Myrdalsjokull - is Katla getting ready to rumble again?

This is likely, again, not likely to amount to much, but as Jón Frímann has noted, the Katla volcano in Iceland is getting a bit antsy again. There were a couple of deep quakes nearly two weeks ago and there have been shallower and more numerous quakes since.

These might indicate that magma is making its way upwards. We saw this a few months ago, and it did not amount to anything in the end, but it is a little early to tell yet whether this pattern will be the same, or more serious.

Earthquakes in the Myrdalsjokull caldera July 7, 2014 (Icelandic Met Office)

For those who don't know, Katla has often erupted after Eyjafjallajokull, which noticeably erupted back in 2010, shutting down air traffic at the time. And Katla is often the more violent of the two - hence the current interest.

I will update this if it develops into something that may turn out to be more serious.

European airspace 6:45 am CST

This image showing 128 aircraft in European airspace, would indicate that airlines are beginning to find ways of getting planes into the air. However the patterns show where the plume is still probably too dense to allow flights. Including the UK, where the Government is apparently going to send Navy ships to help.

And just to make you feel comfortable about listening to experts, this was the listing for Europe's ten most dangerous volcanoes (in terms of their impact on Europe) just four days ago:

Volcano . . . . . . . . .Country . . . . . .Affected population . . . Values of residences at risk
(US $billion)
1. Vesuvius . . . . . . . Italy . . . . . . . . 1,651,950 . . . . . . . . . . 66.1
2. Campi Flegrei . . . Italy . . . . . . . . . . 144,144 . . . . . . . . . . .7.8
3. La Soufriere . . . . .Guadeloupe, . . . . .94,037 . . . . . . . . . . . 3.8
Guadeloupe France
4. Etna . . . . . . . . . . . Italy . . . . . . . . . . 70,819 . . . . . . . . . . .. 2.8
5. Agua de Pau . . . . .Azores, . . . . . . . .34,307 . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4
Portugal
6. Soufriere . . . . . Saint Vincent . . . . . .24,493 . . . . . . . . . . .1.0
Saint Vincent, Caribbean
7. Furnas . . . . . . . Azores, . . . . . . . . . .19,862 . . . . . . . . . . 0.8
Portugal
8. Sete Cidades . . . Azores, . . . . . . . . . 17,889 . . . . . . . . . . . 0.7
Portugal
9. Hekla . . . . . . . ..Iceland . . . . . . . . . . 10,024 . . . . . . . . . . .0.4
10. Mt Pelee . . . . .Martinique, . . . . . . .10,002 . . . . . . . . . . 0.4
France
Hekla is the only one from Iceland that makes the list, which, given that Katla is likely to be perhaps ten times as large as the current eruption from Eyjafjallajokull, and may well go in the next 2 years perhaps underscores the occasional need to question expert opinion.