Iceland Hit by Thousands of Small Earthquakes in Volcano Warning

Lava spurts and flows after the eruption of a volcano in the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, July 12, 2023, as seen in this handout picture taken from a Coast Guard helicopter. (Civil Protection of Iceland/Handout via Reuters)
Lava spurts and flows after the eruption of a volcano in the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, July 12, 2023, as seen in this handout picture taken from a Coast Guard helicopter. (Civil Protection of Iceland/Handout via Reuters)
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Iceland Hit by Thousands of Small Earthquakes in Volcano Warning

Lava spurts and flows after the eruption of a volcano in the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, July 12, 2023, as seen in this handout picture taken from a Coast Guard helicopter. (Civil Protection of Iceland/Handout via Reuters)
Lava spurts and flows after the eruption of a volcano in the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, July 12, 2023, as seen in this handout picture taken from a Coast Guard helicopter. (Civil Protection of Iceland/Handout via Reuters)

A seismic swarm has hit the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland with more than 5,500 small earthquakes in the last three days, raising the prospect of a volcanic eruption, the country's meteorological office (IMO) said on Friday.

Located between the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, among the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hot spot as the two plates move in opposite directions.

While quakes are a daily occurrence in Iceland, the latest swarm was more extensive than usual.

"These earthquakes are a warning sign, a part of a longer-term story that we know we're entering a build-up phase to the next (volcanic) eruption," IMO Service and Research division head Matthew Roberts told Reuters.

The quakes originated at a depth of up to 5 km (around 3 miles) and were caused by a long-term accumulation of magma that has been building pressure and is now slowly drifting towards the surface of the earth, he added.

Earlier this year a volcano erupted in an uninhabited part of the Reykjanes peninsula after intense earthquake activity, the third such event in the region southwest of the capital Reykjavik since 2021.

A fourth eruption could now be developing, the IMO said, although predicting the timing of volcanic outbreaks is difficult.

"From my perspective as a scientist and someone who's been following this activity very closely, I would say that an eruption within the next 12 months is likely," Roberts said.

The strongest of the earthquakes had been measured at a magnitude of 4.5, and around 15 tremors were at 3.0 or stronger, the IMO said.

Earthquakes with a magnitude above 2.5 can often be felt by humans, according to the Michigan Technological University.

Grindavík, a fishing town on the peninsula with around 2,000 inhabitants is the town closest to the seismic activity.



Giant Coral Colony Discovered in Red Sea

This natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA. Photo: RSG
This natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA. Photo: RSG
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Giant Coral Colony Discovered in Red Sea

This natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA. Photo: RSG
This natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA. Photo: RSG

Red Sea Global (RSG) has announced the significant discovery of a giant coral colony in the Red Sea (of the Pavona species) within the waters of AMAALA on the northwestern coast of Saudi Arabia.

Rivalling the size of the current world record holder—a 32-by-34-meter colony found in the Pacific—this remarkable new find is the largest coral colony of this type documented in the Red Sea to date.

According to a statement issued by the RSG on Sunday, this natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA on diving excursions, offering a unique and unforgettable experience.

Access would be permitted in line with RSG’s responsible tourism ethos, minimizing any potential impact while allowing visitors to witness the breathtaking beauty of the Red Sea’s underwater world.

“The discovery of a coral of such extraordinary dimensions demonstrates the ecological significance as well as the pristine beauty of the Red Sea,” said RSG’s Head of Environmental Protection and Regeneration Ahmed Alansari.

“At RSG, we believe it is critically important to protect our coral reefs. In particular, these giants represent a time capsule of information, providing the ideal tools for tracing past oceanographic transformations that can help us model responses to future environmental changes,” he stated.

“Understanding how this coral has survived for so long will be crucial for protecting other reefs in the Red Sea and potentially all over the world, for generations to come,” he added.

According to the statement, determining the age of these giant corals with minimal impact is challenging due to the invasive nature of accurate dating techniques and the absence of published growth rates for this particular species of coral in the Red Sea. However, estimations have been made based on the coral’s size, growth rates of this species found in the Pacific, and results from photogrammetry efforts. Using these tools, the coral cluster is estimated to be between 400 and 800 years old.

Upcoming studies by researchers from RSG and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) will help pinpoint the coral’s age more accurately and provide insights into the environmental conditions in which it has thrived.

Coral in the Red Sea is known for its particular resilience, adapting genetically to naturally warmer waters and higher salinity levels. This colony will be subject to ongoing monitoring and research to understand what makes these giants so resilient to multiple stressors over long time periods and to help inform conservation efforts for other reefs in the Red Sea and around the world.
The two RSG scientists who discovered the giant coral colony, Rhonda Suka and Sylvia Jagerroos, are now leading its mapping and documentation.
Suka said: “Finding such an invaluable specimen was a truly mind-boggling experience. This colony’s resilience gives us hope for the continued success of corals in the Red Sea, particularly in the face of increasing environmental and anthropogenic stress.”

“A coral this massive is incredibly rare. Mapping these giants is an important part of conserving them, something the ‘Map the Giants’ project is doing on a global scale by identifying and documenting these vital giant coral structures, which it classes as anything larger than five meters. This is the second colony RSG has submitted to the project in the last few months,” said Jagerroos.

The statement disclosed that AMAALA is set to welcome its first guests later this year with the ambitious goal of becoming the world’s most comprehensive health and wellness destination. Launching with more than 1,400 hotel rooms across eight luxury resorts, it will welcome some of the most renowned wellness operators globally, offering a wide array of programs tailored to diverse lifestyles and well-being needs.
This follows RSG’s other destination, The Red Sea, which began welcoming guests in 2023 and now has five hotels open.