Iceland has recently raised the alert level for a potential eruption of Grímsvötn after several small earthquakes were found at the active volcano site.
Grímsvötn is an active volcano buried beneath the northwestern side of the Vatnajökull ice cap towards the east of the country.
The alert level has been raised from “yellow” to “orange” after heightened seismic activity and glacial melting around the site of the volcano. However, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said it had not detected a rise in the volcano’s magma despite the earthquakes.
“This seismic activity may be due to the decreasing pressure above the volcano, as the floodwaters have been released from the subglacial lake,” explained the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
These colored alert levels are designed to let the aviation industry know about the risks of an eruption in advance, with red being the most severe and considered imminent.