Magma accumulation has reached the same level as January 14
Volcanic eruption by Grindavík on January 14 2024. mbl.is/Árni Sæberg
The magma in the magma chamber under Svartsengi is now about 9 million cubic meters and has therefore become as much as it was when the eruption occurred on January 14, when it was estimated that the magma was between 9-13 million cubic meters.
“The newest data has been re-calculated and there are just under 9 million cubic metres now, which is at the lower limit of what was estimated to have been the last eruption,” says Sigríður Magnea Óskarsdóttir, a natural-hazard specialist at the Icelandic Met Office.
Earlier today, mbl.is reported that the magma accumulation was about 6.5 million cubic metres, but the new data had not been published.
Volcanoes always unpredictable
“This just means that it can start any time,” Óskarsdóttir says when asked what this might mean for the likelihood of a volcanic eruption.
“But naturally, volcanoes are always unpredictable, so you can’t really take anything as completely certain in that regard, but given what’s going on, it’s safer to assume that things will start to moving soon.”
