2008 Iceland Earthquake
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2008 Iceland Earthquake
The 2008 Iceland earthquake was a doublet earthquake that struck on May 29 at 15:46 UTC in southwestern Iceland.. The recorded magnitudes of the two main quakes were 5.9 and 5.8 , respectively, giving a composite magnitude of 6.1 . There were no human fatalities, but 30 injuries were reported and a number of sheep were killed. The epicenter of the earthquake was between the towns of Hveragerði and Selfoss, about east-southeast of the capital, Reykjavík. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Iceland since the summer of 2000.. Characteristics Iceland straddles the mid-Atlantic ridge where the Eurasian and North-American tectonic plates move away from each other. Volcanic activity is common along such divergent boundaries but strong earthquakes are rare. In Iceland the ridge is somewhat off-set, creating two transform faults where plates move horizontally along each other. One is in the north of the country and one in the south; the strongest Icelandic earthquakes happen ...
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Fault (geology)
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates, such as the megathrust faults of subduction zones or transform faults. Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes. Faults may also displace slowly, by aseismic creep. A ''fault plane'' is the plane that represents the fracture surface of a fault. A ''fault trace'' or ''fault line'' is a place where the fault can be seen or mapped on the surface. A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on geologic maps to represent a fault. A ''fault zone'' is a cluster of parallel faults. However, the term is also used for the zone of crushed rock along a single fault. Prolonged motion along closely spaced faults can blur the ...
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Stokkseyri
Stokkseyri () is a small town in Southern Iceland, with a population of around 445. Overview Founded around 900 AD by the settler Hásteinn Atlason, it was an important fishing and trading village in previous times. The town is founded on the Great Þjórsá lava The Great Þjórsá Lava ( Icelandic: ''Þjórsárhraunið mikla'' ) is the largest lava flow in Iceland (by both area and volume) and the largest lava that is known to have erupted in a single eruption in the Holocene. It belongs to a group of lav .... The local school is Barnaskólinn á Eyrarbakka og Stokkseyri. The artistic experimental duo Jónsi & Alex wrote a song named after the town which appears on their album Riceboy Sleeps. The Knarraros lighthouse, which is a unique blend of functionalism and art nouveau style, is located about away. A famous inhabitant of Stokkseyri was Stokkseyrar-Dísa. It is home to the football team UMF Stokkseyri. References Fishing communities Populated places i ...
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Natural Disasters In Iceland
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are part of nature, human activity is often understood as a separate category from other natural phenomena. The word ''nature'' is borrowed from the Old French ''nature'' and is derived from the Latin word ''natura'', or "essential qualities, innate disposition", and in ancient times, literally meant "birth". In ancient philosophy, ''natura'' is mostly used as the Latin translation of the Greek word ''physis'' (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics of plants, animals, and other features of the world to develop of their own accord. The concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is one of several expansions of the original notion; it began with certain core applications of the word φύσις by pre-Socr ...
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Earthquakes In Europe
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those that are so weak that they cannot be felt, to those violent enough to propel objects and people into the air, damage critical infrastructure, and wreak destruction across entire cities. The seismic activity of an area is the frequency, type, and size of earthquakes experienced over a particular time period. The seismicity at a particular location in the Earth is the average rate of seismic energy release per unit volume. The word ''tremor'' is also used for Episodic tremor and slip, non-earthquake seismic rumbling. At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and displacing or disrupting the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause ...
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2008 In Iceland
The following lists events that happened in 2008 in Iceland. Incumbents *President – Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson *Prime Minister – Geir Haarde Events May * May 29 - A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss. September * September 29 - The government of Iceland takes control of the country's number three bank, the struggling Glitnir Bank. October * October 7 - Subprime mortgage crisis ** Russia agrees to provide Iceland with emergency loans of 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion). ** Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority takes control of troubled Landsbanki Bank. * October 9 - Kaupthing Bank, Iceland's largest bank, is nationalized by the country's Financial Supervisory Authority. * October 21 - Iceland's Kaupthing Bank fails to pay interest to its 50-billion-yen (US$493 million) bondholders in Japan. * October 29 - Danish-based low-cost carrier Sterling Airlines files for bankruptcy and stops all passenger flight ...
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2008 Earthquakes
Earthquakes in 2008 resulted in about 88,011 fatalities. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake was the deadliest with 87,587 fatalities, and also the largest at 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale. Other significant earthquakes struck Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia, Japan, Colombia, and other parts of China. Compared to other years Overall By death toll * Note: At least 10 dead By magnitude * Note: At least 7.0 Magnitude By month January * A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on January 1. * A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Sumatra, Indonesia on January 4. * A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Haida Gwaii, Canada on January 5. * A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Haida Gwaii, Canada on January 5. * A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Greece on January 6. * A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Papua, Indonesia on January 7. Six people were injured and 22 homes were damaged. * A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Tibet, China on January 9. ...
