“The warning will be very short”
The last eruption at the Sundhnúkagígar crater row ended on December 9, 2024. Morgunblaðið/Hákon
The situation at the Sundhnúkagígar crater row hasn’t changed much in recent days, according to a natural hazard expert at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, but the likelihood of an eruption is still considered high.
Seismic activity in the area is very limited, but inflation and magma accumulation under Svartsengi continue, according to natural hazard expert Elísabet Pálmadóttir.
Asked if any changes have been noticed in HS Orka’s boreholes that warned of the last two eruptions at the Sundhnúkagígar crater row, Pálmadóttir says:
“No. We are monitoring them closely around the clock and we are not seeing any changes. We have also added fiber optics to increase monitoring of ground movements, and in such good weather as it is now, we have a good overview of all the gauges,” she says.
Pálmadóttir says it is impossible to say when there will be news in the area. The Icelandic Meteorological Office continues to believe that there is a risk of an eruption, but the National Police Commissioner declared a danger level for the Reykjanes Peninsula on January 30.
“It could start erupting tomorrow or in two weeks, but we expect the warning period to be very short,” she says.
The seventh eruption at the Sundhnúkagígar series since December 2023 ended on December 9.
