Could start sometime in January

“We can expect something to happen, although we can’t say exactly when,” Þorvaldur Þórðarson, professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland, tells Morgunblaðið.

The land rise near Svartsengi has not slowed down in recent days, and Þórðarson says it is unlikely that anything will happen until it slows down.

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“This could drag on somewhat into January if the land rise does not begin to slow down. In my opinion, this will always be a relatively small eruption, it can be powerful at the beginning, as it was last time, but if it is less powerful than the last eruption, it will last longer,” Þórðarson says.

It was reported on December 29 that the land rise at Svartsengi had reached the same height as it was in the late-last eruption on December 18. “It could happen this week that something will start, but it doesn’t have to end with a volcanic eruption,” he says.

He believes that if magma reaches the surface it will occur in the same region as on December 18.