2008 Iceland earthquake
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The 2008 Iceland earthquake was a doublet earthquake that struck on 29 May at 15:46 UTC in southwestern Iceland.[1] The recorded magnitudes of the two main quakes were 5.9 Template:M and 5.8 Template:M, respectively, giving a composite magnitude of 6.1 Template:M.[2] There were no human fatalities, but injuries were reported and a number of sheep were killed.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The epicenter of the earthquake was between the towns of Hveragerði and Selfoss, about Script error: No such module "convert". east-southeast of the capital, Reykjavík. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Iceland since the summer of 2000.[3]
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.[4] One is in the north of the country and one in the south; the strongest Icelandic earthquakes happen along those transform faults.[5] 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
References
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Sources
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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
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