Icelandic Volcanoes

About the Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes

The Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes is a collaboration of the Icelandic Meteorological Office (the state volcano observatory), the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, and the Civil Protection Department of the National Commissioner of the Iceland Police, with contributions from a large number of specialists in Iceland and elsewhere.

The Catalogue is an official publication intended to serve as an accurate and up to date source of information about active volcanoes in Iceland and their characteristics. The Catalogue forms a part of an integrated volcanic risk assessment project in Iceland GOSVÁ (commenced in 2012), as well as being part of the effort of FUTUREVOLC (2012-2016) on establishing an Icelandic volcano supersite.

In the last 50 years, over 20 eruptions have occurred in Iceland displaying very varied activity in terms of eruption styles, eruptive environments, eruptive products and the distribution lava and tephra. Although basaltic eruptions are most common, the majority of eruptions are explosive, not the least due to magma-water interaction in ice-covered volcanoes.

Extensive research has taken place on Icelandic volcanism, and the results reported in numerous scientific papers and other publications. In 2010, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) funded a 3 year project to collate the current state of knowledge and create a comprehensive catalogue readily available to decision makers, stakeholders and the general public. The work on the Catalogue began in 2011, and was then further supported by the Icelandic government and the EU through the FP7 project FUTUREVOLC.

Volcanic activity in Iceland occurs on volcanic systems that usually comprise a central volcano and fissure swarm. Over 30 systems have been active during the Holocene (the time since the end of the last glaciation – approximately the last 11,500 years). Read here for more information about volcanism in Iceland.

The list of authors of the catalogue can be found here and the information on the steering committee and editors is here.

About the Data Portal

The FuturVolc Data Portal – beta version is one of the outcomes of the FutureVolc collaboration. FUTUREVOLC is a 26-partner project funded by FP7 Environment Programme of the European Commission, addressing topic “Long-term monitoring experiment in geologically active regions of Europe prone to natural hazards: the Supersite concept”. The project started 1 October 2012 and has duration of 3.5 years. The supersite concept implies integration of space and ground based observations for improved monitoring and evaluation of volcanic hazards, and open data policy. The project is led by University of Iceland together with the Icelandic Meteorological Office.

One of FutureVolc objects is to explicitly encourage interaction and knowledge exchange between different scientific disciplines, in particular between solid earth and atmospheric science, and between social and physical sciences. All data gathered in the project will be made available through an open-access policy, on the FuturVolc Data portal, in particular to facilitate the development of European space services (GEOSS).

Data levels:

The data and data products in the FuturVolc Data portal are grouped in 4 data levels, and the levels are clearly indicated in the data portal search:

Terms of use

The data in the Futurevolc Data portal are contributed by FUTUREVOLC partners. Each contributor is the owner of the data provided.

Terms of use can differ between owners of the data, unless otherwise stated the following terms of use shall apply to usage of data from the Data portal:

Unless stated otherwise, you are free to use/download data and data products on the Futurevolc Data portal; however, reference must be made to the owner of the data. Users may also add “Accessed through Futurevolc Data portal”. The same stipulation applies to the graphical representation of data. Unless stated otherwise, there are no restrictions on the use of data downloaded from the Data portal, neither for private nor commercial use.
Data means any type of forecast, measurement, observation, calculated result or derived data (i.e. from model calculations). Some of the datasets contain real-time data that has not been assessed; note that these data are preliminary and that they might change after revision. The following data levels apply:

Level 0 > raw or basic data

Level 1 > data products coming from (nearly) automated procedures

Level 2 > data products resulting from scientific investigations (level 2)

Level 3 > integrated data products resulting from complex analysis, or community shared (multidisciplinary) product.
Neither FutureVolc nor the data owners guarantee that data on the Futurevolc Data portal will always be accessible and up-to-date.
Downloadable data and/or data products may in some cases be eligible for copyright protection and contain specific information on how the available data should be referenced. No authorisation is given to change the content of reports that are accessible via the Data portal. Furthermore, no authorisation is given to change data or any other information available from this Data hub, unless the source and modification is stated clearly. (i.e., a description of data sourced from data owner and the subsequent changes made by others.)
The Icelandic Volcanoes website is hosted at Icelandic Meteorological Office(IMO) IMO. Registration is required for downloading. IMO does not collect personal information about users of the Data portal. However, details about the operating system and Internet browser used to access the web-site are logged on the web server at IMO.
In general, data from the Data portal should not be used for publicly forecasting the course of current unrest. The only exception is use by observatories with official mandates for public forecasts, provided that data from the Data portal are used as supplements to data from current monitoring by those observatories. The FutureVolc project is not responsible for any harm or damage that may result from incorrect or missing data on the Data portal nor are the data providers.
By using the Futurevolc Data portal you agree to the terms and conditions stated on this page.

