Could be some wait for the last eruption
The ongoing eruption at Sundhnúkagígar crater row started just over two weeks ago, just before midnight on November 20, 2024. mbl.is/Hákon
Yesterday marked two weeks since the eruption of the Sundhnúkagígar crater row began, the sixth eruption this year and the seventh in the series since December last year.
"We have not yet seen the lava flow decreasing at all in recent days, and the activity in the eruption seems to be fairly stable and has been for a week," says Benedikt Gunnar Ófeigsson, head of deformation measurements at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, in an interview with mbl.is.
Deformation data show a balance between the flow of magma into the collection area under Svartsengi and the flow of magma to the surface from the active crater. Ófeigsson says that the flow in this eruption is more stable than in recent eruptions, which have decreased rapidly.
The risk assessment has been reviewed and updated and is valid until December 10th. Map/The Icelandic Met Office
No signs of deformation
“We see no signs of deformation, neither subsidence nor rise, which suggests that the eruption is in some kind of equilibrium and it could continue to simmer for a few more weeks,” he says.
Ófeigsson says that there are no signs that the sequence of events at the Sundhnúkagígar crater row is ending.
“You never know when the last eruption will be over, but we will likely have to wait a little longer for the last eruption. People had a problem with the Krafla volcanoes in the past that they waited a long time for the last eruption that never came.”
He says that, as always, the eruption is being closely monitored, but there have been few changes to the lava rim. One crater is active in the eruption and has been filled up, which increases the risk of it collapsing. If that happens, lava could change direction, but given the location of the crater, infrastructure is not considered to be at risk.