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Jökull (journal)
''Jökull: The Icelandic Journal of Earth Sciences'' () is an annual peer-reviewed scientific journal published jointly by the and the Geoscience Society of Iceland. The journal covers all aspects of earth sciences in relation to Iceland, including meteorology, oceanography, petrology, and geothermal research. The editor-in-chief is Bryndís Brandsdóttir. It has been classified as "Level 1" journal in the Norwegian Scientific Index. It was founded in 1950 by Icelandic meteorologist Jón Eyþórsson, who served as its editor until his death in 1968, publishing regular measurements of glacial margins and drift ice in ''Jökull''. These reports have continued, creating a valuable resource for climate scientists. ''Jökull'' has been a victim of journal hijacking. See also *''Danish Journal of Geography'' *'' Fennia'' *''Geografiska Annaler'' *'' Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin'' *''Norwegian Journal of Geography'' *''Norwegian Journal of Geology ''Norwegi ...
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Geophysical Journal International
''Geophysical Journal International'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft (German Geophysical Society). The journal publishes original research papers, research notes, letters, and book reviews. It was established in 1922. The editor-in-chief is Joerg Renner (Ruhr University Bochum). The journal covers research on all aspects of theoretical, computational, applied and observational geophysics. History The journal was formerly entitled ''Geophysical Journal'' (Oxford) from January 1988 to June 1989. The ''Geophysical Journal'' was itself formed by the merger of three other publications: ''Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society'', ''Journal of Geophysics'', and ''Annales Geophysicae, Series B: Terrestrial and Planetary Physics''. ''Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society'' was in existence from March 1958 to December ...
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List Of Earthquakes In Iceland
See also * Geology of Iceland * Lists of earthquakes * '''' References ;Sources * Further reading * External links Earthquakes in Iceland magnitude 4 and greater, 1706–1990 {{Europe topic, List of earthquakes in Iceland Earthquakes Earthquakes Earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
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List Of Earthquakes In 2008
Earthquakes in 2008 resulted in about 88,011 fatalities. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake was the deadliest with 87,587 fatalities, and also the largest at 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale. Other significant earthquakes struck Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia, Japan, Colombia, and other parts of China. Compared to other years Overall By death toll * Note: At least 10 dead By magnitude * Note: At least 7.0 Magnitude By month January * A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on January 1. * A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Sumatra, Indonesia on January 4. * A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Haida Gwaii, Canada on January 5. * A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Haida Gwaii, Canada on January 5. * A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Greece on January 6. * A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Papua (province), Papua, Indonesia on January 7. Six people were injured and 22 homes were damaged. * A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Tibet, Chi ...
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Geology Of Iceland
The geology of Iceland is unique and of particular interest to geologists. Iceland lies on the divergent boundary between the Eurasian plate and the North American plate. It also lies above a hotspot, the Iceland plume. The plume is believed to have caused the formation of Iceland itself, the island first appearing over the ocean surface about 16 to 18 million years ago. The result is an island characterized by repeated volcanism and geothermal phenomena such as geysers. The eruption of Laki in 1783 caused much devastation and loss of life, leading to a famine that killed about 25% of the island's population and resulted in a drop in global temperatures, as sulfur dioxide was spewed into the Northern Hemisphere. This caused crop failures in Europe and may have caused droughts in India. The eruption has been estimated to have killed over six million people globally. Between 1963 and 1967, the new island of Surtsey was created off the southwest coast by a volcanic eruption. Geol ...
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Þorlákshöfn
Þorlákshöfn () is a town on the southern coast of Iceland in the Municipality of Ölfus. The town is named after Saint Thorlak who was a bishop at Skálholt. Its main importance is as a port as it has the only harbour on Iceland's southern coastline between Grindavík in the west and Höfn in the east. The port serves a direct weekly cargo ferries to Rotterdam and Hirtshals operated by Faroese Smyril Line. It is also one of two departure points for ferries to the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. Services include restaurants, tourism, golf course, motocross field, camping, sport complex and a swimming pool. The town has several fish processing enterprises. History and Culture The construction of ''Þorlákskirkja'', a modern protestant church, was started in 1979. The church was consecrated in 1985. There are various historic places near Þorlákshöfn, e.g., a wooden church dating from 1909 on the farm ''Kotströnd''. Infrastructure Þorlákshöfn has a hotel, a camping area, ...
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