March 2014 – ICELAND – A small jökulhlaup (glacier outburst flood) started yesterday from the subglacial lake Grímsvötn and has been discharging into the river Gígjukvísl. The event, which could have been triggered by normal fluctuations of hydrothermal activity under the ice is expected to be small. The Icelandic Met Office reports maximum discharge rates on the order of magnitude 1000 cubic meters per second, similar to rates during summer ice melt, and expects no damage to occur. The maximum of the flood is expected to be around the end of the week. A small shallow earthquake swarm, probably as a result of adjustments in the ice mass above the draining lake, has accompanied the flood today. There are no indications that the flood was caused by a volcanic eruption of Grímsvötn volcano. –Volcano Discovery