Bárðarbunga
Stratovolcano in Iceland
title: "Bárðarbunga" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bárðarbunga", "active-volcanoes", "calderas-of-iceland", "east-volcanic-zone-of-iceland", "mountains-of-iceland", "stratovolcanoes-of-iceland", "subglacial-calderas", "subglacial-volcanoes-of-iceland", "two-thousanders-of-iceland", "vei-6-volcanoes", "volcanic-systems-of-iceland"] description: "Stratovolcano in Iceland" topic_path: "general/bardarbunga" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bárðarbunga" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Stratovolcano in Iceland ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Bárðarbunga |
| other_name | Veiðivötn |
| photo | Bárðarbunga Volcano, September 4 2014 - 15146259395.jpg |
| photo_caption | Eruption at Holuhraun, 4 September 2014 |
| elevation_m | 2000 |
| elevation_ref | |
| prominence_m | 550 |
| map | Iceland |
| map_caption | Map of Iceland showing the location of Bárðarbunga. |
| coordinates | |
| location | Vatnajökull, Iceland |
| type | Subglacial volcano/Icelandic stratovolcano |
| age | over 10,000 years |
| last_eruption | 29 August 2014 to 27 February 2015 |
| map_image | {{maplink |
| text | Geological features near the Bárðarbunga volcanic system (red outlines -note potential overlap with other volcanic systems is only shown in south). Light violet shows Bárðarbunga associated recent lava fields. |
| :: |
| name = Bárðarbunga | other_name = Veiðivötn | photo = Bárðarbunga Volcano, September 4 2014 - 15146259395.jpg | photo_caption = Eruption at Holuhraun, 4 September 2014 | elevation_m = 2000 | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = 550 | prominence_ref = | listing = | map = Iceland | map_caption = Map of Iceland showing the location of Bárðarbunga. | map_size = | label_position = | coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | location = Vatnajökull, Iceland | type = Subglacial volcano/Icelandic stratovolcano | age = over 10,000 years | last_eruption = 29 August 2014 to 27 February 2015 | map_image ={{maplink|frame=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=300|frame-height=420|frame-long=-17.9|frame-lat=64.2|zoom=7|raw=[,,,,,,] |text=Geological features near the Bárðarbunga volcanic system (red outlines -note potential overlap with other volcanic systems is only shown in south). Light violet shows Bárðarbunga associated recent lava fields.
Bárðarbunga (, alternative name Veiðivötn), is an active and productive stratovolcano located under Vatnajökull in Vatnajökull National Park which is Iceland's most extensive glacier. The second highest mountain in Iceland, 2,000 m above sea level, Bárðarbunga is also part of the Bárðarbunga-Veiðivötn volcanic system that is approximately 190 km long and 25 km wide.
Bárðarbunga erupted in late August 2014, the eruption style effusive, which is common in Iceland, but had not been seen for a few years. Lava covered the surrounding landscape northwest of the Vatnajökull glacier.
Description
Bárðarbunga is a subglacial stratovolcano and central volcano under the ice cap of Vatnajökull glacier in the Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland. It is one of the six volcanic systems under Vatnajökull. up to 10 km wide and about 700 m deep. The surrounding edges rise to 1850 m, but the base is on average close to 1100 m. The volcano is covered in ice to a depth of 850 m, hiding the glacier-filled crater. The associated volcanic system and fissure swarm is about 190 km long and 25 km wide.
Bárðarbunga was a little-known volcano in Iceland due to its remote location and infrequent eruptions approximately once every 50 years, but recent studies have shown that many tephra layers originally thought to be from other volcanoes were ejected from Bárðarbunga,
Sustained seismic activity had been gradually increasing in Bárðarbunga and its associated northern fissure system for seven years starting in 2007 and leading to an eruption towards the end of 2014. This activity had decreased after the Grímsvötn eruption in 2011, but later returned to a similar level as before the eruption. The previous Bárðarbunga eruption was in 1910. There has been frequent volcanic activity outside the glacier to the south-west in the highlands between Vatnajökull and Mýrdalsjökull, and also to the north-east toward Dyngjufjöll .
The Bárðarbunga volcanic system is associated with a second central volcano Hamarinn which has been classified historically as part of a separate Loki-Fögrufjöll volcanic system. Hamarinn is 20 km to the south-west of the Bárðarbunga central volcano.
