining within what is normal for this area. The activity is similar to the past week and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude 2.5 (Mw) and the cumulative moment magnitude for the same period also at 2.5. GNSS measurements indicate land uplift of approximately 75 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average, though these results are automatic preliminary data with unreliable depth estimates. This activity most closely resembles the period around January 24, 2026, as a historical analogue, and further data and maps of the area can be found below.

Over the last 24 hours, 5 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located under the Vatnajökull glacier, indicating slightly more activity than usual for this area where the average is 1.2 earthquakes per day. The earthquake activity is similar to the past week and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude 2.5 (M2.5) and the cumulative moment magnitude for the same period being Mw 2.5. Land uplift is currently measured at approximately 76 mm per year according to GNSS data that is a few weeks old, which is faster than the decadal average of 53 mm per year. This activity most closely resembles the period around January 24, 2026, but it should be noted that all results are automatic preliminary findings where depth is unreliable.

Over the last 24 hours, 4 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath Vatnajökull, with the seismic activity remaining within what is normal for this area. The activity is similar to the past week and consists of scattered background activity rather than swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring M2.5 and a cumulative moment magnitude of Mw 2.5. Geodetic measurements show land rising at approximately 76 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average, though these results are automatic preliminary findings with unreliable depths. This activity most closely resembles the period around January 24, 2026, as a historical analogue, and further data and maps can be found lower on the page.

Over the last 24 hours, seismic activity in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath Vatnajökull glacier, has been within normal limits for this area, with activity currently decreasing with only 1 recorded earthquake. The seismicity is characterized by scattered background activity rather than short-lived swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude 0.6 and the cumulative seismic moment magnitude for the same period being 1.0. Concurrently, several-week-old GNSS data show land uplift of approximately 77 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average of 53 mm per year. This activity most closely resembles the period around August 13, 2024, but it should be noted that these are automatic preliminary results where depth measurements are unreliable. Maps and further measurements on the volcano's development can be found lower on this page.

Over the last 24 hours, 6 earthquakes were detected under Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull glacier, indicating that activity is increasing and is somewhat higher than usual for this area. This increase is characterized by scattered background activity rather than short-lived swarms, and the activity most closely resembles the period around August 13, 2024, when 20 earthquakes were recorded. The largest earthquake in the last 48 hours was magnitude 2.3 (with a cumulative moment magnitude of Mw 2.3), and GNSS data show the land rising at approximately 77 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average. Please note that the earthquake results are automatic preliminary findings with unreliable depths, and the deformation data are a few weeks old. Further charts and deformation maps are available below.

Over the last 24 hours, 7 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull glacier, indicating that activity is increasing and is somewhat higher than usual for this area. The seismic activity over the last seven days is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, and the current state most closely resembles the period around August 13, 2024, when 20 earthquakes were recorded. The largest earthquake in the last 48 hours was magnitude 2.3 (M2.3) and the cumulative seismic moment for the same period was 2.3 (Mw), while GNSS measurements also show the ground rising at approximately 77 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average. These results are automatic preliminary findings where earthquake depths are unreliable, and further maps and data can be found below on this page.

Over the last 24 hours, 7 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull glacier, and the activity is increasing as the last 24 hours are well above the weekly average of 4 earthquakes per day. This seismic activity is, however, within what is normal for this area and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than earthquake swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude 2.3 (Mw) and the cumulative moment magnitude for the same period being Mw 2.3. GNSS measurements show land uplift of approximately 77 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average, though these results are automatic preliminary findings and earthquake depths are unreliable. The current activity resembles the period around August 13, 2024 as a historical analogue, and further data and maps can be found below on this page.

Over the last 24 hours, 4 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap, with seismic activity remaining within what is considered normal for this area. The activity is similar to the past week and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude 2.3 (Mw) and the cumulative moment magnitude for the same period also being 2.3. GNSS measurements show land uplift of approximately 77 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average of 53 mm per year, with the current activity most closely resembling the period around August 12, 2024. All results are automatic preliminary findings where earthquake depth is unreliable, and further measurements and maps can be found lower on this page.

Over the last 24 hours, 2 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull glacier, with seismic activity remaining within what is normal for this area. The activity is similar to the past week and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude M2.3 and the cumulative seismic moment for the same period being Mw 2.3. GNSS measurements show land uplift of approximately 79 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average, and the current activity most closely resembles the period around August 13, 2024. All results regarding earthquakes and depth are automatic preliminary findings, and further data and maps can be found lower on this page.

Over the last 24 hours, 5 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap, with seismic activity increasing as the last 24 hours are well above the weekly average rate. This activity is, however, within what is considered normal for this area and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, most closely resembling the period around August 13, 2024. The largest earthquake in the last 48 hours was magnitude (Mw) 2.3, and GNSS data show land uplift of approximately 79 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average. Please note that the earthquake results are automatic preliminary findings with unreliable depths, and the GNSS data are a few weeks old.

Over the last 24 hours, 4 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap, with seismic activity remaining within what is considered normal for this area. The activity is similar to the past week and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than earthquake swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude 2.3 (Mw) and the cumulative seismic moment for the same period also at 2.3. Geodetic measurements show ongoing land uplift of approximately 79 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average, though it should be noted that these results are automatic preliminary data with unreliable depths. The current activity most closely resembles the period around August 13, 2024, and further data and maps can be found below.

Over the last 24 hours, 3 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull glacier, with activity remaining similar to the past week and within the normal range for this area. This represents scattered background activity, with 80% of events over the last seven days being independent, while the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours was magnitude 2.3 (Mw), with the cumulative moment magnitude for the period also at 2.3. Geodetic measurements show land uplift of approximately 79 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average, and the current activity most closely resembles the period around August 12, 2024. Please note that the earthquake results are automatic preliminary findings with unreliable depths, and the GNSS data is several weeks old.

Over the last 24 hours, 5 earthquakes were detected in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath Vatnajökull glacier, indicating that seismic activity is increasing as the last 24 hours are well above the weekly average rate. This increase is, however, within what is normal for this area and is characterized by scattered background activity rather than swarms, with the largest earthquake in the last 48 hours measuring magnitude 2.3 (Mw) and the cumulative moment magnitude for the same period also being 2.3. Concurrently, several-weeks-old GNSS data show the land rising at approximately 79 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average of 53 mm per year. The current activity most closely resembles the period around August 12, 2024 as a historical analogue, though it must be noted that these are automatic preliminary results where depth is unreliable. Maps and further measurements on the volcano's development can be found further down the page.

Over the last 24 hours, seismic activity has been increasing in Grímsvötn, Iceland's most active volcano located beneath the Vatnajökull glacier, and is currently measured somewhat higher than usual for this area. A total of 6 earthquakes were detected during the last 24 hours, which is well above the weekly average, with the largest earthquake measuring magnitude 2.3 (M2.3) and a cumulative moment magnitude of 2.3 (Mw) over the last two days. This represents scattered background activity rather than earthquake swarms and most closely resembles the period around August 12, 2024, while GNSS data show land uplift of approximately 79 mm per year, which is faster than the decadal average. Please note that these are automatic preliminary results where depth is unreliable, but further data and maps can be found lower on the page.