Dynamic Coupling Between Faulting, Rifting and Magmatism During 2021‐2025 Unrest on Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland

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Authors: Tomáš J. Fischer, Pavla Hrubcová, Josef Vlček, Gregory P. De Pascale, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Halldór Geirsson, Anthony Lomax, Robert J. Skoumal
Cited by: 1
References: 42

Abstract

Abstract Interactions among faulting, earthquakes, and eruptions are fundamental to plate tectonics and hazard forecasting yet rarely observed along mid‐ocean ridges. On Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, seismotectonic–volcanic unrest resumed after nearly 800‐year hiatus, providing an opportunity to observe these interactions during 2021–2025 activity. By integrating high‐resolution seismicity, focal mechanisms, satellite geodesy, surface deformation, and eruption data, we document ∼4 m of total extension accommodated through 14 rifting episodes. The largest, in 2023, involved graben reactivation and diking, with seismic swarms and earthquake faulting that matched the surface ruptures, where strike‐slip faulting preceded normal‐faulting earthquakes and extension. The accrued extension was released by extension fractures triggered by magma accumulation. Long‐term observations show no correlation between erupted magma volume, seismicity, and crustal extension. This highlights dynamic relation between rifting, faulting, and magmatism in transtensional settings and their implications for hazard assessment.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Geological and Geochemical Analysis earthquake and tectonic studies High-pressure geophysics and materials

Publication details

Journal / source
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Volume
53
Issue
10
Publication date
15 May 2026
Language
EN