Context
While the central volcanoes of the Bárðarbunga volcanic system are under the western edge of the Vatnajökull ice cap, the system's northern fissure swarm and lava flows extend around the southern flanks of the Askja volcano and the southern fissure swarm extends past the north-west of Torfajökull and almost reaches Tindfjallajökull. The southern lava flows have reached the sea near Selfoss. To the west of the central volcanoes is the less active volcanic system of Tungnafellsjökull and to the central volcanoes south west, also under Vatnajökull is the very active Grímsvötn volcanic system. In the 1996 eruption of Gjálp which is usually assigned to the Grímsvötn volcanic system, studies are consistent with the eruption being triggered by a 10 km lateral dyke intrusion at about 5 km depth from Bárðarbunga, although this is not proven.
Etymology
Bárðarbunga is named after an early Icelandic settler named Gnúpa-Bárður , and literally translates as "Bárður's bulge" or "Bárður's bump" since "Bárðar" is the genitive case of "Bárður".
Eruptions and notable activity
Throughout history, there have been large eruptions every 250–600 years. In 1477, the largest known eruption from Bárðarbunga had a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 6; there is evidence of many smaller eruptions during the past 10,000 years.
6600 BC
Þjórsá Lava, the largest Holocene lava flow on earth,
877
Many large eruptions have occurred south-west of the glacier; the first occurring since human settlement of Iceland was the Vatnaöldur eruption about 877 ± 2 CE which had a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 4.
1477
The Veiðivötn eruption in 1477 is the largest known Icelandic eruption, with a VEI of 6.
1701–1864
Studies of tephra layers have shown that a number of eruptions have occurred beneath the glacier, probably in the northeast of the crater or in Bárðarbunga. There have also been smaller eruptions in an ice-free area of Dyngjuháls to the north-east. Eruptions appear to follow a cycle: there were several eruptions in the glacier between 1701 and 1740 and since 1780.
1910 eruption
1910 was the last known significant eruption of the Bárðarbunga volcanic system before the 2014 eruptions. It occurred in the Loki-Fögrufjöll volcano.
1996
Main article: 1996 eruption of Gjálp
The Gjálp fissure vent eruption in 1996 revealed that an interaction may exist between Bárðarbunga and Grímsvötn. A strong earthquake in Bárðarbunga, about 5 on the Richter scale, is believed to have started the eruption in Gjálp. On the other hand, because the magma erupted showed strong connections to the Grímsvötn Volcanic System as petrology studies showed, the 1996, as well as a former eruption in the 1930s, are thought to have taken place within Grímsvötn Volcanic system.
2010
On 26 September 2010, an earthquake swarm was recorded with over 30 earthquakes measuring up to 3.7MW on the moment magnitude scale.
2014–2015
Main article: 2014–2015 eruption of Bárðarbunga
In August 2014, a swarm of around 1,600 earthquakes in 48-hours, with magnitudes up to 4.5*MW*, was followed on 23 August by the USGS Aviation Color Codes being raised from orange to red, indicating an eruption in progress. The following day, the aviation risk was lowered from red to orange and the statement that there was an eruption in progress was retracted. However, later aerial observations of glacial depressions southeast of the volcano suggested that the now-retracted report of an eruption had been correct and that a short eruption did occur under the ice, but the lack of further melting indicated that this eruption had now ceased. Then, a new fissure eruption breached the surface between Bárðarbunga and Askja, in the Holuhraun lava field, in the early hours of 29 August. This was followed by a second fissure eruption in the Holuhraun area, along the same volcanic fissure, which started shortly after 4 am on 31 August.
The eruption emitted large volumes of sulphur dioxide and impacted air quality in Iceland. There was no effect on flights outside of the immediate vicinity as the eruption hadn't produced a significant amount of volcanic ash.
On 28 February 2015, it was officially reported that the eruption was over. Nevertheless, the gas pollution still existed, and the area north of Bárðarbunga, including volcanoes Askja and Herðubreið, still remained closed for visitors.
On 16 March 2015, the area north of Bárðarbunga was opened for visitors, excluding the new lava field and the area within 20 metres around it.
2024
On 21 April 2024 a 5.3 earthquake occurred in the Bárðarbunga volcanic system. This was the largest earthquake under this region of the Vatnajökull icecap since the 2015 eruption and was associated with isolated smaller fore- and aftershocks but no other markers of potential volcanic activity.
