A total of 454 earthquakes with a magnitude of four or above have struck within 300 km (186 mi) of Iceland in the past 10 years. This comes down to a yearly average of 45 earthquakes per year, or 3 per month. On average an earthquake will hit near Iceland roughly every 8 days.

After experiencing 700 earthquakes on Tuesday, Iceland meteorologists said on Wednesday morning the country has experienced another 800 since midnight. The quakes came after researchers detected sulfur dioxide, a gas that indicates magma is near the ground surface.

At least 320 earthquakes, one measuring a magnitude 4.1, have occurred since the volcano blew Monday night, the Meteorological Office said Tuesday. But since the eruption, seismic activity in the area has "significantly decreased," according to the Meteorological Office.