Volcanoes Today, 7 Apr 2013: Sabancaya, Tjörnes Fracture Zone

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Volcano Discovery Sunday Apr 07, 2013 11:04 AM

Earthquakes in the TFZ during the past 48 hours (Icelandic Met Office)

Earthquakes in the TFZ during the past 48 hours (Icelandic Met Office)

Numbers of earthquakes at Sabancaya over the past weeks (IGP)

Numbers of earthquakes at Sabancaya over the past weeks (IGP

 

Tjörnes Fracture Zone (North of Iceland): The powerful earthquake swarm that started a week ago continues, but at reduced intensity compared to 2 April when the large magnitude 5.4 quake struck. Each day, hundreds of earthquakes have been occurring (more than 200 > magnitude 2 during the past 2 days).
The earthquake swarm is the result of release of tectonic stress that has accumulated in the crust and is being released at the moment. The area is one of the main so-called transform zones,- regions where the separating Eurasian and North-American tectonic plates move sideways along strike-slip faults rather than spreading apart directly as is the case in the main rift zones, where also the main volcanoes are located, because the opening movment here allows large batches of magma to rise easily.

 

Sabancaya (Peru): Seismic activity has decreased at the volcano, the latest press release of IGP shows. It seems less likely now that the volcano will produce an eruption soon,- as in many cases, an intrusion has happened at depth without (so far) breaching the surface (= erupting).

 

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