Iceland's massive Katla volcano is showing increasing signs of a possible eruption following an intense week of earthquakes and tremors.
The feared volcano was struck by a magnitude 3.2 earthquake last night as experts believe magma is slowly filling inside the mountain, giving rise to fears the volcano could soon erupt.
The latest quake follows a week of increasing activity with official reports of harmonic tremors and earthquake swarms.
Observers have been closely watching Katla since July when the volcano showed the first signs of increased activity.
Last weekend, the Icelandic Met Office confirmed two swarms of earthquakes in Katla and on Wednesday night, a harmonic tremor – a potential indicator to an eruption - was detected.
Last night's stronger earthquake was picked up in the volcano's caldera - its magma chamber.
Katla, which has not experienced a significant eruption for 93 years, is the second largest volcano on Iceland and its eruption will be felt across Europe.
Last year, the country's president Ólafur Grímsson warned "the time for Katla to erupt is coming close, Iceland has prepared and it is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over Europe and the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption".
It is believed Katla, named after a vindictive troll of Viking folklore, has the potential to be much stronger and disruptive than the last two Icelandic volcanic eruptions that caused chaos across Europe's air space, grounding flights and closing airports.
Katla is much larger than its neighbouring Eyjafjallajokull – which erupted last year - with a magma chamber about 10 times the size.
Volcanologists warn that if Katla does erupt, the combination of the magma and the large ice sheet covering the volcano could lead to explosive activity and an ash plume for weeks, if not months.
jenp, england around 8 months, 2 weeks ago