Premature to Declare Eruption Over

“Something is happening there, because gas is streaming from the crater, but I don’t dare assert what’s happening,” Þorvaldur Þórðarson, professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland, tells mbl.is, speaking of the eruption by Fagradalsfjall mountain, Southwest Iceland, which began March 19.

The behavior of the eruption changed last Thursday, as reflected on volcanic tremor charts. Since then, there has been very limited volcanic activity in the crater. Tuesday morning, though, lava was visible in the crater.

“Degassing tells us that magma is present at relatively limited depth, and there must be new magma coming in,” Þorvaldur states. It appears, he adds, that something is delaying the magma from reaching the surface. Such blockage could possibly suffice to stop the eruption. Still, he believes it is premature to declare the eruption over.