What A Crazy Weekend for Volcanoes, Huh?

Alamy It was a busy weekend for a number of volcanoes across the planet, but the one we were all watching decided to take a breather: Iceland After an intense earthquake swarm last week, Katla calmed down significantly. The earthquakes nearly ceased at the caldera and Icelandic officials have reopened the roads to Mýrdalsjökull, the ice cap that sits over Katla itself. Some tourist spots close to the volcano remain closed for the time being. From the descriptions of the swarm and the resulting increase in water from the rivers leading from the caldera, the current guess is that this swarm might have been driven by changes in the hydrothermal system in the upper reaches of the volcano. The Yellow alert status remains, but that could change soon. So, we can all calm down for now. Canary Islands