Short notice a cause for concern
Eruption in Sundhnúkagígar crater row at March 16, 2024. mbl.is/Eyþór
The short notice of the volcanic eruption that began tonight is causing concerns for Professor of Volcanology Þorvaldur Þórðarson. The lava seems to flow mostly to the east, but something flows westwards, which is towards Grindavíkurvegur road.
Only one minute after the Icelandic Met Office sent out a notice that a magma run had possibly started, the eruption began. That shows how short the notice was.
“It’s a very short notice and it’s worrying because we would have liked to see it a little earlier. But this is how it is, and the magma has just found an easy route to the surface,” Þórðarson says.
It is difficult to discern why the notice was so short at this time.
Only one minute after the Icelandic Met Office put out a notice of a possible eruption, it started, so the very short notice is concerning according to volcanologist Þorvaldur Þórðarson at the University of Iceland. Composite image
Lava flows mostly in an eastward direction
The eruption erupted on the Sundhnúkagígar crater row between Hagafell and Stóra-Skógafell, rather closer to Stóra-Skógafell, at a similar location to the eruption on February 8.
Þórðarson says that, based on the webcam, the lava is flowing east.
“The lava seems to be flowing a little bit towards the east and something is reaching towards Hagafell and out to Vatnsheiði. But it seems there is less lava flow – at least as I see it at the moment – towards the west. But there is still some lava flowing towards the west.”