These terms and conditions can be changed and/or updated without notice.

Contributors to the Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes

Editors:

Bergrún Arna Óladóttir (2017- )

Icelandic Meteorological Office and Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland

Guðrún Larsen (2012- )

Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland

Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson (2012- )

Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland

Evgenia Ilyinskaya (2012-2016)

University of Leeds, formerly at British Geological Survey & Icelandic Meteorological Office

Project Steering Committee (2017- ):

Bergrún Arna Óladóttir, Ingvar Kristinsson, Kristín Vogfjörð, Sara Barsotti, Sigrún Karlsdóttir

Icelandic Meteorological Office

Guðrún Larsen, Magnús T. Guðmundsson

Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland

Project Steering Committee (2012-2016):

Evgenia Ilyinskaya, Kristín Vogfjörð, Trausti Jónsson, Sara Barsotti, Sigrún Karlsdóttir

Icelandic Meteorological Office

Guðrún Larsen, Magnús T. Guðmundsson

Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland

Björn Oddsson, Víðir Reynisson

Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management of the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police

Catalogue structure:

The Catalogue is built up of chapters with texts and various mapped information for each of the 32 volcanic systems. The contributions can be classified into three types:

Text and other material (including maps and tephra grain size data) on geological aspects and eruption history. This constitutes the bulk of the information presented in the catalogue.
Sub-chapters on current alert level and activity status for each volcanic system, updated automatically with information from the IMO monitoring network.
Sub-chapters on eruption scenarios, based on the eruption history.

Authors of main text for individual volcanic systems (alphabetical order):

Ármann Höskuldsson, Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland:

Guðrún Larsen, Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland:

Haukur Jóhannesson, JHJ Geoservice (Reykjavik, Iceland):

Karl Grönvold, Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland:

Kristján Sæmundsson, Iceland GeoSurvey:

Magnús Á. Sigurgeirsson, Iceland GeoSurvey:

Magnús T. Guðmundsson, Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland:

Margaret Hartley, University of Manchester:

Páll Einarsson, Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland:

Sigmundur Einarsson, RORUM Environmental Research and Consulting:

Sveinn P. Jakobsson, Icelandic Institute of Natural History:

Thor Thordarson, Institute of Earth Sciences:

Authors of other texts and material:

Kristín Vogfjörð, Icelandic Meteorological Office:

Sub-chapters on activity and Activity status (live web tool) for individual volcanic systems.

Evgenia Ilyinskaya, University of Leeds, formerly at British Geological Survey & Icelandic Meteorological Office;

Guðrún Larsen, Institute of Earth Sciences – Nordvulk, University of Iceland;

Björn Oddsson, Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management of the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police:

Sub-chapters on eruption scenarios for individual volcanic systems.

Emmanuel Pagneux, formerly at Icelandic Meteorological Office:

Design and realisation of (i) thematic maps / dynamic charts for individual volcanic systems, (ii) catalogue geodatabase, (iii) portal basemap and (iv) thematic web map services

Web portal:

Web interface, database systems and related services are joint copyright of Samsýn ehf and Miracle ehf

Web map services:

Thematic web map services : Icelandic Meteorological Office and Iceland GeoSurvey

Ritstjórar, höfundar og samstarfsaðilar:

Ritstjórar:

Bergrún Arna Óladóttir (2017- )

Veðurstofa Íslands og Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands

Guðrún Larsen (2012- )

Nordvulk Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands

Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson (2012- )

Nordvulk, Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands

Evgenia Ilyinskaya (2012-2016)

University of Leeds, áður á British Geological Survey og Veðurstofu Íslands

Stýrihópur (2017- ):

Bergrún Arna Óladóttir, Ingvar Kristinsson, Kristín Vogfjörð, Sara Barsotti, Sigrún Karlsdóttir

Veðurstofa Íslands

Guðrún Larsen, Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson

Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands

Stýrihópur (2012-2016):

Evgenia Ilyinskaya, Kristín Vogfjörð, Trausti Jónsson, Sara Barsotti, Sigrún Karlsdóttir

