Inflation continues: 80-150 earthquakes daily near Sundhnúkagígar

Although seismic activity has eased in recent weeks, the ground near the Sundhnúkagígar crater row is still restless. According to Salóme Jórunn Bernharðsdóttir, a natural hazards specialist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the area continues to experience 80–150 small earthquakes daily.

The volcanic eruption on April 4 was brief, beginning and ending on the same day. In its wake, ground inflation — the swelling caused by magma accumulating underground — began rapidly but has since slowed considerably.

“It was relatively fast at the beginning, immediately after the magma run, but then it slowed down quite quickly,” says Bernharðsdóttir in an interview with mbl.is .

She adds that while daily earthquakes persist, they remain minor and are centered around the magma tunnel formed during the eruption.

“These are all small earthquakes and are not abnormal.”

While the current situation shows no immediate signs of another eruption, the region continues to be closely monitored.