A powerful magnitude 6.5 earthquake jolted Norway’s Jan Mayen Island in the early morning hours today, Monday, March 10th, sending strong shockwaves through the Arctic Ocean, with tremors felt in Svalbard,

Norway
, Iceland, and Eastern Greenland, according to the USGS.

Preliminary reports indicate that the earthquake struck just off Jan Mayen Island’s northern coast, with a depth of 6.21 miles (10 kilometers). The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center stated on their “X” account that no tsunami warning would be issued after the earthquake struck at approximately 1:33 a.m. local time (UTC -01:00).

“There is no tsunami danger for the U.S. east coast, the Gulf of Mexico states, or the eastern coast of Canada.” The statement added, “Based on earthquake information and historic tsunami records, the earthquake is not expected to generate a tsunami.”

According to USGS, and INGV, “The epicenter was located 36 km (22 miles) NNE of Olonkinbyen (population 14), 730 km (454 miles) NE of Akureyri (population 19 219), and 932 km (579 miles) W of Sortland (population 10 468), in the Svalbard and Jan Mayen region.”

Seismic activity earthquake Nepal map Richter scale

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The epicenter was located in the Bhairavkunda, Sindhupalchowk district, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Kathmandu

Jan Mayen Island’s Earthquake on Monday Morning Was Tectonic, Not Volcanic

Jan Mayen Island is prone to numerous earthquakes throughout the year. Sitting in a seismically active hot zone and home to the world’s northernmost stratovolcano and Norway’s only active volcano, Beerenberg, the island is in constant motion with both tectonic and volcanic eruptions.

Situated along the mid-Atlantic Ridge north of Iceland, Jan Mayen Island sits precariously between the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone (JMFZ) and the slowly spreading Kolbeinsey and Mohns Ridges, making the region a very volatile hotbed of seismic activity.

According to seismologists, this morning’s earthquake in the Jan Mayen Island region was tectonic, not

volcanic
, indicating there is no cause for concern that a volcanic eruption from Beerenberg will occur.

At the time of this publication, no damage or injuries had been reported.