Around 80 earthquakes detected
The last eruption in Sundhnúkagígar crater row ended on May 9. mbl.is/Hörður Kristleifsson
A total of 80 earthquakes have been measured in the magma channel under Svartsengi in the last day. This is about the same number of earthquakes as were measured in the area before the weekend.
Fewer earthquakes were measured this weekend, but a considerable windstorm reduced the sensitivity of the measurements in the area. It is therefore most likely that activity was similar all weekend, according to Einar Hjörleifsson, a natural hazard specialist at the Icelandic Met Office.
There are still signs of inflation, and there is no evidence that magma accumulation has slowed since before the weekend.
Photo from the last eruption in Sundhnúkagígar crater row. Photo/Hörður Kristleifsson
Compare their books tomorrow morning
The situation in the area will be discussed tomorrow when the experts from the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, and several experts from the University of Iceland compare their books.
The Icelandic Met Office still believes that it could erupt at any time.
“We are still on alert,” Hjörleifsson says, “and we are monitoring the activity of small earthquakes in the area very well. It’s difficult to be constantly on alert for two weeks, but the situation now calls for it,” he says.
The area is patrolled by the Civil Protection and the police, as well as people staying in Grindavík.
