Ground swelling continues at Svartsengi
The eruption at Sundhnúkagígar crater row is still active although the longest lava tongues are getting dark and are barely moving. Photo/Hörður Kristleifsson
Clear signs of continuing ground swelling at Svartsengi are present. Further GPS data are needed before more conclusions can be drawn.
This is what Benedikt Gunnar Ófeigsson, the professional director of deformation measurements at the Icelandic Met Office, says when asked.
He says the ground swelling never stopped despite the eruption that began last Saturday night. “We don’t know if it’s going to slow down or stop, but at least it’s clear that there’s continuing inflation now,” he says. This means that magma flow is feeding both the eruption and the magma chamber in Svartsengi.
The red line shows the eruption fissure that opened on March 16. The orange field show the lava from the eruption on February 16. The pink field at the top shows lava from the eruption in December 2023, and the pink field at the bottom of the map shows the lava from the eruption in January 2024. Map/mbl.is
Already longer than three previous eruptions
According to Ófeigsson, it does not appear as though the volcanic eruption is about to end, and it has been quite stable since yesterday. He says the eruption has been going on longer than all the other three eruptions that have occurred near the Sundhnúkagígar crater row.
“There are no indications that it’s coming to an end now, but it can happen all of a sudden. It may not give a lot of notice, but it’s already acting differently than the other eruptions,” he explains.
He means that the other eruptions started with a bang and rapidly subsided, as has been the case with this eruption, and then they stopped, unlike this eruption.
Benedikt Gunnar Ófeigsson. mbl.is
Lava tongues stopped moving
As for the flow of lava, Ófeigsson says the edges of both lava tongues seem to have stopped moving and the new lava seems to flow on top of the existing lava. He doesn’t say that the tongues will move further forward but thinks that it’s more unlikely as time goes on.
When asked about the possibility of a volcanic eruption in Eldvörp, he said he doesn’t see any signs of anything happening there. He says it’s very unlikely that while the eruption is going on, the magma will break its way to another location.
