2008 Iceland earthquake

Doublet earthquake with composite magnitude of 6.1 Mw April 2024 2008 Iceland earthquake 2008 Iceland earthquake.jpg 2008-05-29 15:46:00 13230288 usp000g826 2008 5 29 yes 15:46 6.3 wc yehb 13230288 10 km mi onehb 13230288 63.96 N 20.99 Wehb 13230288 Right-lateral strike-slip Iceland VIIIIceland 2008 ShakeMap usp000g826#shakemap 30 injuries The 2008 Iceland earthquake was a doublet earthquake that struck on 29 May at 15:46 UTC in southwestern Iceland.Decriem Árnadóttir Hooper Geirsson 2010 1144. The recorded magnitudes of the two main quakes were 5.9 w y and 5.8 w, respectively, giving a composite magnitude of 6.1 w. Decriem Árnadóttir Hooper Geirsson 2010 1128. There were no human fatalities, but injuries were reported and a number of sheep were killed.January 2024 The epicenter of the earthquake was between the towns of Hveragerði and Selfoss, about 45 km mi us east-southeast of the capital, Reykjavík. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Iceland since the summer of 2000.BBC News 2008. Characteristics Iceland straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the Eurasian and North-American tectonic plates move away from each other. Volcanic activity is common along such divergent boundaries but strong earthquakes are rare. In Iceland the ridge is somewhat off-set, creating two transform faults where plates move horizontally along each other.Einarsson P. Earthquakes and present-day tectonism in Iceland Tectonophysics 1991 189 1–4 261–279 10.1016/0040-1951(91)90501-I 1991Tectp.189..261E One is in the north of the country and one in the south; the strongest Icelandic earthquakes happen along those transform faults.Ward P. L. New Interpretation of the Geology of Iceland Geological Society of America Bulletin 1971 82 11 2991–3012 10.1130/0016-7606(1971)82[2991:NIOTGO]2.0.CO;2 The 29 May quake is classified by geologists as a typical Suðurlandsskjálfti (literally: Southern Region quake), a strong earthquake that happens on Iceland's 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 as well as Eyrarbakki, Stokkseyri and Þorlákshöfn. Many farms were also affected. See also Geology of Iceland List of earthquakes in 2008 List of earthquakes in Iceland References Sources Iceland 2008 usp000g826#executiv M6.3 – Iceland cs2 CITEREFBBC News2008 https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7426369.stm Strong earthquake rocks Iceland 2008-05-29 2008-05-29 BBC News J. Decriem T. Árnadóttir A. Hooper H. Geirsson F. Sigmundsson M. Keiding B. G. Ófeigsson S. Hreinsdóttir P. Einarsson P. LaFemina R. A. Bennett 2010 The 2008 May 29 earthquake doublet in SW Iceland Geophysical Journal International 181 2 1128–1146 10.1111/j.1365-246x.2010.04565.x 2010GeoJI.181.1128D free. ehb cs2 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 60 (2010): 1–22. External links 13230288 63.992 N 21.014 W source:enwiki-plaintext-parser title Category:2008 earthquakes Earthquake Earthquake Category:May 2008 in Europe 2008 Category:Doublet earthquakes