::data[format=table title="Eruptions Bárðarbunga volcanic system last 10,000 years (unconfirmed eruptions not shown){{efn|Timings published before 2017 for eruptions between around 700 to 900 are likely inaccurate, and sources for all corrected timings in Gudmundsdóttir et al 2016 in this period have not been identified in public domain. Literature timings were adjusted after the Icelandic tree ring series was extended to 822.{{cite journal|last1 =Büntgen|first1 =U.|last2 =Eggertsson|first2 =Ó.|last3 =Wacker|first3 =L.|last4 =Sigl|first4 =M.|last5 =Ljungqvist|first5 =F.C.|last6 =Di Cosmo|first6 =N.|last7 =Plunkett|first17 =G.|last8 =Krusic|first8 =P.J.|last9 =Newfield|first9 =T.P.|last10 =Esper|first10 =J.|last11 =Lane|first11 =C.|year =2017|title = Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822–823 CE|journal =Geology|volume =45|issue =9|pages =783–786|doi =10.1130/G39269.1|bibcode =2017Geo....45..783B}} Also the potential for dating errors increase with time. Where uncertainty in separate tephra studies might exist that an assigned dates are not a separate eruption, this is noted in table comments. Towards the end of the 10,000 year time series some analysis have errors of order of a 1000 years. As a result there might be more assignable definite eruptions than implied. The last eruption shown may or may not be within 10,000 years of current present given these inaccuracies.|name=timing}}"]
| Standard Date | Date Cal BP | Lava volume | VEI | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | - | 1.2 km3 | 0 | Central Volcano |
| 1910 | - | 2 | Central Volcano | |
| 1902 | - | 2 | Central Volcano | |
| 1872 | - | - | ||
| 1862 | 0.3 km3 | 2 | Fissure swarm | |
| 1797 | - | - | Fissure swarm | |
| 1794 | - | - | ||
| 1769 | - | 2 | ||
| 1766 | - | 2 | ||
| 1750 | - | - | ||
| 1739 | - | 2 | ||
| 1729 | - | 1 | ||
| 1726 | - | 1 | ||
| 1720 | - | 2 | ||
| 1717 | - | 3 | ||
| 1716 | - | 2 | ||
| 1712 | - | 2 | ||
| 1707 | - | 2 | ||
| 1706 | - | 2 | ||
| 1702 | - | 2 | ||
| 1697 | - | 2 | ||
| 1477 | 0.35 km3 | 6 | Fissure swarm Previous dating was 470 BP | |
| 1410 | - | - | ||
| 1350±10 | ±10 | - | - | |
| 1290±10 | ±10 | - | - | |
| 1270±10 | ±10 | - | - | |
| 1250±50 | ±50 | - | 1 | |
| 1159 | - | - | last1 =Gudmundsdóttir | |
| 1080 | - | - | ||
| 940 | - | - | name=timing}} | |
| 877 | 0.17 km3 | 4 | last1 =Gudmundsdóttir | |
| 808 | 1142 | - | - | name=timing}} |
| 753 | 1197 | - | - | name=timing}} |
| 654 | 1296 | - | - | |
| 473 | 1477 | - | - | |
| 451 | 1499 | - | - | |
| 445 | 1505 | - | - | |
| 150 | - | 2 | Possibly dated to one of the tephra eruptions dated to 180 and 128 CE | |
| BCE | 1951 | - | - | |
| BCE | 1968 | - | - | This was a combined tephra eruption with Grímsvötn |
| BCE | 2128 | - | - | This was a combined tephra eruption with Kverkfjöll |
| BCE | 2228 | - | - | |
| BCE | 2238 | - | - | |
| BCE | 2533 | - | - | |
| BCE | 2611 | - | - | |
| BCE | 2810 | - | - | |
| BCE | 2941 | - | - | |
| 1200 BCE | - | - | There are assigned tephra tayers dated to 3056 and 3361 BP which may not be both separate eruptions | |
| BCE | 3931 | - | - | |
| BCE | 4374 | - | - | |
| BCE | 5509 | - | - | Fissure swarm |
| BCE | 5688 | - | - | Fissure swarm |
| BCE | 5695 | - | - | This was a combined tephra eruption with Grímsvötn |
| BCE | 5808 | - | - | Fissure swarm |
| BCE | 5857 | - | - | Fissure swarm |
| BCE | 5931 | - | - | Fissure swarm |
| BCE | 6012 | - | - | Fissure swarm |
| BCE | 6037 | - | - | Fissure swarm |
| 4200 BCE | - | - | A tephra layer dated to 6102 BP exists which may not be a separate eruption | |
| 4400 BCE | - | - | ||
| 4550 BCE | - | - | A tephra layer dated to 6508 BP exists which may not be a separate eruption | |
| 4600 BCE | - | - | ||
| 4800 BCE | - | - | A tephra layer dated to 6799 BP also exists mixed with tephra with Grímsvötn characteristics which may not be a separate eruption | |
| 5000 BCE | - | - | A tephra layer dated to 7108 BP exists which may not be a separate eruption | |
