What's known is that Katla has erupted approximately every 80 years since Vikings first settled this island nestled under the Arctic Circle more than a thousand years ago.
The last eruption was in 1918 and "it's the longest pause of Katla on record, which is why we are monitoring it very carefully," Hreinsdottir said.
An eruption from Katla might not necessarily be dangerous. But it has the potential every time to repeat the 1918 scene when a wall of melted glacier water swept down, bearing ice chunks the size of houses, and blanketing southern Iceland in thick ash.
What effect a monster eruption would have on a Europe crippled by the much milder Eyjafjoell can only be imagined. Much would depend on wind direction, the type of ash and height of the ash plume. MUCH MORE
Even though I understand some of the news media's reluctance to report on any activity at the Katla Volcano, there are people, ThePoliticalBandit included, outside of the Mainstream News Media that have been actively tracking Katla, Hekla, and other dangerous volcanoes in Iceland, and yes, there has been some seismic activity. I prefer to use MSM news sources as they tend to galvanize the public into action, but in regard the Icelandic Volcanoes it appears that our news media in Europe and the United States have adopted the attitude that if they don't report upon what I believe is an active threat the public will simply forget about it; failing to talk about this threat is also not good for business and the EU Recovery.
Based on my reluctance to use sources other than the MSM, I'd be irresponsible if I didn't publish an excellent piece that comes from the ModernSurvivalBlog.com that visually demonstrates seismic activity that is originating from Katla's Caldera:
Katla Volcano Caldera Earthquakes 2010-September
The Katla volcano located in Iceland, lies beneath the Myrdalsjokull glacier and is located next to its little sister volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, which erupted earlier this year on 14-Apr-2010.
Historically, Katla has always erupted not long after Eyjafjallajokull, the longest span being 1.5 years and the shortest time span being approximately 6 months. As of this post, 5 months have gone by since the clock started ticking so lets have a look at what has happened at Katla during that time.
The image above just shows earthquakes that have occurred at or within the caldera itself. I have been casually tracking the Katla volcano since 17-May of this year, so this data tracks the 4 month period since then. During that time I have identified 58 earthquakes at the caldera. Also during that time I have identified 307 earthquakes at Katla including the region outside of the caldera, but still on the Katla volcano itself.
The following image "should" be an up to date current view of the caldera earthquakes:
I am focusing on the caldera because apparently many of the other earthquakes, particularly those just outside the western rim of the caldera, are being caused by seasonal glacial water runoff stresses and are not themselves indicators of potential magma movement. There are a few technical papers written on that subject, and the explanation made sense having read them.
The caldera has an area of about 42 square miles (108 square kilometers) and is about 6 x 9 miles across (10 x 15 km).
I am attributing the earthquakes that are shown here on the west caldera rim as being associated with the seasonal glacial water stress factors, because when looking at the larger map, you can see that the earthquakes continue on to the west as described in the technical papers.
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