Veðurstofa Íslands

Guðrún Larsen, Magnús T. Guðmundsson

Nordvulk, Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands

Björn Oddsson, Víðir Reynisson

Almannavarnadeild Ríkislögreglustjóra

Þýðendur efnis:

Ríkey Júlíusdóttir

Gunnlaugur Bjarnason

Uppbygging Íslensku eldfjallavefsjárinnar:

Mikið magn upplýsinga er til um eldvirkni á Íslandi sem birst hefur í vísindagreinum, námsritgerðum og skýrslum af ýmsu tagi. Í Íslensku eldfjallavefsjánni hefur helstu upplýsingum verið safnað saman á einn stað til hagræðingar fyrir viðbragðsaðila, almenning og fjölmiðla. Vefsjánni er skipt upp í 32 kafla sem allir eru byggðir upp á sama hátt. Í hverjum kafla er eitt eldstöðvakerfi tekið fyrir og farið er yfir gossögu, hegðun, virkni og vöktun. Gróflega má skipta efni vefsíðunnar í þrennt:

Meginhluti vefsíðunnar inniheldur texta, teikningar og ýmiskonar kort um öll virk eldstöðvakerfi landsins.
Undirkaflar um núverandi ástand eldstöðvar sem sækja rauntímagögn í eftirlitskerfi Veðurstofu Íslands.
Undirkaflar sem fara yfir mögulega atburðarás í framtíðar eldgosi miðað við þekkta hegðun viðeigandi eldstöðvar á sögulegum tíma.

Kaflahöfundar (í stafrófsröð):

Ármann Höskuldsson, Nordvulk, Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands:

Guðrún Larsen, Nordvulk, Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands:

Haukur Jóhannesson, Jarðfræðiþjónusta Hauks Jóhannessonar ehf.:

Karl Grönvold, Nordvulk, Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands:

Kristján Sæmundsson, Ísor:

Magnús Á. Sigurgeirsson, Ísor:

Magnús T. Guðmundsson, Nordvulk, Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands:

Margaret Hartley, University of Manchester:

Páll Einarsson, Nordvulk, Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands:

Sigmundur Einarsson, RORUM Rannsóknir og ráðgjöf í umhverfismálum:

Sveinn P. Jakobsson, Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands:

Þorvaldur Þórðarson, Jarðvísindadeild Háskóla Íslands:

Höfundar annars efnis:

Kristín Vogfjörð, Veðurstofu Íslands:

Undirkaflar um virkni og vöktun (rauntíma gögn) einstakra eldstöðvakerfa.

Evgenia Ilyinskaya, University of Leeds, áður á British Geological Survey og Veðurstofu Íslands;

Guðrún Larsen, Nordvulk, Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, Háskóli Íslands;

Björn Oddsson, Almannavarnadeild Ríkislögrelustjóra:

Undirkaflar um áætlaða atburðarás í gosum frá einstökum eldstöðvakerfum byggð á þekktri goshegðun.

Emmanuel Pagneux, áður Veðurstofu Íslands:

Hönnun og teikning (i) gagnvirkra korta fyrir hvert eldstöðvakerfi, (ii) gagnagrunns eldfjallavefsjárinnar og (iii) þemakorta

Vefviðmát:

Samsýn ehf. og Miracle ehf. eiga höfundarétt á útliti vefsins, gagnagrunni og tengdum þjónustum.

Landupplýsingagögn:

Grunnkortaupplýsingar Veðurstofu Íslands eru höfundarréttarvarðar ©2014-2015, byggðar á gögnum frá Landmælingum Íslands, Ísor, Haf- og veðurstofu Bandaríkjanna (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA), Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) og Bandarísku snjó- og ísmælingastofnuninni (National Snow and Ice Data Center, NSIDC).Þematengd, gagnvirk kort: Veðurstofa Íslands og Ísor.

Referencing the Catalogue

When using material published in the Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes, please reference individual chapters as:

[Example from Katla]:

Text

Larsen, G. & Guðmundsson, M.T. (2016 March 7). Katla. In: Oladottir, B., Larsen, G. & Guðmundsson, M. T. Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes. IMO, UI and CPD-NCIP. Retrieved from http://icelandicvolcanoes.is/?volcano=KAT

Figure

Sigurðsson, O. (1976 November 10). Katla: photo 1 of 6. Retrieved from http://icelandicvolcanoes.is/?volcano=KAT

Tilvísanir í Íslensku eldfjallavefsjána

Þegar stuðst er við efni af Íslensku eldfjallavefsjánni skal vitna í einstaka kafla og myndir skv. leiðbeiningum hér að neðan. Notast er við APA-staðalinn.

