Dynamic coupling between faulting, rifting and magmatism during 2021-2025 unrest on Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland
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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.
Suggested Citation
Fischer, T.J., Hrubcová, P., Vlček, J., de Pascale, G., Thordarson, T., Geirsson, H., Lomax, A., and Skoumal, R.J., 2026, Dynamic coupling between faulting, rifting and magmatism during 2021-2025 unrest on Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 53, no. 10, e2026GL122058, 10 p., https://doi.org/10.1029/2026GL122058.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Dynamic coupling between faulting, rifting and magmatism during 2021-2025 unrest on Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland |
| Series title | Geophysical Research Letters |
| DOI | 10.1029/2026GL122058 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Publication Date | May 15, 2026 |
| Year Published | 2026 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Geophysical Union |
| Contributing office(s) | Earthquake Science Center |
| Description | e2026GL122058, 10 p. |
| Country | Iceland |
| Other Geospatial | Reykjanes Peninsula |