| BCE | 7738 | - | - | This was a combined tephra eruption with an unknown volcano |
| BCE | 7843 | - | - | Fissure swarm |
| BCE | 8070 | - | - | Fissure swarm |
| 6650±50 BCE | ±50 | - | - | name=timing}} |
| 7050±1000 BCE | ±1000 | - | - | name=timing}} |
| 7100±1000 BCE | ±1000 | - | - | name=timing}} |
| BCE | 9612 | - | - | name=timing}} |
| BCE | 9817 | - | - | name=timing}} |
| BCE | 9990 | - | - | name=timing}} |
| :: |
1950 Geysir air crash
Main article: 1950 Geysir air crash
On 14 September 1950 a Douglas C-54 Skymaster aircraft belonging to the Icelandic airline Loftleiðir crash landed on the Vatnajökull glacier at Bárðarbunga during a cargo flight from Luxembourg to Reykjavík. There were no fatalities, but damaged radio equipment left them unable to communicate their location. After two days the crew managed to reach the emergency transmitter in the plane's rubber liferaft and send out a distress call which was picked up by the Icelandic Coast Guard vessel Ægir. The same day a search and rescue Catalina aircraft, named Vestfirðingur, spotted them. The C-54's cargo included the body of a deceased United States Air Force (USAF) colonel, prompting American assistance. A USAF C-47 equipped with skis landed on the glacier but was unable to take off again, so it had to be abandoned. After six days both crews were rescued by a ski-patrol from Akureyri. Later Loftleiðir bought the stranded C-47 from the USAF for $700. In April 1951 it was dug out of the snow and towed down the mountain by two bulldozers, where it was started and flown to Reykjavík.
Notes
References
References
- (2014). "The Bárðarbunga System, pre-publication extract from The Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes".
- mbl.is. (2011-05-22). "How To Pronounce "Bárðarbunga"". YouTube.com.
- "Bárdarbunga".
- (2019). "Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes:Bárðarbunga Alternative name: Veiðivötn".
- (1990). "Volcanoes beneath Vatnajökull, Iceland: Evidence from radio echo-sounding, earthquakes and jökulhlaups". Jökull.
- "What is Bárðarbunga? | News".
- "Stofnun Árna Magnússonar – í íslenskum fraedum. Bárðarbunga".
- (2024). "Decadal-to-centennial increases of volcanic aerosols from Iceland challenge the concept of a Medieval Quiet Period". Communications Earth & Environment.
- See eg.: [https://skemman.is/bitstream/1946/29117/1/BS_ritger%C3%B0_ElinMargretM_final.pdf Elín Margrét Magnúsdóttir: Gjóska úr Grímsvötnum 2011 og Bárðarbungu 2014-2015: Ásýndar- ogkornastærðargreining. BS ritgerð. Jarðvísindadeild Háskóli Íslands (2017)] (in Icelandic, abstract also in English) Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- "1.600 earthquakes in 48 hours".
- (2014-08-16). "Activity in Bárðarbunga volcano – News". Icelandic Meteorological Office.
- Icelandic Met Office. (2014-08-23). "Bárðarbunga – updated information". Icelandic Meteorological Office.
- BBC. (2014-08-24). "Iceland volcano: Aviation risk level from Bardarbunga lowered". BBC.
- (2014-08-29). "Eruption Started Between Barðarbunga and Askja in Iceland". Wired.com.
- (2014-08-31). "Scientists: Bigger Eruption, Moves North. 500 Earthquakes". Icelandreview.com.
- [http://en.vedur.is/media/jar/Factsheet_Bardarbunga_20150228.pdf 28 February 2015 12:00 – declaration from the Scientific Advisory Board]
- [http://en.vedur.is/media/jar/Access_conrolled_area_20150316.pdf Reduction of the access controlled area north of Vatnajökull]
- "M 5.3 - 107 km WNW of Höfn, Iceland".
- "Earthquake in Bárðarbunga caldera".
- (2017). "Multi-proxy dating of Iceland's major pre-settlement Katla eruption to 822–823 CE". Geology.
- "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-54B-20-DO (DC-4) TF-RVC Vatnajökull Glacier".
- (29 September 2009). "Meltdown Iceland: Lessons on the World Financial Crisis from a Small Bankrupt Island". Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
- "Timeline of the search for the Geysir at gopfrettir.net (in Icelandic)".
- Háskólabókasafn, Landsbókasafn Íslands-. "Tímarit.is".
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