[Dæmi frá Kötlu]:

Texti

Guðrún Larsen og Magnús T. Guðmundsson. (7. mars 2016). Katla. Í: Bergrún A. Óladóttir, Guðrún Larsen og Magnús T. Guðmundsson. Íslensk eldfjallavefsjá. VÍ, HÍ og Avd-RLS. Sótt af http://icelandicvolcanoes.is/?volcano=KAT

Mynd

Oddur Sigurðsson. (10. nóvember 1976). Katla: mynd 1 af 6. Íslensk eldfjallavefsjá. [ljósmynd]. Sótt af http://icelandicvolcanoes.is/?volcano=KAT

Monitoring - To be done

Gosvá

The Gosvá project is a national volcanic hazard assessment program for Iceland, covering broad aspects from the basic behaviour of volcanoes to the influence of volcanic eruptions on individuals and the society.

An initial volcanic hazard assessment of the Vestmannaeyjar Volcanic System: Impacts of lava flow and tephra deposit on Heimaey.

Assessment of the ecological resilience of ecosystems in the vicinity of the river Skaftá towards deposition of sediments during and after glacial outburst floods.

Áhættumat vegna jökulhlaupa frá Sólheimajökli.

Forgreining á hættu vegna goss á eldstöðvakerfi Vestmannaeyja Frummat á áhrifum hraunrennslis og öskufalls í Heimaey.

Eldgos í Öræfajökli árið 1362, greining á röð atburða.

Hermun jökulhlaupa í Jökulsá á Fjöllum: Tæknilegar niðurstöður hættumats.

Hermun jökulhlaupa í Skjálfandafljóti: Tæknilegar niðurstöður hættumats.

Hættumat vegna jökulhlaupa í Skaftá.

Jarðskjálftavá á höfuðborgarsvæðinu — Greining skjálftavárlíkinda.

Kortlagning á áfallaþoli vistkerfa í nágrenni Heklu með tilliti til öskufalls .

Langtímahættumat Reykjanesskaga vestan Kleifarvatns - Hrauna-, gasmengunar- og gjóskufallsvá.

Langtímahættumat Reykjanesskaga vestan Kleifarvatns - Hrauna-, gasmengunar- og gjóskufallsvá - Tækniskýrsla.

Markarfljótsaurar og Öræfajökull.

Múlakvísl - Hermun jökulhlaups til Víkur.

Náttúruvá á höfuðborgarsvæðinu Eldsumbrot, jarðskjálftar og sprunguhreyfingar. Yfirlit.

Preliminary tephra fallout hazard assessment for selected eruptive scenarios in Iceland.

Total Grain Size Distribution in Selected Icelandic Eruptions.

Volcanic sulfur emissions of Icelandic eruptions based on the petrological method.

Gosvá

Gosvá er heildaráhættumat vegna eldgosa á Íslandi. Umfang verkefnisins var allt frá því að taka saman fróðleik um hegðun eldstöðva og hvaða áhrif eldgos gætu haft á heilsu fólks og samfélag.

An initial volcanic hazard assessment of the Vestmannaeyjar Volcanic System: Impacts of lava flow and tephra deposit on Heimaey.

Áhættumat vegna jökulhlaupa frá Sólheimajökli.

Forgreining á hættu vegna goss á eldstöðvakerfi Vestmannaeyja Frummat á áhrifum hraunrennslis og öskufalls í Heimaey.

Eldgos í Öræfajökli árið 1362, greining á röð atburða.

Hermun jökulhlaupa í Jökulsá á Fjöllum: Tæknilegar niðurstöður hættumats.

Hermun jökulhlaupa í Skjálfandafljóti: Tæknilegar niðurstöður hættumats.

Hættumat vegna jökulhlaupa í Skaftá.

Kortlagning á áfallaþoli vistkerfa í nágrenni Heklu með tilliti til öskufalls.

Langtímahættumat Reykjanesskaga vestan Kleifarvatns - Hrauna-, gasmengunar- og gjóskufallsvá.

Langtímahættumat Reykjanesskaga vestan Kleifarvatns - Hrauna-, gasmengunar- og gjóskufallsvá - Tækniskýrsla.

Markarfljótsaurar og Öræfajökull.

Mat á áfallaþoli vistkerfa á áhrifasvæði Skaftárhlaupa gagnvart ákomu sets og fokefna.